I was on the field for the so-called “greatest rivalry in sports,” the 110th Army-Navy football game down in Philadelphia this past Saturday. I’ve had the great opportunity this fall (and now winter) to shoot for the United States Military Academy at West Point, which (as they remind you frequently) was recently named by Forbes as the nation’s top college.
So often your favorite image from a day comes by luck, or at the last moment… I sort of had both on Saturday. Navy held on for the win, and after both sides sang their Alma maters, the players ran back across the field to exit. I jogged alongside a pair of opposing players who seemed to be in good spirits — a rarity for this game — and snapped a few photos:
From what I could tell, these guys probably knew each other from high school. I loved the expressions, the fireworks and the steam coming off their heads on this chilly night.
In terms of the game, it was surprisingly close for the first half as Army held a 3-0 lead. I took an elevator up to the pressbox at Lincoln Financial Field and dined on two Philly favorites — a cheesesteak and a soft pretzel. Football health food I guess. I grabbed a few game programs (featuring my photos of Army) and marched up to the tier level to find the perfect spot for a fisheye shot.
That shot came out pretty much exactly as I envisioned it would — I wanted to take it during the game to get the seats full, but I also wanted the sun down enough to give that nice deep blue sky. This was around the middle of the third quarter. I took a few and stitched together the above shot in photoshop to show the whole scene.
Also…
I’ve just begun this blog, so I’m not sure what direction it’s going in. You’ve found my first post… I hope to keep it going with more thoughts and experiences from my time on the sidelines and dugouts behind the camera.
-Danny