UF's Steffi Sorensen (10) celebrates after saving a ball out of bounds.

I have been very fortunate over the past few months to have the opportunity to capture the moments (both good and bad) of the UF Women’s Basketball team as they work through their 2009-2010 basketball season.  Not only have I been able to shoot a sport that I absolutely love but I have been learning so much along the way.  I’ve also been able to see another side of the game of basketball and get really close to the action.

The photo above is absolutely one of my favorites for many reasons.  First, because I almost missed it.  I was concentrating on another part of the action as Steffi Sorensen was flying towards me on the baseline.  Your first natural reaction is to wince and protect your equipment and that reaction has happened many times resulting in missed shots.  For some reason, though, I was automatically focused the camera on the action and held down the trigger.  This amazing shot right here is the result of that reaction.  I am happy I was able to overcome the wince and protect reaction!

Another reason I absolutely love this photo is it’s just a simple shot but the amount of emotion contained within the photo is tremendous.  If you understand the idea of sport, then you can relate to the amount of emotion the player is showing in this photo.  I feel like this photo in itself conveys more than the standard 1000 words.  You definitely can feel pumped and ready to play.

It’s moment like these that make it really great to be a photographer!