The Day the Lights Went Out

The last shot I took before the lights went out.

My love of sports photography has led me to shoot Chardon High School sports photos for a great high school sports photo website: WWW.NEOSPORTSPIX.COM Exactly a month ago today I was photographing a girls varsity softball game when the unexpected happened! The first batter was up and I was following the photographer’s creed of keeping both eyes opened while looking through the viewfinder in order to see what’s happening around me. However, I was facing left field while shooting the third baseman in her defensive stance. I remember hearing the crack of the bat and the next thing I knew I was falling to the ground having been hit on the back of the head by a screaming line drive foul ball. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I did lose my vision for a short time and for a photographer, that was quite scary! I suffered a concussion but other than that, I’m no worse for wear. It does serve as a reminder though, for anyone, pros and parents alike shooting sports photos, to be aware of your surrounding and keep track of the ball, bat, puck, or anything else that might be flying around. Otherwise, the lights might go out on you too!

About Kolman Rosenberg

My interest in photography began as a college newspaper and yearbook photographer during the stormy 1960s and 1970s. I was influenced by many of the great photojournalists and documentary photographers such as W. Eugene Smith, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Margaret Bourke-White and other black and white photographers of Life Magazine and the earlier Farm Security Administration. Though many of these photographers documented the horrors of war and the plight of poverty, they also showed me the dignity and adaptability of human beings in their desire to prevail.

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2 Responses to The Day the Lights Went Out

Larry Kasperek says:

May 13, 2011 at 8:08 pm

And … buy a helmet and make sure your insurance is current.

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- Kolman Rosenberg says:
  
  May 13, 2011 at 11:52 pm
  
  You got that right Larry!
  
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