Photos: Major League Baseball Player’s Weekend Portraits.

This weekend, Major League Baseball held it’s first ever Player’s Weekend. The initiative allowed for players to wear nicknames on their jerseys, and use custom made bats, gloves, cleats, etc. to showcase their individual personalities. 

I was asked to shoot formal portraits of several players on both the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles to showcase the uniforms. Here is a gallery with a few of those.

Boston Red Sox Photos: Wednesday, May 3, 2017 vs. Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox won again last night in the third of a four game series against the Baltimore Orioles. Here are some images from the night.

Boston Red Sox Photos: Thursday, September 22, 2016 vs. Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox stayed hot and beat the Baltimore Orioles yet again to complete their second four game sweep in a row. The team now heads to Tampa having won eight straight games.

Boston Red Sox Photos: Thursday, June 16, 2016 vs. Baltimore Orioles.

It’s been a crazy home stand, so I’m way behind on posts from Red Sox baseball. Here are images from a tough game for the Sox against Baltimore last Thursday.

More pictures coming!

Boston Red Sox Photography: Saturday, September 22, 2012 vs Baltimore Orioles.

“Boston Red Sox left fielder Daniel Nava attempts to catch a fly ball during the sixth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Fenway Park.”

“Boston Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow delivers during the eighth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Fenway Park.”

“Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones smiles during a game against the Boston Red Sox Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Fenway Park.”

“Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino looks on from the dugout during a game against the Boston Red Sox Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Fenway Park.”

I’m way late on these, but here are some images from last Saturday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. I got some good action and we had some really nice light and shadows to work with, particularly throughout the later innings.

It was also fun to shoot some Orioles photos as they come down the stretch of an incredible playoff run!

Baltimore Orioles Photography: Monday, September 26, 2011 vs. Boston Red Sox

"Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero tips his helmet to the crowd after hitting a single in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Monday, September 26, 2011 in Baltimore. This was his 2,587th career hit, moving him past Julio Franco as the all-time leader in hits by a Dominican-born player."
"Baltimore Orioles outfielders (L-R) Matt Angle, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis, celebrate a victory over the Boston Red Sox Monday, September 26, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino reacts after receiving a shaving cream pie to the face after defeating the Boston Red Sox Monday, September 26, 2011 in Baltimore."

We’ve reached the last three games of the 2011 regular season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This is always a busy week around the stadium, but there’s a particular buzz in the air this time around. The American League Wild Card chase is on, and the Boston Red Sox, in the midst of an historic end-of-season collapse, play their final three games in Baltimore. This year’s playoff scenarios are coming down to the wire, and I’m pumped at the possibility of them being decided in Baltimore. 

The Sox were unable to beat the O’s last night, moving them into a tie with the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card spot. I’ve got lots of good photos from last night, but I want to be careful about what I post, as there’s still lots of baseball left to be played. 

Last night’s game had a bit of everything: Playoff implications, a Dominican baseball record broken, a drunken fan running across the field, an inside the park home run, and a pie in the face, to mention a few.

This game’s “Thing I Learned:” Last night’s lesson will carry over for the entire week. Big time games call for big time photos! I shoot better pictures when there’s something at stake. I like the added pressure. 

Time for game two!

Baltimore Orioles Photography: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 vs. Chicago White Sox

"Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters walks toward home plate after a mound visit in the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday, August 10, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones bats in the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday, August 10, 2011 in Baltimore."
"A woman walks through the left field upper concourse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Wednesday, August 10, 2011."
"Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam Dunn and center fielder Alex Rios warm up in the on deck circle in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday, August 10, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles teammates congratulate left fielder Nolan Reimold as he runs toward home plate after hitting a two run walk off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday, August 10, 2011. The Orioles won 6-4."

Nolan Reimold lifted the Orioles to an extra innings win on Wednesday, hitting a two run walk off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat the Chicago White Sox. 

I had a great night shooting from start to finish, so that’s why I’m posting this many photos. I’ve been noticing the sunlight a lot as of late, so these are some variations on some of the other images that I’ve made recently.

