Taking State
Bishop Kelley's Ali Nutt, far right, jumps into the arms of teammate Liza Hepner after shaking hands with opponent Edmond North, who the Comets defeated 3-0 in the 6A state championship volleyball match at Claremore High School on Oct. 15, 2011. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World
These are two very different pictures, both in celebration, taken in the same gym just hours apart. Six hours of back-and-forth volleyball will wear you out any day but after making these frames I kinda stopped complaining about the time spent at the Claremore gym. I shot plenty of action in the preceding tournament games and the championships themselves, but none of that really matters. Game action is game action. Everything comes down to the finish, the few fleeting seconds of pure emotion after a title win. I had staked out a spot right behind the bench of the teams that were going to imminently win – something you’d never be able to do at a professional or even college event. Being that close and having intimate access is what will allow you to use a 20mm lens for a jube shot, instead of a 70-200mm or 400mm as is typically necessary. It’s a welcome change, and just one of the benefits of shooting high school.
The second shot actually was taken with a tighter lens, after stepping back from the scrum a little bit. I wanted to clear up the background a bit, in the otherwise messy and (unfortunately) sparsely packed gym. I caught this brief embrace that at first sight almost looks sad. Definitely tears of joy, though.
Cascia Hall's Carley Newell and Eilise Dixon embrace after winning the 5A state championship over Heritage Hall at Claremore High School on Oct. 15, 2011. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World