Travel/Photo Blog:
Baltimore (Week Three: HOU@BAL)
By Andy Lopusnak,
AndysPictures.com
September 21-22,
2013
OY VEY! Once again I’m doing a Houston-Baltimore game.
It’s the fourth time in the last 39 NFL games covered for CBS that I’m seeing
these two teams. In fact, I’ve done more Houston (31) and Baltimore (30) games
with CBS than any other team. I’ve also been to those two cities more than any
other place.
I’m definitely not thrilled to be in Charm City again as
I’ve shot the city so many times that finding something new is pretty hard, but
not impossible. The weather sucked on Saturday, but I did get to shoot some of
the Maryland-West Virginia college game though. On Sunday, the weather and most
importantly, the cloud coverage, was outstanding.
You can read my previous Baltimore blogs by clicking on
the following links:
I have an extensive Baltimore photo collection and
you can view these by clicking here.
NEW VIEW OF
DOWNTOWN
With my new 2013 approach of shooting, I scouted out a
new view of downtown aside from in the Inner Harbor. I drove past downtown
toward John Hopkins Hospital and set up my tripod at the corner of Caroline
Street and Fayette Street and got the shot you see here.
JOHN HOPKINS AT
NIGHT
After I got the shot above, I headed around the corner
and nabbed this shot of John Hopkins University School of Medicine.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
I saw this monument the last time I was here, but it was
only when I was leaving for the airport; so I knew I had to get it this time. I
shot this Sunday morning and hope to get another snap of it when I’m here next
time when there’s some clouds. This is a striking memorial that reminds me of
the amazing one in Miami (CLICK HERE TO SEE). Instead
of a hand grasping for freedom, the Baltimore version is a flame. Sadly, the
lighting at night when I shot this is pretty poor and I need to get it next
time during the day.
The Baltimore sculpture was created Maryland-native Joseph
Sheppard, who did the Brooks Robinson statue (CLICK HERE TO VIEW).
On Sheppard’s website, it says that “the sculpture represents the flame of
death that offered the only escape from suffering for the Holocaust victims. In
the flame, [Sheppard] depicts their images particular to their tragedy; old and
young, male and female, starved, broken and naked. After the next generation
there will be no more living eyewitnesses to the tragedy. This monument will be
a grim reminder of the horror and will contribute to the prevention of any
possible recurrence.”
NEW INNER HARBOR
SHOTS
In the past, I’ve only shot the Inner Harbor for
reflections of downtown. I will always do this, but this time I focused on the
views from the shops of the Inner Harbor and also got more shots of the U.S.S.
Constellation, the 1854 sloop-of-warship. One day, I’m going to go inside and
get photos of this vessel.
AMERICA’S TALL
SHIP
Docked in the Inner Harbor this past weekend was the
USCGC Eagle, which is the only active steel hulled sailing vessel in US
military service. It was commissioned on September 20, 1936 as the Horst Wessel
in the Nazi Fleet. Ten years, it was transferred to the United States. Just 67
years and two days after its first commission, I visited it in Baltimore.
MARYLAND 37, WEST
VIRGINIA 0
I knew Maryland had a game this weekend, but didn’t
realize it was at the Ravens stadium until I got into town. So, I headed to the
trucks and got a sideline pass for the game and shot the first quarter and part
of the second before the downpour. I also set up three cameras for time lapses,
but needed to leave at halftime to be at the CBS production meeting.
The Terps jumped to a 30-0 halftime lead thanks to
cornerback A.J. Hendy having a pick six and two fumble recoveries. It was the
Mountaineers’ first shutout since 2001 and had just 175 total yards of offense.
Hendy’s first two takeaways led to the game’s first two scores. The first a
six-yard deflected passing score from C.J. Brown to tight end Dave Stinebaugh.
Just two plays later, Hendy intercepted Ford Childress and returned it 28 yards
for a touchdown.
Maryland used hand-painted helmets for the game. These
are simply awesome. It is the first time that any team has used hand-painted helmets. Each helmet features the four quadrants of the Maryland flag in motion and are individually numbered 1-200. Under Armour calls the helmets and the custom uniforms used for this game as "Maryland Pride 2.0."
BALTIMORE 30,
HOUSTON 9
Houston jumped out to a 6-0 lead on two red-zone field
goals. In the final 34:11 of the game, the Ravens outscored the Texans 30-3
thanks to two return touchdowns within 1:54 (37-yard interception return and
82-yard punt return).
This game featured the two teams that I’ve covered for
CBS the most. It was my 31st Texans game and 30th Ravens
game, additionally it is the 15th time I’ve done a Baltimore home game
(16 if you include an Army-Navy game I did). The 15 is the most of any home
team I’ve covered for CBS. The Ravens are 11-4 in those games. It the 17th time I’ve covered the Texans on the road and Houston is just 2-15 in those
games.
THE TIME LAPSES
I did six different time lapses (three for each game).
For the Maryland game, I only had the cameras out for the first half since I
needed to leave to be at the CBS production meeting. So, I combined the three
time lapses into one. I had the GoPro Hero 2 in the corner, the Hero 3 in the
broadcast booth and the Canon 40D in the high end zone.
For the Texans-Ravens game, I put the Hero 2 and Canon
40D in the same place, but moved the Hero 3 from the CBS broadcast booth
location to one level up where the TV cameras were located. This time, the Hero
3’s battery was better (three hours, four minutes – 1,106 shots), but still
fall way short of the old Hero 2 (five hours, nine minutes – 1,857 shots). I
uploaded these three separately as well as combined like the one above, which
you can view below. I’ve also spliced in my other M&T Bank Stadium time
lapses into it. I think it looks good.
Previous, I did two different M&T Bank Stadium time
lapses. Click for the previous ones: HIGH SIDELINE and ON THE FIELD.
UP NEXT: NY Jets
at Tennessee
Thus far this is the game I’ve circled and am most
excited to shoot. I haven’t been to Nashville since 2007 and need L.P. Field as
a time-lapse venue. Once I get L.P. Field, then I’ll need six other NFL
stadiums to have a time lapse in every NFL venue. These other six are:
Carolina, Cleveland, Jacksonville, New England, San Diego and Tampa Bay.
BEST OF THE BLOG
Here’s my favorite shots from this past weekend.
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