Moments

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  Sunset at Home, Vet Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

  On a late summer afternoon, as the shadows crept towards home plate, I stood alone in the upper deck of old Veterans Stadium. Shooting my part of an SI photo essay of outfielders crashing into walls, I watched as the light got warm and soft, creeping away inch by inch . As the Giants put men on base, I became more aware of a potential play at the plate, and the time running out on the light. The baseball gods were with me this day, even on the bad hop that sent the ball flying into the air.

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  Nick Foles, Philadelphia, PA

  I love football, but by late December and January I've probably sat through some pretty miserable weather and a good snow game is just the prescription to get me fired up for a game. In December 2013 with the Lions in town to play the Eagles, the forecast was just a bit off. The predicted six inches during the second half turned into a first half blizzard and nearly a foot of snow falling in just under two hours. Assigned to shoot a Nick Foles cover I found the auto focus struggling in the thick snowfall, and reverted back to my roots focusing manually.

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  Lolo Jones, W 100m Hurdles Final, 2008 Beijing Olympics

  USA's Lolo Jones was favored for gold in the women's 100m Hurdles. I trolled the infield for a clean background, debated whether to slow my shutter speed, and tried to guess which hurdle would give up the best picture. Pick wrong and she could be buried in the pack or possibly out ahead and crossing the hurdle alone. I pick one and she incredibly stumbles to 7th place.

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  Dylan Bundy, Frederick, MD

  In 2012 I spent several days In Frederick, MD with the Orioles AA affiliate, the Keys. The SI story revolved around the O's 2011 first round pick Dylan Bundy, and the care the organization was taking with his arm. The durability history for High School pitchers drafted that high was not strong, and unfortunately, Bundy's early promise has dimmed in light of consistent arm issues. His one start I watched was dominant, and on a beautiful weekend day. I shot Bundy from every available position, but this angle, low on the ground behind 3B really summed up the atmosphere at the game. (I've cleaned up the structure of the carousel in post.)

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  Mariano Rivera, 1998 World Series

  The great Mariano Rivera celebrates the Yankees 1998 World Series sweep of the San Diego Padres. These moments of championship jubilation first motivated me to concentrate on shooting sports. Watching the A's celebrate the 1972 Series on TV mesmerized me. As a photographer, all the rest of the games are just fluff leading up to this moment.

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  Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII, Tampa, FL

  With 35 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIII Santonio Holmes hauls in a bullet from Ben Roethlisberger to put the Steeler's ahead. This is an instantly classic play that happened in an incredible flash of athletic brilliance. Passes in the back corner of the endzone are often floated into a receiver's hands, but this pass was a rocket.

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  Shaun White, 2006 Torino Olympics

  Facing uphill on the half pipe's edge, using a TV cameraman as a gobo, I set myself for Shaun White's third run. I projected two shots with my long zoom and then a wide grab shot of him above the crowd as he sailed behind me. His first jump was steeper than I anticipated and I realized White would not be in he air behind me on his third jump, but right beside me. I pulled the pre-focused camera forward, tipped it, and fired blindly. This is the kind of quick thinking and luck that makes shooting action such a rush.

  See the cover...

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  Miami at Florida State, 2003

  There is nothing quite like a hit that silences a stadium. Nick Moody's blasting of Miami's Roscoe Parrish drew an awkward "Ohh" from the crowd followed by that hush of anticipation to see if Parish would get up. He did, but in a game full of ferocious play, and contested in a downpour, this hit stood out.

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  Tiger Woods, 2005 Masters

  Tiger Woods lined up a putt to win his fourth Masters. I was in perfect position for the inevitable emotional explosion, but he missed and moved to a playoff. Minutes later Tiger was set to win again, this time facing away from me. I watched as he sunk his putt, expecting to shoot the celebration from behind. Inexplicably he wheeled towards me and gave it up as only Tiger can. Luck is a fickle, but wonderful friend.

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  Zach Ertz, Sunday Night Football, 2014

  Eagles tight end Zach Ertz made this incredible touchdown catch in a Sunday Night game against their NFC East division rival Giants. This stands out for me because the eagles were putting a very surprising beat down on the Giants and the energy in Lincoln Financial Field was as hot as I've ever felt it. After this play, all the photographers and cameramen were caught up in reviewing each other's images. It was an odd instance where those of us working at that game were caught up in the buzz of the moment and acted like fans.