Part of my wonderful class at the James Driver Park YET in Houston

About a year ago, Canon and the NFL began an initiative to help children become involved in photography, donating camera and photo gear to centers across the country. Since the early 1990′s the NFL has set up Youth Education Towns (YETs) in a lower-income neighborhood of each city that has hosted a Superbowl. This year Canon and the NFL have teamed up to help educate the children at these YETs on the donated cameras and photography. Sports Illustrated staff photographer Peter Read Miller was brought in over the Summer to help put together a DVD and workbook that outlined some basic techniques and select photographers in the different markets were chosen to participate in the hands-on education of the children. After some back and forth, including a lengthy background check, I was approved to teach the children at the 2 Houston area YETs and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

I had been send a copy of the DVD (which was actually produced at the Houston area YETs) as well as a few copies of the workbook and even though I had contacted each center director and formulated a bit of my own curriculum, I was very nervous as to what was in store.

The first class took place this past Wednesday the 17th and went wonderfully. I was anxious going in, but the entire experience was great from the start. The YET was in a very active part of the neighborhood, sandwiched between a local high school, a park, and a Boys and Girls Club. The inside was decorated with NFL memorabilia and each activity room featured clean and updated equipment whether it was the media room, library or gym. The center director even gave me a tour of the YETs “media” room, which was like walking into a fully decked out recording studio. She mentioned part of the funding came from the Steve Young Foundation. Awesome.

After the grand tour, I was led to a room where I setup. My preparation for the classes included me digging through my archives, searching for sports images that I could use to help illustrate ideas or theories on photography. This also meant that I since I did not know if the center had a projector, DVD player or a computer for viewing the images, I had to prepare for a few different scenarios. When I learned that the class would be pretty small, I figured out that I could simply use my laptop to show the DVD and images to the students. There were 4 girls and 1 boy in the class, mostly teen aged kids that all had at least some experience with the cameras as well as a passion for photography. The fact that the students were engaged and willing to learn played a big part in the success of the class. The center’s director and media services coordinator also attended the class in hopes of soaking up information to pass along to those who were unable to attend.

An image I used to illustrate the idea of following the action after the play is over.

After some introductions, I showed the class the provided DVD and then went over some basic camera fundamentals. The small class size made it easy for the students to follow along with the actual cameras in front of them. I then showed a series of my own images, using them as examples for different tips and tricks. After a few hours of instruction I took the students into the gym and let them loose to photograph a boys basketball practice. I mingled while they shot, coaching each of them along the way. For the final portion of the class, we gathered around an editing station and edited a few of the best images from the practice.

I had such a great time with the students that I volunteered to help the director and a few students at an upcoming Houston Texans game where they will be putting their skills to the test photographing the pre-game warm ups on the field!

With the first class behind me, I was ready for to tackle the second YET.

The second location was different in a lot of ways. There were a ton more children all of which seemed younger on average than the first location, which made for a very chaotic environment. After getting settled into my classroom, I was introduced to the children. Just like the actual center, my class was at least double the size of the first class and the age of the children was on average about 10-11. And just like the first YET, my entire class was girls and 1 boy. I knew I had to keep the techno-babble to a minimum and beef up my gestures and animation. It was a challenge at first, but I managed to get into the groove. Since the class was younger and the attention spans were shorter, we decided to split up the class time into two days.

The second day the students were especially excited and called me by my newly adopted name, “Mr. Todd”. I started with an overview of the tips and then let the children spend about half an hour in the center’s recreation room to put what they had learned to practice. When we came back we reviewed the material and stopped for some photos before they all took off for the weekend.

"Mr. Todd" and the students at the James Driver Park YET

The students at both YETs got especially peppy after I told them that I would be choosing one stand-out student from each class to attend the Superbowl in Dallas in February 2011.

One of my stand out students at the James Driver Park YET

I have done some teaching in the past, but this experience was a lot less of a “working” experience and more of a “rewarding” experience than I initially anticipated. It was amazing working with the centers and the children and I was thoroughly inspired by all the youngsters so eager to learn. I will definitely be paying them a visit to check up on them in the near future!

A comparison of 2 images that feature the similar scene of Vince Young celebrating a big play.

This past weekend I had the chance to photograph Vince Young’s annual celebrity basketball game here in Houston at Butler Sports Complex, a familiar spot for the native Houstonian.

