For the second time in the past three seasons, I ended
the year with a Jets-Dolphins game in Miami and the Sun Bowl. Only this time
the games were switched with the NFL game on 12/29 and the Sun Bowl as usual at
high noon on New Year’s Eve. In 2011, I did the Sun Bowl that Utah won in
overtime 30-27 on New Year’s Eve and then covered the Dolphins’ 19-17 win over
the Jets on New Year’s Day 2012, which was the last NFL contest for future Hall
of Famers Jason Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson. This time, the Jets won and
likely it will be the last game ever played by future HOFer Ed Reed, who picked
off his 64th pass in the game.
JETS 20, DOLPHINS
7
New York eliminated Miami from the playoffs with the
surprising win after trailing 7-0 then scoring the game’s final 20 points. Jets
rookie QB Geno Smith surpassed the 3,000-yard passing mark on the season during
the game. He ran for a touchdown in the game. Rookie defensive lineman Sheldon
Richardson pounded in the other Jets touchdown giving him two on the season (I
covered the other one at Carolina two weeks earlier) which tied William
“Refrigerator” Perry for the most rushing scores in a season by a defensive
lineman. The Fridge also did it in his rookie year (of 1985 when the Bears won
the Super Bowl).
For the Dolphins, receiver Brian Hartline went over 1,000
yards for the second time, but was injured on the play and missed the rest of
the game. Without his favorite receiver, Ryan Tannehill struggled and at one
point threw three interceptions in the span of eleven pass attempts.
This game marked by 275th NFL contest that I’ve covered
since “turning pro” in 1997. Additionally, this became my 30th Jets game
covered. Here’s a look at the teams I’ve covered the most during my CBS tenure
and their respective records in those contests.
I’ve done two 50-yard line time lapses here in the past,
so with it supposed to pour down rain I only put out the GoPro Hero 2 for a
really unique shot. I place it in the low end zone behind the goal post and a
tarp with the Dolphins logo. I was a bit scared that the camera might get
stolen since it was literally in front of fans (see photo below). It worked out
though and is truly a great time lapse.
As you can see, the clouds are amazing (though it was very overcast). You cannot see much game action because it’s so low but I think the sky makes up for it
as does the moving tarp in the wind. Notice at the very end as the ground crew
takes down the goal post.
THIRD SUN BOWL
In the past five years, I’ve now covered the Sun Bowl
three times. My first trip to El Paso was in 2008 when Oregon State beat
Pittsburgh 3-0 in the lowest scoring bowl game since 1959. In the game, Victor
Butler posted four sacks and 11 tackles. It was also the 75th edition of the
Sun Bowl. Three years later, I returned as Utah beat Georgia Tech 30-27 in overtime
with Utes running back John White scoring the game winner to go with 115 yards
on the ground.
2013 SUN BOWL:
UCLA 42, VIRGINIA TECH 12
Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley had a career day on the
ground rushing for 161 yards on ten carries with two scores. He had an 86-yard
rushing touchdown and another from seven yards out. His previous career high
was just 85 total rushing yards. Hundley also threw two more scores in the win.
Bruce Smith, who played at Virginia Tech and was the #1
overall pick of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, was at the Sun Bowl.
Smith is the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks and is a member of the Pro Football
Hall of Fame. With one photo, I added him to my collection of #1 overall NFL
picks (CLICK HERE TO VIEW)
and NFL Hall of Famers (CLICK
HERE TO VIEW). Smith became my 22nd #1 overall pick I’ve photographed.
SUN BOWL TIME
LAPSE
When I was here in 2011, I got a corner time lapse of the
game (CLICK HERE TO VIEW);
so I set up sideline shots in the broadcast booth as well as one in the end
zone. This time, I set up three time lapses – one in the end zone, another at
the 50-yard line and the third in the broadcast booth.
