Navy Rugby vs University of Maryland November 8, 2008
Posted by midswatch in Sports.Tags: College Sports, Navy Rugby, Navy Sports, Sports Photography, University of Maryland Rugby
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I went to watch Navy Rugby for the first time. I’d always been told they were great, (usually ranked around 2nd or 3rd in the nation,) but I never made it out to watch them play.
I woke up early–9:30 am. Well, it felt early because I had stood rover watch from 0130-0300 the night before. As soon as I opened my eyes, I heard rain. Afraid of what would happen to my camera if I took it in the rain, I moped in disappointment. As I watched some James Bond while eating frosted flakes, the rain stopped, and my chance cleared to partly cloudy skies.
I’ve watched a lot of sports, but I still don’t understand all of the rules of Rugby. It’s fascinating. Unlike football, the hitting never takes a break. I found it very hard to pull the camera down from my face. I didn’t want to miss a shot.
I positioned myself near the Navy end zone because they were scoring much more often than Maryland. With this position, I saw most of the forward motion. The stop-action and colors turned out better during this day game than the Army-Navy Sprint Football game. It made for fun shooting.
They played on Hospital Point. It’s a large athletic area that could provide fields for an entire tournament. As I watched, I grimaced for the guys at the bottom of the piles.
One Navy player stepped on a Maryland player’s head; a small scuffle broke out between the teams while a few of the players kept the ball moving. The Navy coach yelled, “Gentlemen!” and Navy backed out of the fight. Shortly after, they scored.
I played around with Photoshop to capture this sequence of shots. Navy almost always came down with the ball in these plays. Click on the photos to get a better look!
Go NAVY beat Maryland!!!
A Midshipman’s Halloween November 2, 2008
Posted by midswatch in Special Events.Tags: College, Halloween, Naval Academy, Navy, Photography, Plebe, Writing
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How do midshipmen dress for Halloween? Keep in mind, they don’t have traditional costume materials lying around–most do not own more than their issued uniforms. Upperclassmen have barely more than the plebes, maybe a few pairs of civilian clothes. These circumstances make for a creative Halloween. It’s always fun to see what people come up with.
The most popular choice for the male plebe is a Chippendale dancer. This costume is easily remedied with patent leather shoes, working blues pants, no shirt, and a bow tie. It’s funny because every year 5-8 of them run out of their rooms, rub bellies with everyone, and laugh hysterically as if it has never been done before. In the picture above, three of the plebes (including a Chippendale) did the “Thriller” dance by Michael Jackson. It was a great hit on deck.
Others make costumes in light of some sort of political issue. This picture is of an illegal immigrant and a Border Patrol guard. They had a skit where the immigrant would run away from the guard, then, to the cheers of the mids, the guard would catch him. I have no idea who these guys were, but they enjoyed posing for the camera.
You wouldn’t believe how many McCains and Obamas were campaigning through the halls. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the upperclassmen trick-or-treat through Bancroft Hall (indoors) to all of the plebe rooms. The plebes provide the candy. The administration made it clear this year that it was not mandatory for the plebes to buy candy, but it was nonetheless tradition.
Below, my friend, Mike dressed up as our old company officer. He did a great impression, but it brought back too many bad memories. Many other midshipmen dressed up as our superintendent and commandant.
A Nutcracker was easy to create. This plebe told me about his idea earlier in the day. He’d put on the full dress blue uniform (our parade uniform,) tape some cardboard to his back, add a little face paint, and march around with his rifle and an open mouth. I told him I liked the idea. Later, when all of the festivities started, I walked by his room and noticed he wasn’t dressed. I asked why not. He looked glum and said that his parade jacket wasn’t rigged (rigging is putting on the anchors and cuffs and everything that makes the uniform proper.) I had to hold back a smile at his plebian innocence, and I told him to put it on anyways. It’s Halloween; don’t worry about a proper uniform!
This plebe mixed a winter working blues uniform with an SDB jacket, electric guitar, cigarette, and a little attitude to make a great Johnny Cash costume.
Some had costumes they bought on liberty. These included the classic cartoon characters, scary masks, etc. I should also make note of the plethora of suicide bombers walking around.
Of course, there were some who didn’t dress up at all.
As for me? I was part of the paparazzi!
Navy BEATS Army! 24-0 November 1, 2008
Posted by midswatch in Sports.Tags: Football, Navy, Night, Sports
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Tonight was my first *official* photo shoot with my new camera. Earlier this week I heard that Navy would play Army in Sprint Football at home. I immediately began to research the combination of [night shooting + sports]. I knew it would be a great opportunity. I would get sideline access, and of course we’d win. Navy always beats Army.
INTERESTING HISTORICAL FACT: This game marked the first non-mandatory sporting event I have attended on the yard since plebe year (which was also the Army-Navy Sprint Football game.)
The Plan:
-Arrive early
-Figure out the best settings given the scenario (night game lit by field lights)
-Take a gig-a-ba-zillion shots
-Hopefully one turns out well
-Learn something
-Watch Navy CRUSH Army
Results:
On my way out to the game, Jason and Billy cut me off and suggested we take a detour to eat burgers at Five Guys. Bill assured me we’d make it back for the second half, so I gave in. Not only did greasy food sound delicious, but it was also an opportunity to leave the yard on my own power and cruise through Annapolis in Jason’s brand-spanking-new Dodge Ram.
The burger tasted great, but it cost me $6. That’s $6 more than I planned on spending tonight.
We also stopped by the new Target. I only mention this because it has escalators that can transport shopping carts!
But my camera! I needed to use my camera! We arrived at the game in the third quarter. Navy led 21-0. It took me about five minutes before I abandoned my buds in the stands and kneeled next to the sideline. I felt nerdy with all of the gear hanging off of me. But in moments like these, I embrace the nerd within and carry on. I took over 300 shots in two quarters of play.
Stephen Phillips launched a 44-yard field goal–awesome–but I was 90 yards from the kick = no photo. Navy 24-0.
I knew it would be difficult to get any sort of results. I tried multiple combinations of apertures, shutter speeds, and sensitivities. Nothing turned out very well, but that wasn’t important. I learned, and I enjoyed the process. Post shoot, I sorted through my photos. I doctored what I could and declared the time of death for the rest. Unfortunately, the only plays close to me happened when Army had the ball. On the bright side, I had the opportunity to unsuccessfully attempt to capture Navy sacking Army’s quarterback over and over.
I learned a whole lot and had a great time with friends. Success.
The Mid's Watch 