Vince Young is well known in Houston as he drew a lot of attention as a high school prospect in the area, eventually playing college ball at the University of Texas. After a very successful career as a Longhorn, there was notable controversy during the 2006 NFL draft, when his hometown team, the Houston Texans passed him over for defensive end, Mario Williams. Young was picked 3rd overall by the Tennessee Titans where he plays today.

I have photographed several NFL games over the years, several during Vince’s career with the Titans, however one moment stands out above the rest.

It was December 10th, 2006 and Vince, a rookie at the time, was at the helm of the Titans squad against the Texans at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Texans kicker, Kris Brown, tied the game with a 46-yard field goal to force overtime. The Titans won the toss. I was positioned near the end zone with Vince facing me on the other end of the field. It was still early in the overtime period when Vince and the Titans were facing a 3rd-and-14. The Texans had hope. The crowd was on their feet, trying to will their team to the 4th-and-out that would never come. Seconds later I saw Vince running towards me, the ball safely tucked under one arm, his other outstretched in celebration. The 39-yard touchdown run instantly transferred the energy from the fans to the Titans bench and without a moment’s notice I was backed into a corner with a jubilant Vince Young and a stampede of excited Titans barreling towards me.

Vince Young celebrates with teammates following a game-winning touchdown run in 2006.

For those who are unfamiliar with photographing an NFL game, the protocol usually requires at least 2 cameras, 3 if it’s a possibility. The primary camera is outfitted with a long zoom lens with a focal length anywhere between the 300-600mm range. The second camera usually has on a 70-200mm lens which is nice for photographing plays as they come a little bit closer to your position. The third camera body is usually mounted with a wide angle lens. This third camera sits around the neck and is at the ready for fast action. The majority of NFL action images are captured while the play takes place a decent distance away, but the given the unpredictable nature of the game, the third camera is there for times when the play and subsequent action is charging towards your face.

As Vince celebrated his game-winning touchdown (which kept the Titans in the playoff hunt) I put my wide-angle outfitted camera up to my eye and snapped off images as the team rushed over to revel in the moment. In a matter of seconds more photographers, players and other persons joined the scrum, but those initial moments of jubilation were for the most part gone forever.

That game was about 3 and a half years ago and I have photographed Vince with the Titans since then, but that moment is one I will never forget.

Vince Young during a Monday Night Football game against the Texans in 2009

Fast forward to this past weekend.

Even though there were several big names in the mix, the event was for the most part low-key, which meant access was excellent. The game was held at an older local high school basketball arena, which was great for ambiance, but made it very difficult to photograph due to very dim lighting conditions. Among the players were; J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets, Mr. 720 (famous for his outrageous dunks), Former Longhorn and current offensive guard for the Houston Texas Kasey Studdard, Texans receiver Andre Johnson, former NBA star Nick Van Exel, rapper and entertainment mogul Master P and his son Lil Romeo. The motley crew of different players was fun to watch. Mr. 720 and J.R. Smith were definite front-runners talent-wise, but everyone brought something to the table. It was like watching a very casual all-star game, with very few stoppages in play, lots of fast-break dunks, and a plethora of no-look passes (some successful others not so much).

During the final minutes of the game, the score was close and the mood intensified. Both the crowd and the players seemed to perk up and for the first time pay attention to the time left and the score. There was a few minutes of give and take, but just like that game over 3 years prior, Vince found himself with the ball and and in a position to win the game for his team and win he did. Vince scored the winning points with a classic overhead slam dunk and what happened next was my deja vu moment.

Within seconds of the game-winning dunk I again found myself shoved against the wall next to a jubilant Vince with his teammates running towards us. Again, I lifted my camera and wide-angle lens to my eye and began shooting. The following image is one from the post-game fray. You can see Denver Nuggets guard, J.R. Smith in the background celebrating with the rest of the team.

Vince Young celebrates after a game-winning slam dunk during his celebrity basketball game in Houston, Texas in 2010.

After the game Master P approached me and let me know that he had to let Vince win on his birthday. So, I guess Vince’s 27th birthday didn’t turn out too bad after all. As I edited the images from this past weekend’s events, I noticed one image from the scrum. I pulled the above image out and compared it with the image of Vince from that overtime game years back. The resemblance was interesting to say the least.

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