Stories Behind the Shots

They say that a picture is worth 1000 words.

While that is definitely true and a motto for many photographers, sometimes you can't help but wonder what is going on in that exact moment a photo is taken. In most cases, the photographer is one of the only people that can describe it perfectly since they were there. This, in my opinion, is one of the most fun parts of photograph. You can reminisce on all your images and the memories come creeping back in to your mind.

This week, I am taking you through some of my favorite moments in my photography career that will make you wonder the "why" behind the picture. Once you know it, maybe you'll feel like you were there too.

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP MOMENT

The goal for every sports team is to make it to the end and hoist that championship trophy. For the Quinnipiac University baseball team, their moment came in a fairly unconventional way.

This was one of the most nail-biting games I have ever shot-- or even watched-- in my life. The Bobcats went up against Fairfield University in the finals and the score would go back and forth for most of the game.

Next thing you know, 9 innings pass and this game has to be settled in extra innings.

10th inning: no score.

11th inning: no score.

12th inning: no score.

Finally in the bottom of the 13th, Quinnipiac gets the one run it needed. However, it wasn't a home run or a game-winning shot to the outfield. All it took was a wild pitch.

Evan Vulgamore, number 5, comes home to score and the stadium goes crazy. The background of the photo has friends and family recording the moment and jumping up and down like they just won the lottery.

I mean, your first MAAC Championship is pretty much winning the lottery anyway.

I could have chosen a number of photos from the game, but this one is without a doubt my favorite. The pure emotion on the face of every player and fan in the frame is enough to make you smile without even realizing it.

Little did these guys know that they would end up making a lot of noise in the NCAA Tournament after this.

CELEBRATION SHOWER

Since one championship photo isn't enough, how about another one? Only this time, I decided to focus on the person you don't see in pictures all the time.

Edgardo Alfonzo, manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones, had a lot to celebrate after the team's first-ever championship win. It was a long journey to get here and Alfonzo deserves all the accolades. You can imagine why he got some love post game.

He took a microphone and addressed the fans, thanking them for all the support throughout the season's highs and lows. The speech didn't last long until he got a nice surprise from some of the players. I saw this coming from a mile away so I did not take my camera off Alfonzo the entire speech until I got the perfect shot. It's safe to say he did not see this coming.

I watched the water pour out of the bucket and completely drench him from head to toe. You can see the surprise on his face and just know how cold that must have been. One thing to note is that he stuck out the microphone while it was happening to avoid getting it wet.

That must have made the staff feel very relieved.

THE SAVE OF THE CENTURY

I’ve shot a lot of games in my collegiate career, but the longest game was without a doubt this one. For some context, I had over 1,700 photos from this game. My normal number? About 500.

It was the 2018 MAAC Men’s Soccer Tournament and Quinnipiac was in the semi finals against Marist. After 90 minutes and two overtimes, the game was still tied at three. Surely, a couple rounds of penalty kicks will solve this one.

Well, a couple rounds turned into 10. It took 10 rounds of penalty kicks to decide a winner. It took until about the halfway point for me to just sit on the turf and angle my camera back and forth from the kicks to the net depending on who's turn it was. When Quinnipiac missed, Fairfield missed. When Quinnipiac scored, Fairfield scored.

Finally it happened. Quinnipiac's Oriac Villa Rotxes scored and goalkeeper Jared Mazzola had the chance to close out the game with a save.

And boy, was it a good one.

I just held my shutter down on my camera from the moment I heard the sound of the ball come rushing towards the net, It felt like everything was in slow motion as I watched Mazzola's hands made perfect contact with the ball to keep out of the net.

The celebration was as great as you can imagine. Mazzola lets out a huge scream of joy while his teammates come rushing towards him and starting a dog pile. Those photos are a ton of fun to look back at too, but there's nothing like seeing the exact moment Quinnipiac won it to send themselves into the conference championship.

UPHILL BATTLE

This may be one of my favorite moments so I couldn't just use one photo to describe it. Outside of Quinnipiac Athletics, I also shoot a few club teams on campus. This particular set of pictures is from one of club baseball's fall games and also features a good friend of mine.

