Mission Accomplished!

Much of the fun of going to the Kalamazoo King's baseball games this year is being able to take pictures. Sure, the games are entertaining by themselves, but it's fun to combine with my hobby. I will be loyal to the Kings for one reason, they don't raise any eyebrows when I walk in carrying all my camera gear. There isn't a single Major League ballpark anywhere that would let me do this and it's the single greatest quality to appreciate you for coming, not worry about what "professional" photograph you leave the stadium with. Doesn't matter if they lose every game, I'll show up because they don't hassle me and it's amazing they actually personally thank you when leaving the stadium (out of all the games, all the different sports, they are the only ones that I've see do this).

Now, back to the fun. I'm about as amateur as it gets with a camera. Only way to get better is trying new things. That's why I really enjoy taking my camera to the game, I get lots of practice with action shots. Now that Becca is hooked on the same hobby, it adds the element of competition. Who can get the best shot of the day? Who can do this? Who can do that? Our first baseball type challenge, so far (and I say that because I'm sure there will be more), came about by trying to catch the moment of impact with the ball hitting the bat. Not the ball leaving the frame, or just about to be hit, but bat on ball contact.

There is even more of a back story to this. Because we are both competitive, we each have our favorite player on the team. For Becca, her favorite guy is the second basemen, Joe Ramos. My guy is the first basemen (sometimes the right fielder), Chad Rothford. As the game plays out, we are bickering between each other who's guy is having the better game. So, in addition to our photo challenge, we also have a who's guy is better (for the record, my boy Chad is much better then Becca's "sweetie" Joe) verbal assault on each other.

Now that the stage is set with the challenge, I'll set it for the game. The Kings were down by 5, bases loaded, and up strolls Chad to the plate. One swing of the bat latter, Chad CRUSHED a grand slam homer (for me)! After the excitement wore off, I checked my camera and saw this:


Not only did My Boy hit a grand slam, but I caught the exact shot to "win" the contest between Becca and I. Talk about a double edged sword, poor Becca. In the end, the Kings came up still a run short and lost the game, but this was the single best moment of the season so far!

After the game, it's possible to actually talk and visit with the players (another reason why minor league sports are better then professional). I showed Chad the capture and his comments were "that's awesome". So, today I'm off to get two prints made, one for me and one for my slugger. How cool is that?