I am often asked why I would rather squat down in the corner by myself taking pictures of a game instead of sitting in the stands with my friends enjoying the game and having a fun time. My usual answer is because being a sports photographer is fun, but there is a larger and more underlying reason why I enjoy the job.

For the majority of sports fans, their only view is a slightly above angle, sometimes sitting far enough away to where it would be necessary to invest in a pair of binoculars to be able to see what is happening below. On the other hand, sports photographers can be within mere inches of players as they fight for a win. This closeness between the player and the photographer almost makes it feel as if you are a part of their game. That feeling of closeness becomes ever stronger when a ball bounces oddly and flies directly towards you and there is not enough time to react and to remove yourself from the situation because your view of the game isn't both of your eyes, it's a small rectangular viewfinder attached to a lens. Being hit by a rogue ball or landed on by a player is just a part of the job