Grid Iron Gladiators
For the past four years, I have been making (end of season) stylized images for some of the Casa Roble (Orangevale, CA) Varsity football players.
For the past four years, I have been making (end of season) stylized images for some of the Casa Roble (Orangevale, CA) varsity football players. I started making high contrast images on white and expanded to some on-field images two years ago. My goal was to make the type of images I wish I had as a player. These guys work very hard all year and it means a lot to me to make an image of this part of their life.
This year due to a scheduling conflict, I couldn't use the school's field, so I moved the shoot to my studio.
I wanted to continue with the white background style and didn't want to give up on the field look so after a quick trip to home depot and a purchased 12 by 8-foot section of artificial grass, I had a field style look in the studio.
I made two sets with two cameras. Set 1 had a white background, while Set 2 had the artificial turf. I wanted to be able to shoot them against the white background and then go straight to the turf set.
Set 1 was designed with four alien bee lights. For this set, I used grids and snoots to highlight different parts of the players. This style translates well with the high contrast black and white.
The camera for this set was the Nikon D810 with a Sigma 105 art lens.
For field set lighting, I wanted to replicate the look of a stadium light, so I started with 1 Indra 500 with a wide-angle reflector with grid high and directly behind the players. The second and main light was to camera left for that I used the Solas Strip Softbox with Grid. That was positioned fairly high and angeled down to minimize the spill on the ground. For the 3rd light, I used a 7inch dish with a 20dgrwe grid to camera left; I wanted that light to skip across the front of the players.
The last part of the look was a little smoke from the fog machine; it just seems to give it the depth I like.
All images were edited with the new Luminar 4
The camera was the Nikon z6 with the Sigma 85 art lens.
It's December and we just finished playing in the championship game.
The football season came to a close on Saturday, December 1. It was a very long, but rewarding season. The team started conditioning on January 30 at 5:50 AM and continued training every morning until late November. This season was special to me for many reasons, the biggest being that it was my youngest son's last season in high school.
I’m so happy to have these times with Ryan. Photo by @s.kip
The football season came to a close on Saturday, December 1 for the Casa Roble RAMS they ended the season with an 11 wins and 2 losses. It was a very long, but rewarding season. The team started conditioning on January 30 at 5:50 AM and continued training every morning until late November. This season was special to me for many reasons, the biggest being that it was my youngest son's last season in high school. I have spent the past 16 years working with my kids in all of their athletic endeavors. From coaching volleyball and track with my girls, to football and track with my boys. One thing I told my wife when our kids were young was, I would never miss any of their sporting events or activities. When I was a kid, my parents were always there to pick me up after a defeat or pat me on the back after a win. I had teammates that never had a parent go to a game and I always felt bad for them. Having family support meant so much to me. I feel fortunate that photography as a profession has allowed me to control my schedule so I could coach and be a part of everything my kids have done.
Ryan- all 4 years of football, starting with Freshman year.
If you know me, you know that I loved playing football! Football to me is a brotherhood, it's given me the tools that I've used throughout my life. I wanted so much for my boys to have a similar experience. I have to say that this season exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. Sure they were very successful and won most of their games, but they ultimately lost the championship. The season was more than wins and losses. The lessons the boys took from this season will help mold the rest of their lives.
I am so proud of my son Ryan. He faced a big uphill battle during the first part of the season. He had a significant quad tear in his left leg that occurred during track season, it took months of therapy and rehabilitation before the season even started. He was fortunate that it only affected the first few games and by the end of the season, he was playing his best football. Ryan really took training and preparation seriously and the results showed. He was the fastest, strongest combination on the team and was able to take the punishment of the season and stay relatively injury free. He is physically and mentally ready to continue playing after high school if he desires.
6am workouts 4 days a week since January.
My involvement with the team started with me helping with weight training and conditioning in the mornings. I was more than happy to give my time (5:50 am) and knowledge for the betterment of the entire team. As the season approached I took on the additional responsibilities of handling the technology and operations needed to help make Friday night games happen. Let's just say, it is like putting on a mini-concert every Friday night. I also helped with minor bumps and bruises after game days to help get them ready to play the next week
Getting Ryan stretched before the game. Photo by @s.kip
Over the years I've been able to watch different groups of coaches work with my kids. I have to say that the coaching staff that Chris Horner put together was the best I've ever been part of. I believe that one of the marks of a great head coach is to assemble great assistant coaches and let them do their job, this is certainly what Chris did with his coaches. I've spent a lot of time these past three years with Chris, and one thing that is totally clear is his desire to develop outstanding men. Sure he cares about wins and losses, but he cares more about how his players are doing. He makes sure that they make good choices, are good citizens at school and good citizens within the community. I know these boys will look back with nothing but admiration from their time with Chris.
Chris congratulating Ryan after a big sack. His enthusiasm was contagious!
Ryan's team was a great group of boys! I have been able to watch many of the kids grow up, in some cases from elementary school. Watching how well these kids got along and how close they all are, was really special. To watch them all play on Friday nights was just icing on the cake. The time they spent with each other working out, practicing, and playing will mean a lot to them later on.
Ryan and some of his teammates.
There is certainly going to be a hole in my life with no more high school football, but I'm excited to see what is next with all my kids!
Pre game runout. Ryan carried the Navy flag at each home game.
