The Tunnel Shot
When the season started I had no idea that part of my assignment would put me right inside the tunnel before each game started. In fact, the very first day I was so intimidated by the idea of walking back there that when I did I had to ask if it was cool for me to be standing where I was. Everything back there felt like controlled chaos and I could hardly predict what was coming next.
The series of events now is engraved into my brain. In most cases every game is a slight variation of the following:
The guests who purchased the Golden Opportunities package are standing in a roughly 10x10ft hallway opening….they are told to keep their toes behind the actual tunnel if they don’t want to lose them. LOL
Massive sections of tunnel (the ones you see on the field) get rolled out by a handful of people, most of which are either yelling to keep clear or which direction the section of tunnel is rolling towards.
Door into the tunnel gets rolled down and stanchions are brought out to keep all the guests behind them.
A momentary sense of calm takes over the room for about a minute before lights start going off and fog get pumped into it.
Sourdough Sam makes an appearance and everyone loses their minds. It’s amazing.
Group shot.
It’s now a waiting game. It seems like for about 2-3 minutes random people make their way out of the locker room.
Music can be heard down the hall. It’s go time.
Players pile into the tunnel. Controlled chaos. Everyone loses it….again.
Hufanga runs to the back and bangs on the metal door.
Camera is pretty much firing non-stop. Thank god for AI Servo AF.
Players start leaving through sides of tunnel while a handful of them line up. It’s starting to clear out.
Warner is the last one, I shuffle to the very back and keep taking photos until he hits the light.
THE SHOT!
If you’ve gone through the gallery theres about 3 frames where the light hits Fred Warner perfectly. To be completely honest I thought nothing of it when I took the photo mainly because so many things are happening simultaneously. It wasn’t until the tunnel cleared out and I walked over to the photographers room that I actually saw the photo for the first time. It was one of the most satisfying moments this season but it was also short lived. I quickly grabbed some food and about 5 minutes later I was making my way up to the 400’s section to keep taking photos of fans.
After the game ended and I sat in the photographers room editing I finally got to revisit the image. Here is the final edit.