UP NEXT: Duke at
Notre Dame Hoops
Next week, I’ll be making my third trip to South Bend,
Indiana to cover the Duke-Notre Dame college basketball game. Aside from the
NFL playoff game the week after ND, I’m now into basketball mode the rest of
the way.
Weeks 10-12: 2 games in Baltimore; 2 games in Florida
By Andy Lopusnak,
AndysPictures.com
November 9-24,
2013
I've been slammed with work and games the past three
weeks and haven’t had a chance to write up recaps for the Weeks ten through
twelve. In these three weeks, I've covered four games and most importantly
added a brand-new venue to my NFL time lapse collection.
Between two games in Baltimore, I did two games in
Florida – one in Tampa and the other in Miami. First, I shot the Ravens’
overtime win over Cincinnati on November 10. The next day, I went back to my
hometown for my first NFL game at Raymond James Stadium since 2004 when I
photographed the Buccaneers’ first win of the season (over Miami). I then
headed to Miami for the Dolphins’ win over San Diego. And finally, I headed
back to Baltimore for another Ravens win this past Sunday. The home team won
all four games.
BALTIMORE
With the addition of these two games, I've now done 19
games at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (17 NFL and 2 college football), by
far the most of any venue while I've worked for CBS. Thus, Charm City is one of
my most photographed cities.
This hidden gem on the outskirts of downtown Baltimore
has the world’s most significant collection of railroad treasures and the
largest collection of 19th-century locomotives. Its houses in the old Mount
Clare Station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Admission is $16 and if you
love trains; it’s well worth it.
The Ravens led 17-0 at halftime, but thanks to a 51-yard
Andy Dalton to A.J. Green prayer as time expired forced overtime. In the extra
stanza, Baltimore won it with a 46-yard field goal by Justin Tuck. For Green,
it was his fifth straight game with 100+ receiving yards, which is a Cincinnati
franchise record.
The previously 0-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won
thanks its defense that held the Miami Dolphins to a franchise record two
rushing yards. Rookie QB Mike Glennon tossed a one-yard touchdown to offensive
lineman Donald Penn in the win. The Dolphins haven’t won in Tampa since 1988.
Now, I need just five home stadiums to have time lapses
in every NFL stadium since adding three of Raymond James Stadium. I set up my
Canon 40D with the Sigma 10-22mm lens in the end zone behind the pirate ship,
the 20D with Tamron 18-270mm in the corner and the GoPro Hero 3 in the high
sideline. The five home teams I need are: Carolina, Cleveland, Jacksonville, New
England and San Diego
I purchased a new website recently so you can log onto SportsTimeLapses.com to go directly
to my YouTube page.
MIAMI
I haven’t had a chance to shoot Miami since 2010 because
my last two times in South Florida have been on the tail end of a double dip;
so I actually flew into Miami a day early to get some new shots. However, the
weather was crappy on Friday. I did get a chance to shoot the new Marlins
baseball stadium and a villa.
I shot a few construction photos of this place when I was
in Miami for the Super Bowl back in 2010. It was $10 for tour of MLB’s newest
venue. I actually got a private tour since no one else was there when I took
the tour. I’ve photographed either the interior or exterior of 27 of the 30 MLB
teams (I also have two former stadiums – Tigers Stadium in Detroit and Olympic
Stadium in Montreal). I need to get the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Toronto
Blue Jays.
This is the former estate of businessman James Deering. Vizcaya was built from 1914-23 and originally was on 180 acres (now consists of 43). It's designed in the Mediterranean Revival Style. Vizcaya is sometimes called the Hearst Castle of the East. There's an awesome stone barge on Biscayne Bay outside the mansion and an immense gardens collection. Admission is $18.
San Diego hasn't won in Miami since the epic 1982 two overtime playoff win over the Dolphins and couldn't get it done this week. In the loss, Ryan Mathews ran for 127 yards.
I flew into DC for the Ravens game so I could go to
Arlington National Cemetery to add William Taft and the National Cathedral to
add Woodrow Wilson to my presidential final burial places gallery. I know have
14 of the 38 possible grave sites.
Baltimore receiver/returner Jacoby Jones tallied 249
all-purpose yards, including a 66-yard TD catch as the Ravens scored the game’s
final 19 points. The Ravens have won all three games I've covered this season.
They are 2-6 in the other eight games.
Tennessee State Capitol from Bicentennial Mall State Park
Travel/Photo Blog:
Nashville (Week 4 – NYJ@TEN)
By Andy Lopusnak,
AndysPictures.com
September 28-29,
2013
The Music City is where my true love of photography
began. I brought my first professional SLR camera in October of 2003 when I was
told by the Grand Rapids Rampage, an Arena Football League team that I had just
started working for at the time, that I had no budget for photography. Thus, I
spent my own money and got a camera, a used Canon D30 from one of my sports
photographers with my previous team – the San Diego Riptide. Though I used that
camera for three years shooting every Rampage road game while being the PR
director, I rarely pulled it out on the road for CBS games and I can only think
of twice that I used it to shoot various cities. That changed when I decided to
upgrade to the Canon 20D to get better quality shots a few months before the
2006 NFL season (I even used said 20D this week for one of my time lapse views).
Downtown Nashville at dawn
It was by pure luck that my Week One game in 2006 was
Nashville or my passion for the clicking might not be as intense or I’d have a
little warm spot in my heart for another city. A chance web search for Grand
Rapids skyline photos in the summer of 2006 whetted my photo appetite that led
to my purchase a professional tripod (which I still use today) and eventually
making the Music City my first road city that I began photographing. I stumbled
onto the amazing shots on PBase.com, which is
like Flickr except that you need to pay to be on it (back in 2006, Flickr
sucked too). Thus most of the photography is from professionals and serious
amateurs. I found the site while looking for inspiration for some skyline shots
of Grand Rapids to use in the Rampage’s media guide and website.
Downtown Nashville as seen from Chestnut Avenue Overpass
I was amazed by the “blue” tones of the night shots and
wanted to figure out how to replicate those shots. Through a lot of trial and error
as well as some help from some other PBase, I began learning the ins and outs
of photography and today I’m a full-fledged photophile and PBase.com is where
my websites is hosted – AndysPictures.com, SkylineShots.comand Lopusnak.comall go to my PBase account (PBase.com/andyshots); you can
find over 37,000 individual images on my site and nearly 1,400 different
galleries.
Nashville at Night on Broadway
A twist of fate made Nashville my first road city I put
the tripod down to shoot and in an equally ironic quirk, I’m only now getting
the opportunity to shoot the Music City again. I thought my shots way back then
were great, but I was so new to shooting night shots and cities that
essentially I treated Nashville this week like I’ve never been here. My feet
can attest to that - I walked 19.7 miles (or nearly 42,000 steps) and climbed
88 flights of stairs on Saturday and Sunday (according to my Fitbit, a nifty
digital pedometer). I hope the Titans became a really good team so I can come
back here.
Silhouette of downtown Nashville at sunrise
I was all over Nashville and here’s a few of the
highlights.
Panoramic photo of downtown Nashville from LP Field
TENNESSEE STATE
CAPITOL
Seven years ago, I snapped my first state capitol when I
was in Nashville. Now today, I have 39 of 50 and it’s one of my favorite things
to shoot. When I clicked it back then, I just snapped it without any fanfare.
Not this time.
The Tennessee State Capitol was built from 1845-59 and is one of
just eleven state capitol buildings that doesn’t have a dome (the others:
Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,
Alaska and Virginia). Check out my collection of 39 state capitol buildings BY CLICKING HERE.
POLK GRAVE SITE
On the grounds of the state capital is the grave of James
Knox Polk, the eleventh U.S. president. It makes my eighth presidential burial
site (CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY GALLERY).
Polk promised to serve just one term and he died of cholera three months after
his term ended. He was at the opening of the Smithsonian Institution and the
U.S. Naval Academy, the groundbreaking for Washington Monument, and the
issuance of the first U.S. postage stamps.
GRAND OLE OPRY
Since 1925, the Grand Ole Opry has been a weekly country
music stage concert. All the great country music stars have performed here. I
attended a show here back in 1997 when I was the videographer for the
University of South Florida football team during the school’s inaugural season
when they played at Western Kentucky. I
remember taking pictures (on icky film), but cannot sadly have lost the prints
and negatives.
The tour is about an hour and costs $19. You do get to walk onto
the iconic Opry stage and tour all the themed dressing rooms.
OPRYLAND HOTEL
Next door to the Grand Ole Opry is the legendary Opryland
Hotel. It is the largest non-casino hotel in the United Stated and is ranked as
the 29th largest hotel in the world.
It has nearly 3,000 rooms and 15
restaurants sprawled onto six floors. I went inside to shoot its large atriums and waterfalls. Next time, hopefully not
seven years from now, I’m going to shoot everything at night.
DUKES OF HAZZARD
MUSEUM
Across the street from the Opryland Hotel main entrance,
is Cooter’s Dukes of Hazzard Museum. It’s run by Ben Jones, who played Cooter
Davenport, the Hazzard County mechanic and sidekick to the Duke boys in the CBS
TV series that ran from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. This place has
props, costumes, memorabilia and cars from the show, including the 1969 Dodge
Charger known as the General Lee.
It’s been almost 30 years since the show went off the air
and there’s three lasting iconic things from it: the cutoff jeans known as
Daisy Dukes (named after Catherine Bach’s character who wore them), the orange
General Lee car with a Confederate flag emblazoned on the hood and the awesome
Waylon Jennings’ theme song – “The Good Ol’
Boys.” Below is the opening credits…
THE PARTHENON
You don’t need to go to Greece to see the Parthenon, but
to Nashville. In 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, a
full-scale replica of the Athens was built. This building is awesome. It’s amazing to think that this is likely what the Parthenon in Greece looked like
when it was built 2,500 years ago.
It was made a permanent structure in 1931 and even has a
recreation of the Athena Parthenos statue inside that stands 42-feet tall.
Nashville’s official moniker is “the Athens of the South” and was likely the
inspiration for the building. Admission is $6 and well worth it to see the
statue and what the inside likely looked like to the ancient world.
THE HERMITAGE - ANDREW
JACKSON HOME & GRAVE
With the game being a 3:00 PM local kickoff, I decided to
drive out to The Hermitage, the home and burial site of the seventh U.S.
president: Andrew Jackson. The plantation is located ten miles outside
Nashville and is located on more than 350 acres. Adding Jackson and Polk to my
macabre collection of presidential graves makes nine I’ve photographed (CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY GALLERY).
The $19 admission charge is a bit steep for this place. It’s not like its Mount
Vernon. I was the only one there when it opened at 8:30 in the morning, which was great for the photos not having anyone in the shots. If you decide to go, just do a search for Hermitage discount
coupon. I saved $2.
Here’s one thing that most don’t know about Jackson – he
paid off the entire national debt by his sixth year in office. However, this
was very short lived because the country went through a severe depression in
his final year in office and the U.S. still hasn’t paid off its national debt
in full since.
MUSICA SCULPTURE AT MUSIC ROW
Built in 2003 as part of an urban revitalization, Musica is a bronze statue located in the center of the Music Row roundabout. It has nine nude figures dancing and stands 38 feet high. Five figures are at the base, four more are higher up and then a female figure holding a golden tambourine is at its height. It was created by Nashville-native artist Alan LeQuire, who also did the Athena Parthenos statue at the Nashville Parthenon.
TITANS 38, JETS 13
Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker threw a career-high
three touchdown passes on 18-of-24 passes for 149 yards before he was carted
off the field and sent to the hospital with a serious hip injury after a
no-call, late-hit with 11:14 left in the third quarter.
The Jets turned the ball over four times that resulted
into 28 Titans points – all four giveaways came from rookie signal caller Geno
Smith, who has turned the ball over a league-high eleven times. If Smith was a
team by himself, he’d have the second most turnovers in the league behind the
Giants. Tennessee didn’t turn the ball over for the fourth straight game to
start the season joining the 1995 St. Louis Rams as the only teams in the Super
Bowl era to not have any giveaways through the first four games.
This was my fourth Jets-Titans game. In my 213 NFL on CBS
games, I’ve covered the same teams four or more times eleven times. For
non-division opponents, only the Baltimore-Houston rivalry (I did that last
week) has more common games (five). Overall, my most common game are the
Cincinnati-Pittsburgh and Houston-Indianapolis division rivalries (I’ve done
seven of each).
For CBS, this is just my fifth game in Nashville and
first since 2007. That makes the Music City one of my least visited AFC cities,
which is sad since it’s a great place to shoot. Only Kansas City (four) has
fewer home games that I’ve covered for an AFC team. Overall, Green Bay (three),
St. Louis (three), Detroit (two), Dallas (one) and Chicago (one) have fewer CBS
home games that I’ve covered. This is my fourth Jets-Titans game and the third
played in Nashville. In fact, my last three NFL games here have been
Jets-Titans.
The last time I covered a Jets-Titans game, it was in
2009 when the NFL celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
American Football League (the game was at the Meadowlands. The Titans wore
their old Houston Oilers uniforms while the Jets wore their old New York Titans
jerseys. It was the old Titans vs. the new Titans in the game. The Jets won
that game 24-17. CLICK
HERE TO SEE MY GALLERY OF THAT GAME. Here's a shot from that game with the Titans wearing their old Houston Oilers uniforms.
THE TIME LAPSE
Since this is a venue that I’ve never done a time lapse,
I set up four cameras at various angles. I used both GoPros as well as my Canon
20D and 40D. This is the most different time lapse views I’ve taken since the
Final Four championship game. Like last week, I combined all four into one view (and also made individual time lapses) as you can see below.
The GoPro 2 lasted five hours and 24 minutes (1,943
images) and stopped less than a minute after the game conclude.
That wasn’t the
case for its big brother, the lousy GoPro 3, which sputtered to two hours and
59 minutes (1,066 shots) and died with 6:46 left in the second quarter.
Of
course, I don’t need to worry about batteries with the Canon DSLRs and both
went the distance and beyond.
I set up the 40D in the high end zone. It was hike up the
stairs to get to the location I put this, but worth it.
The 20D was in the high
sideline while the GoPro 2 was next to the CBS beauty camera in the right
corner and the GoPro 3 was in the broadcast booth at the 50.
With LP Field checked off my time lapse collection, I
have shot time lapses in 26 of the 32 NFL home stadiums (as well as in London).
The elusive six remaining home teams I need are: Carolina, Cleveland,
Jacksonville, New England, San Diego and Tampa Bay. There’s zero chance that my
crew is doing any home games in Cleveland, Jacksonville or Tampa Bay this year.
The last four weeks of the season are, in my estimate, the only time that I
might get the other three. Fingers crossed!
Click on the links below to see the home venues I've created time lapses...
I’m going to be flying into Charleston, West Virginia to
get my 40th state capitol, so I’m pretty stoked for this weekend. Then, after
getting into Cincy, I’ll drive 16 miles outside the city to photograph the
grave of William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. President, who died just 32
days into office. I have four different time lapses of Paul Brown Stadium (all
from last season); so I have to scout out a possible new vantage point.
BEST OF THE BLOG
Here’s a collection of my favorite photos from this
weekend. Don’t forget to check out my new Nashville gallery by CLICKINGHERE.
