Takedown

This morning was frigid--around 31 degrees--and the air was dry. The scene at 'Stoga--yes, this is Thanksgiving break and yes I did go back to school--was stunningly different. Entering the gym, the first thing that hit me was the smell. The smell of sweat. And the amazing humidity inside the gym.

Once I got over that, it's time to shoot. Dozens and dozens of 'Stoga guys and those from at least one other school were scrimmaging, with many mini-matches happening at once. Locating the 'Stoga seniors, I popped on the speedlight and started shooting.

Wrestling is certainly different than most other sports. There is no clear-cut offense or defense to focus on, and because of the nature of the sport (for better or for worse) there's so much limb entanglement that it can either be distracting and confusing or downright cool.

Another difference, especially as a photographer, is that the movement of wrestlers can be unpredictable. Granted, I know very, very little about wrestling, whereas the other sports I often cover such as football and soccer I know a fair amount about. So when these entangled guys come tumbling at you, you'd better move, as they may not even see you. That's why they invented telephoto.

I shot mostly telephoto but I popped on the wide angle about 3/4 of the way through, and as the scrimmage ended, having the wide angle on came in handy when the players started rolling up the mats and putting them away.

I tried to be a little creative with this next one, when the mats were being taken away to the closet. My brother said it reminded him of photos you see of someone being rushed on a stretcher into an ambulance...

After the shoot, the frigid outside air didn't seem so bad after all...

Click here see the photos