09/27/2024
Story time...
I’m not an overly religious person, but I am certainly blessed as I will reveal from an encounter this past weekend…
This past Sunday, I had an an action portrait session scheduled with a couple Varsity football players for NOHS Titan Football ; starting WR Landon Roldan and QB Harrison Faulkner. Posed action portraits are a fairly new photography venture for me so I’ve been looking for opportunities to capture/create images for my portfolio to promote that service. I was thrilled to finally schedule a time to get them both onto their home football field. The plan was to arrive at 5pm, shoot various static and action shots until 30 minutes before sunset and then try to capture some cool dramatic poses with (hopefully) a dramatic sunset behind the athlete.
As the date of the shoot approached I realized that since my lighting gear, etc. would be down on the field, this would also be a great opportunity to capture some portraits for someone in the local youth football league. I had a wonderful family in mind and their 9 yr. old son, a linebacker, was more than happy to participate in a portfolio shoot. Side note: I refer to ‘Portfolio Shoots’ as a free session where I provide a few high-resolution photos free to the family as a thank you. The whole idea is to create portfolio-worthy images.
I had arranged to meet the youth football family at 2pm on the field for their shoot, thinking it would provide a little practice and I’d be even better prepared for the 2nd shoot at 5pm. Remember, I’m still learning! :)
Well, when I got to the stadium at 12:30, the only gate open was the main front gate which meant I had to carry all my gear from the parking lot, through the stadium, down the stairs along one side of the stands, and over to the end zone closest to the field house - which would provide a background view of the home stands. I was hoping to use the ramp next to the field house to get all my gear down to the field, but that didn’t work out since all gates and doors were padlocked.
But I sure got a workout with carrying my gear down to the field, which took about a dozen trips. Oh yeah, we were in the midst of a summer revival of high temps and I did all this prep work in mid-90’s heat plus humidity. I knew it was gonna be hot so I prepped with drinking lots of water. Needless to say, I was still setting up the final touches to my stands and strobes as the first family arrived.
Everyone was excited, including me!
The start to the shoot was a little rocky because my Nikon wouldn’t trigger my strobes and I couldn’t figure it out. Minutes went by as the family waited patiently on the field, but eventually moved to the shade of the nearby field house as I searched online for a solution. Turns out, with my mirrorless Nikon, when you put the camera into ‘Silent’ mode, it can no longer communicate with external devices. Weird, and I don’t know why, but now I’m aware of this specific circumstance and should be able to avoid it in the future. It was about 15 minutes before I changed a single menu setting and we were off to the portrait races!
The shoot went extremely well, beyond my expectations, and I’ll be sharing those images soon. We said goodbye about 3:15 and since I was feeling slightly ‘off’ due to the heat, I used that time before the next 5pm shoot to rest and hydrate, etc. But the closer it came to 5pm the more I wasn’t feeling well. I was trying everything I could think of to improve my condition, including sitting in my car with AC running full blast, but eventually had to get back down to the field and set things up for the next shoot.
The 2 football players showed up on time, along with some of their family. Most of the football coaches were in the field house working, so there was a coach’s wife or two around watching and helping. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but felt I could perform and get the shots I was hoping to capture. But it didn’t take long for my well-being to take a turn for the worse. As I began moving the light stands, each with weighted sandbags, that low level of exertion was enough to push my body over the edge as I succumbed to the heat and had to excuse myself to throw up… repeatedly, into the handheld cooler I brought. I felt embarrassed, but was more disappointed knowing that I couldn’t continue with the portrait session. I apologized profusely to the athletes and those standing by in support. The players went back to the locker room to change back into street clothes and as I started to gather my equipment… yup… I got sick again.
By this time word had reached the NOHS head coach, Tyler Aurandt, and he came out holding bottles of water and an electrolyte-laden sports gel that he gives to players. I was very appreciative as everyone kept asking if I was going to be alright. But knowing the session wouldn't continue they also asked how they could help with picking up my gear. I was lightheaded and tried to formulate a plan, but really needed to sit down in the shade and rest before doing any more exertion. Coach asked me where my car was and even offered to drive it closer to the field house because he had the keys to open the gate at the top of the ramp that led up to the parking lot from the field.
I moved inside to the locker room and sat on the floor against the wall in front of a huge industrial fan someone had set up for me. It was refreshing and I was recovering by the minute. No longer feeling nauseated after 15 minutes I headed back outside to discover that everyone who was around for the shoot, including the head coach and his players, had moved ALL of my equipment up the ramp and into a pile next to the curb so I only had to pack it into my vehicle.
I still had a cart with some gear in the stands that wasn’t carried down to the field and slowly rolled it to my Nissan. Even that wore me out so I waited, and drank water. Suddenly a pickup parked next to me and it was Coach Aurandt. He rolled down his passenger window and asked if I was alright or if I need any help since he was the last person here from the school. I assured him I would be alright, just taking it slow. He flashed a fatherly “Are you sure” expression and I really had to convince him that I would be alright. He insisted that I have his cell phone number in case I needed anything at all and I gladly agreed. We confirmed our phone numbers with each other and then he rolled out.
I honestly knew I’d be OK, but just needed to take it slow. After the coach left, as I rested sitting in my driver’s seat, my phone rang and the name on the screen was Michael Dowis, the Athletic Director for NOHS. I answered and instead of saying hello, I greeted him with a friendly, “Checking up on me?”. He said he had heard from Coach what had happened and that, yes, he was definitely checking up on me. He offered his help if I needed it and said I can reach out to him anytime… for anything.
I hung up from that brief conversation feeling very appreciative of all those that were there that day. The head coach, the football players, their families, and the Athletic Director. All were sincerely concerned for my well-being, and did an amazingly selfless good deed by carrying all of my gear up to the curb from the football field.
I drove over to the field house and started packing strobes, light stands, sand bags, etc but had to stop every so often to catch my breath and rest. The heat was still affecting me, but nowhere near as bad as earlier. This was a slow process and I was there long enough to see an amazing sunset develop beyond the west end of the football field. I couldn’t help but wonder about the amazing photos we could have captured. But in the end, the care and compassion shown to me that afternoon warmed my heart, overpowering any other emotion.
And I was no longer embarrassed.
Because I had been blessed to be around people who are truly inspirational in how they care for others.
A huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to Coach Tyler Aurandt, WR Landon Roldan, Morgan Aurandt Roldan, QB Harrison Faulkner, Michael Nathan Dowis, and any other that I hadn’t noticed helping me out that afternoon.
I am truly blessed.