Most importantly, though, this was the first walk off finish I’ve been at in which I’m truly satisfied with my celebration shots. This time, I stayed calm, didn’t try to shoot too many things at once, and came away with a nice set of images. It also helped that the players, particularly Robert Andino, went overboard with their reactions. 

This game’s “Thing I Learned:” The camera I shoot with delays if you fire off too many shots in a row. Towards the end of the dog-pile at home plate, I wasn’t able to shoot any more because all the previous frame I had snapped didn’t load fast enough. So, next time I have to shoot that many frames, I’ll make sure to pace myself.  

Baltimore Orioles Photography: Friday, August 5, 2011 vs. Toronto Blue Jays

"Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, August 5, 2011."
"Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Adam Lind grounds out to second base in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Friday, August 5, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters tags out Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus in the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, August 5, 2011 in Baltimore."

The Orioles are back in town for a ten-game home stand against Toronto, Chicago, and Detroit. Here’s the box score from the first game. 

Sporadic patches of sunlight crept through the shadows through the first few innings of this game, which made for some really nicely lit shots. You can see that patchy light in the first two frames I posted here. 

There weren’t many other pictures to be made throughout the rest of the game, though. I ended up shooting about three innings worth of high definition video, which is going to be used for some new highlight reels and sequences put together by the Orioles Productions crew. 

This game’s “Thing I Learned:” This was the first time I’ve shot video at a baseball game. While the same shooting principles apply, video forces you to approach your shots with a different frame of mind. Rather than shooting to document a single moment in time, you’re looking for clips that’ll hold for several seconds. I found myself noticing things that I normally wouldn’t while shooting stills. 

I think it’s of the utmost importance that a photographer not just be a photographer, a writer not just be a writer, or a videographer not just be a videographer. In the fast-paced, digital-everything age we live in, the best journalist is the one who can do it all. I’m excited to see how the video looks in a professionally edited package, which I’ll be posting soon!

Baltimore Orioles Photography: Sunday, July 24, 2011 vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

"Baltimore Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis waits on deck in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones hits a two run home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Baltimore."
"The Oriole Bird holds an American flag during the singing of 'God Bless America' during the seventh inning stretch of a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Official Major League Baseball game balls are shown Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Baltimore."

I had a bit of trouble editing this set of images down, so what you see here is a hodgepodge of different types of shots I got from Sunday’s game. 

I enjoyed fooling around with still life, and focusing on the small, everyday objects of the game: balls, helmets, bats, etc.. I’ve got a few more that I was happy with. I think overall, my group of shots from Sunday mostly tell a story about the Orioles’ dugout. 

This game’s “Thing I Learned:” I was thinking along the same lines as I was during the previous game. There’s a lot going on off the field, so I continued to keep that in mind while shooting. 

Baltimore Orioles Photography: Sunday, July 17, 2011 vs. Cleveland Indians

"Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino dives for a ball in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians Sunday, July 17, 2011 in Baltimore."
"Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones flies out in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians Sunday, July 17, 2011 in Baltimore."

We’ve officially reached the dog days of summer. This day game against the Indians was hot – so hot that I somehow managed to leave the game with a tan line around my left eye from my camera eyepiece. 

95 degree plus heat can be pretty draining, but I always feel a larger sense of accomplishment after those days, particularly when I come out with good pictures. So as I sat there sweating profusely and periodically leaning into the dugout to catch a hint of air conditioning, I managed to get some nice shots.

I’m still kicking myself over this Andino frame. I had the feeling that the ball would be hit his way, so I sat on him throughout the whole at bat. Sure enough, when it did go his way, I was ready to shoot it. It turns out I was a bit off with my focus, though, so although this photograph is sharp, I know it could have been even sharper. I was happy with this compressed bat-on-ball shot of Adam Jones, so I posted that as well. 

This game’s “Thing I Learned:” Take an extra second to be absolutely sure that your shot will be in focus. I tend to set my focus too quickly and assume that the auto-focus will take care of the rest.