Baseball Photography

My man loves American football, I love real football, but we both love baseball. I grew up watching it with my grandfather, and Michael not only watched it but also played little league and junior varsity. Now, I can't speak for Michael, but when I watch baseball, whether at a ballpark or at home, it brings back fond memories of home and family, and stirs up feelings of nostalgia.

Naturally, when Michael and I met, baseball came up in our first conversation. I was raised in an Angels family, so once I realized he was from New York, I had one very important question: are you a Yankees fan? Thank God almighty, thank all the powers that be, he said no. He grew up in a suburb of Albany but attended many Red Sox games with family in Boston…and for that I am extremely grateful.

San Diego was our first home together; we moved here from Virginia last year and started our life together here. He arrived sooner than I did but I made it just in time for his birthday and opening weekend. Ever since that first Padres game, which was also my first time attending an MLB game, the Padres have had a special place in my heart. The Red Sox are his team, the Angels are my team, but the Padres are our team.

Obviously I have a thing for pitchers, which is why it's no surprise that I ended up with one, but I promise I took a variety of photos at Sunday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. This was my first time taking my new Canon Rebel T6i to the ball park and it was fun playing with different settings and trying to capture great action shots.

We were sitting three rows back from first base, and although that's one of the best seats for the view, the foul netting made photography a tad challenging. Auto focus kept focusing on the net, making the field and players blurry, so I had to lose my manual focus virginity. Honestly it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. However, I'm sure this guy's photos are a little better than mine:

The next four photos capture one of my favorite moments during a baseball game. I call it the "'Oh shit' pow-wow." This little staff meeting usually happens when the bases are loaded or nearly there and the count is something like 3-0. There's so much anticipation! What will they do next? How will they get themselves out of this mess? The Padres had a couple of these pow-wows on Sunday, and the second one was at the end of the game. It was the top of the 9th, Padres were up by 2, bases were loaded, 2 outs, and the count was in the hitter's favor. Had the pitcher choked again they would have lost. But after their little pow-wow the closer threw a couple good pitches, struck the guy out, and the Padres won the game! I couldn't decide which looks better, color or black/white, so I posted both. Let me know what you think!

And of course the girls in their baseball bandanas: