Carolina on my
mind
By Andy Lopusnak,
AndysPictures.com
December 14-15,
2013
A lot has changed since the last time I did a game in
Charlotte. It was over five years ago and the city as well as the Carolina
Panthers look a whole lot different. The city skyline has three new skyscrapers
that weren’t here back in 2009. As for the Panthers, former Heisman Trophy
winner and #1 overall pick Cam Newton leads Carolina, which started this year
1-3 before winning nine of its last ten games.
STATE CAPITOL #41
And then there were nine. After the game, I drove to
Columbia, South Carolina to snap a shot of the South Carolina State Capitol,
which made it the 41st one in my collection. The remaining nine state caps I
need are: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota and Vermont. Though I’ve shot 41 capitols, I’ve been to 43 different
states (Hawaii & Iowa).
Here’s a map of the states in which I’ve photographed
their capitol buildings.
CHARLOTTE
SCULPTURE AT AIRPORT
This great 15-foot sculpture of Queen Charlotte, who the
city was named after, was moved from a high pedestrian part of the airport to
the daily parking lots. It was a bit hard to find, but was well worth the
effort. Charlotte was queen consort to George III, who was King of England
during the time of the Revolutionary War.
ASPIRE STATUE
I love this sculpture. Located at Central Piedmont
Community College, Aspire is bronze-cast sculpture created by Greg Wyatt.
LAKERS 88, BOBCATS
85
After the production meeting, I got the chance to shoot
the second half of the NBA game between the LA Lakers and Charlotte Bobcats. Lakers
superstar Kobe Bryant earned his first victory since returning from a torn
Achilles. Bryant had a season-high 21 points and hit the game-deciding free
throws with 37 seconds left.
In a losing effort, Kemba Walker posted 24 points and
eight assists for the Bobcats, whom have lost five of their last seven games.
PANTHERS 30, JETS
20
Carolina never trailed as the Panthers won their tenth
game of the season thanks to Cam Newton’s monster first half completing 80% of
his passes with a 72-yard touchdown to DeAngelo Williams, who also ran for 81
yards on the day. The Jets were essentially eliminated from the playoffs with
the loss.
This is just my fifth Panthers home game. My previous
time here was in 2008 when Carolina beat Denver 30-10. I was here twice in 2000
(my first year traveling for CBS), once in 2001 (with FOX) and another in 2000.
The Panthers are 4-1 in these contests.
BANK OF AMERICA
STADIUM TIME LAPSE
With CBS Sports being the home of the AFC, I never
thought when I started doing time lapses in 2010 that I’d complete the NFC
circuit before getting all the AFC stadiums. With Carolina, the NFC is complete
and all I need are four more stadiums to get at least one in all 32 NFL home
venues (I also have a time lapse from Wembley Stadium in London). The now
elusive four are: Cleveland, Jacksonville, New England and San Diego. I haven’t
been to Jacksonville or Cleveland since 2008; New England since 2009 and San
Diego since 2007. There’s a chance that I might be able to get New England or
San Diego in Week 17; but nothing for Cleveland or Jacksonville. I set up two
SLR cameras (Canon 40D with Sigma 10-20mm lens at the high sideline & Canon
20d with Canon 17-40mm L lens with the tight end zone) and two GoPro cameras
(GoPro Hero 2 at wide end zone and GoPro Hero 3 in the corner).
UP NEXT:
Indianapolis at Kansas City
In what could very well be a preview of a wild card
weekend playoff game, the Chiefs host the Colts. I love KC, but it seems every
time I’m here it’s in the winter and I never get to see the city that boasts
the second most fountains in the world behind Rome. I snagged two time lapses
at Arrowhead Stadium last year and plan on getting a few more from different
vantage points. Also, I’m planning on driving to Independence, Missouri to get
shots of Harry Truman’s grave to add to that collection. I currently have 14
shots of Presidential graves.
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