We all see the photos of a player making a great diving catch that either saves the game or makes the highlight reel. This play certainly made my highlight reel, but for other reasons.

It was a simple play: fly ball in foul territory and the third basemen goes to hopefully make a play and get the out. Sometimes it's easy, other times you run out of room. For Steve Pappas, he wasn't expecting the uphill battle he got while hustling for the ball.

He completely tumbles and somehow rolls himself up to the top of the hill. How great of a catch is that?

Too bad he didn't get the ball.

I asked Steve about it after the game and passed my camera around to some of his teammates to look at the shots.

Steve's response?

"Listen, the hill just snuck up on me."

MIST OPPORTUNITY

Yes, I intentionally put this blurry photo of MCU Park in Coney Island as one of my moments. No, this photo wasn't an accident.

Take a close look at this picture. You can tell it's a baseball field and it's dark out. You may also notice that nobody is playing. In fact, the players are just hanging around at the mound while coaches, umpires and Brooklyn Cyclones staff members are wandering on to the field.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a rare case of "fog delay."

The game started like every other game would and as the sky got darker, a cool mist started to brush over the field and block the stadium lights. This made it very difficult for fans to see everything happening on the field, but the game went on regardless.

Eventually it got to a point where I looked over to the outfield and couldn't see the center fielder. My next thought was, "If I can't even see him, how can he see a fly ball coming right at him?"

It's as if the umpires heard me and then decided it would be a good idea to delay the game until this fog situation went away. It was at this point that my supervisor asked me to go up to the press box and get a few shots of the fog coming in. By the time I got there, it was even worse.

This was the first time I had witnessed and even heard of a fog delay. After some time the game was eventually called and that was the end of it. At that point, the fog blew in so much that even the fans were unable to see past their seats on to the field.

What would you call this? A fog hazard?

MOVE YOUR BODY LIKE A CYCLONE

We all know how much I love talking about the Brooklyn Cyclones, so how about one more for this week?

This guy right here is Joe Genord. He was the starting first basemen for the Cyclones last season and was very good at hitting baseballs. He had some luck on his side in this game in particular, homering and driving in a career-high six runs.

Not bad, huh?

I got this picture right after Genord hit a bases-clearing double an inning after a three-run homer. I guess he felt like the home run wasn't enough. Normally after big hits like this the player on base and the dugout erupt with cheers. This team, however, decided to put good use to their team name.

Genord stuck his hands up, waved them around and moved his hips with it. This would became a new trend. Every time someone doubled or tripled, they flashed a smile and turned themselves into a Cyclone.

START -- WIN -- SHUTOUT

Imagine getting your first career start, win and shutout all at once.

Logan Angers of the Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team did just that.

The Bobcats took on Sacred Heart University and absolutely dominated, skating to a 6-0 win. There was a ton to celebrate after the game, but all the players wanted to do was go embrace their goalie who helped make it all possible.

Once I knew it was happening, I focused in on Angers and awaited the arrival of her teammates. Her smile lit up the arena when the buzzer sounded and she could look up at the score. This photo in particular was my favorite because it just perfectly encapsulates her happiness along with the joy from her forwards and defensemen as they cheered her own.

Sure, the win is great. But celebrating it with your best friends?

That's something special.

STARE DOWN

I had to save the best photo for last. I know what you're thinking, "Liz Flynn, how did you get such a clean, close photo of Brandon Nimmo like you're right next to the team's dugout?"

Well, I pretty much was.

I was at a Mets game this past September and had to get some photos of Nimmo since he is my favorite player. I was one of the few people in the area so there was no hiding when I focused in on him and he happened to catch me at the exact moment I took a few shots.

I scrolled through my images after and could not believe I actually got him looking at the camera. I immediately downloaded it and sent it to everyone I know because there's no way people would believe it otherwise.

I bet you're still a little confused as to how I got so up close and personal to the Mets dugout as a fan. But here's the thing:

I wasn't a fan that night.

Stay tuned for next week's blog to find out what I mean!

"Photography is the beauty of life, captured." - Tara Chisholm