13,000+ photos taken. 5,000 miles driven. The 143rd team. 9 games. 3 new pieces of equipment. 1 Zoey.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely a Michigan Football fan. Or you’re one of my family members/friends that I’ve dragged along this crazy photo journey with me. Thank you for being here.
This season, I had the privilege once again to cover Michigan Football — the chance to cover a lot of Michigan Football.
I started covering the team for Maize and Blue Nation in 2019 when I was still living in Buffalo. After covering a few games I had a burst of renewed interest in photography with a small taste of what it was like to be photographing sports again when, well, we all know what happened.
From that point on, I told myself I’d take as many opportunities as I could to cover the team with MBN; you never know when a global catastrophe could put one of your passions on pause.
This year, I really held true to that promise I made myself. But being a mid/late 20-something, I also had a lot of other life events competing with football season this year — weddings, bachelorette parties, a new full-time job — to name a few. From August to December, if it wasn’t immediately added to my Google Calendar it wasn’t really happening.
And while I’d like to say I handled it all with grace and ease, there were certainly days where I didn’t. But as soon as I stepped onto the field, the stress of whatever I was worrying about five minutes before seemed to dissipate. Sometimes it takes being around 100,000+ humans to make you forget about things you really shouldn’t be stressing about.
Amidst the craziness of my schedule, lack of sleep and overload of caffeine, I found consistency, improvement and pride in my work. Confidence isn’t something I often say I wear on my sleeve, but walking onto turf where I knew I belonged felt pretty special. Continuing to build an audience for my work and foster deeper connections with players and colleagues on the field brings me joy I can’t really put into words.
Capturing players like Ronnie Bell during their last games on the college stage, snapping Polaroids on an NFL field, and finding moments of art in a sometimes grueling game have given me a strong sense of purpose and direction that I’ve spent a lot of my life looking for.
Running the risk of being a total cheese-ball, this season really meant the world to me. When I drove through the streets of Columbus at 7am before The Game, as the sun was peeking over the stadium and tailgaters were starting to gather, I may or may not have shed a tear or two. Having the ability to share stories of all types of players, from ones I’ve covered for three years or those I got to know through my camera this season, is something I’ll never forget.
But enough of my mushy thoughts – here are of some my favorite frames this season, from Ann Arbor, Iowa City, Columbus and Indianapolis, this team certainly played their hearts out for us.
My favorite photo from this season:
Alright… it’s tied between three.
Favorite Non-Action Moments
Repeating narratives
Now that I’ve been covering football for a minute, it’s fun to see patterns or continued stories in my work.