Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I went to see the # 1 ranked Oregon Ducks play Arizona at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR. I had my M6 and my newly acquired 21mm Super Angulon lens with me. I took some shots of the players on the field and the spectators in front of me but I finally put it away because it was raining so much. Fortunately, Oregon beat Arizona and are still ranked # 1 in the nation!
It's interesting what a photographer notices when attending a game that is being nationally broadcast on ESPN. The first thing I noticed was that the camera on the sidelines was covered in an orange "raincoat" due to the rain. Of course, an opening was left so the camera lens could broadcast the action on the field. I also noticed a camera that seemed to hover shortly above the field and near the action all by itself until I noticed the wires that were supporting it. During halftime, the camera was brought to the sidelines next to the other camera where a man appeared to carefully wipe off the camera lens of all the water droplets that must've been on it. After this wiping down by one of the ESPN crew, the camera was returned to its usual spot above the field where it would show the action in the second half.
It was my first time attending a football game where the team was ranked # 1 in the nation. Fortunately, my daughter is currently a student at Oregon. In a weird way, I think it makes up for the time when I was in college and the team was the worst ranked team in the nation.
Ellen