photographers with no shame

If you wish to follow me on social media, I post more than just football photos! In the offseason I photograph wildlife and landscapes at the national parks, so give me a follow if you like grizzly bears and foxes! And Michigan football, of course.
Twitter: @BlueBarronPhoto
Instagram: @BlueBarronPhoto

I also sell wildlife/landscape prints on FineArtAmerica if you'd like to support my photography! Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to sell Michigan sports photos due to my credential agreement. But click the link to go to my store! It's been some time since I've updated so watch out for more additions!
Link

Now with that being said, it's story time.

-----------------------------------------

On October 24, 2020 I checked into a cheap motel in Fresno, California. The walls were a bit moldy and the bed sheets gave the impression that I should lay out my sleeping bag on top of them so I wouldn't catch something. This was still marginally better than sleeping in my car again. It was the cheapest thing I could find at the time but all that mattered was that it had a 16” television that had ABC at around 480p. It would suffice. Michigan football would soon be on and despite everything going on, I would do whatever it took to watch, especially in the midst of a global pandemic when all of us were searching for any beacon of normalcy. Michigan's 49-24 smothering of Minnesota implied a bright but the reality of the season was one that paralleled my own situation.

I moved to Colorado in the Fall of 2019 to pursue better opportunities in my career and to chase a new love of the mountains. Flights from Denver to Detroit are also relatively cheap so I wouldn't have to give up my coverage of photographing Michigan football. The Denver area seemed like a perfect compromise location for all my interests. I was a contractor for an area aerospace company and at the end of March 2020 my contract was terminated for budget reasons. At this same time, Covid-19 lockdowns were in full effect and I was a sitting duck at home with no job. All I remember from the month of April was playing Animal Crossing and Age of Empires. At one point in May I got drunk and live tweeted the new Cats movie. By August the skies of Colorado were orange and the air smelled like a campfire due to all the wildfires. It was a rough (and weird) time.

[After THE JUMP: wilderness]

Intro by Marc-Grégor Campredon: The MGoBlog photographer team covered over 50 events in 2018, all over the country. Sports photography is not all about capturing the action; It is about the moments, emotions, and stories. I am extremely honored to be part of such a talented team of photographers with Patrick Baron, James Coller, Bryan Fuller, JD Scott, and our now-graduated senior, Eric Upchurch.

Also very thankful to the additional photographers who are always ready to jump in and cover for us when no one can: Bill Rapai, Paul Sherman, George Borel, Ryan McLoughlin and Dianna Oatridge. All that incredible work would not be possible without Brian’s support, David’s help and everyone at MGoBlog: Thanks guys. And of course, thank you to our readers.

You can find all the photos taken this past year and more on our Flickr! page. Each photographer also selected 15 of our personal favorites from 2018, sorted per photographer, and chose three to write a little something about.

Patrick Barron

Gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mgoblog/sets/72157677193362958 
Twitter: @BlueBarronPhoto

The easiest part of photography is taking the picture - it’s literally just pushing a button. The adventure behind what it took to press that button is often lost, because the end result, the photo, is really all that matters. For example, to take a photo of the team coming out of the tunnel under the lights began with a 7 hour drive from Appleton, Wisconsin (where I currently live) to Ann Arbor. After failing to find a seat in the sardine-packed photo editing room and resorting to either the floor or interview room, I take the field during warm-ups by swimming through the sea of sideline pass VIPs like a salmon in Katmai. I wanted to try something new for the player entrance so I did my stadium-step rep to row 60ish and waded my way through the definitely-sober influx of students and around to Section 1. I gave my fondest thanks to the group that sits just above the tunnel who were kind enough to let me squat under them with my camera until the players came out. By the time my leg went numb I had changed my settings four times, taken about 100 practice photos (thank you, band), and 20 minutes had passed. From there it was easy, just press and hold the shutter button. Legs still numb, I did another stadium-step rep to row what-felt-like-1,000 and sprinted my way back around the stadium, down through the student section, and onto the field.

1. SECTION ZERO:

My trip to the Elite 8 in L.A. was planned the day before. I had some sudden availability and Brian was generous enough to expense me a last-minute flight. After getting about 4 hours of sleep I woke up at 4 a.m., booked it to the airport, and was on a 7-hour travel binge to L.A. I never thought I’d have to travel over 2,000 miles the morning of a game to get there on time, but I survived. My typical duties were pretty routine once I was there, but in a celebration ceremony anything can happen. A lot of it is shooting Hail Maries (holding your camera above your head and hoping you get something). I’m only 5’8” so this is pretty much a requirement for basketball players. Pro-tip to aspiring photographers: don’t be rude, but being aggressive and holding your ground during a celebration mosh pit is a necessity. I got my shots and went to publish. Exhausted, I went back onto the court after everyone had left and I grabbed some leftover confetti, as well as a tiny, tiny leftover piece of nylon that was still on the court (now my most prized Michigan sports possession).

2. RAIN

As a photographer my goal is to always grow and step outside the box. Think differently. What shots have been done a million times and what’s new? I’ve sprinted, climbed stadiums, driven across the Midwest, flown across the country, fallen on a slippery Spartan Stadium*, had Notre Dame players tackled at me three plays in a row, hockey pucks hit my lens, rained on, sleeted on, and heckled by Bucky. There’s a bit of sweat and tears behind each photo that you don’t see. But am I ready to do it all again? You betcha.

3. THE EYE

*shout out to the MSU player that called me a “dumbass” for slipping as Michigan players celebrated with Paul Bunyan, oops!

[After THE JUMP: the basketball guy, the football guy, the hockey guy]

For the first time ever, the MGoBlog staff photographers covered all 13 Michigan Football games. In addition we covered Basketball, Gymnastics, Hockey, Softball, Signing of the Stars, The Nike/Jumpman Launch, and many other media days, press conferences, etc. It has been an interesting ride and we've loved every minute of it.

First and foremost, thank you to Brian, Ace, Seth, Adam, and David for all that you do to make our job possible. You guys are awesome!

Second, thanks to the readership of MGoBlog. Your support on the blog and through social media has been outstanding. We appreciate all of you…well most of you…well some of you. It's hard to believe that I have just finished covering my 6th season of football for MGoBlog. It has been an interesting ride thus far. I'm looking forward to many more seasons on the sideline.

I also want to make sure that we thank the other photographers who stepped in when one of us can not cover a game: Bill Rapai, Marc-Gregor Campredon, Paul Sherman, and Joseph Dressler. You guys have done a great job.

All that out of the way, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos (from all of us) to come out of it.

MGoPhotographers Eric Upchurch, Bryan Fuller, and Patrick Barron

[After THE JUMP]