Mariner's

Last night I had an incredible experience and reaffirmed that I would love to be a Sports Photographer!

The Groom from the wedding I had mentioned in a previous post works for the Seattle Mariners. A couple of weeks ago he and his wife emailed that they had worked it out so I would have photographers access to the game. I didn't realize how cool that was! I was given a few pregame instructions and told the rules by Jeff and by the team photographer. One of the rules was to set the camera down during the National Anthem and to be respectful during that time. I was headed to the Press Pit just before the game started when the Anthem began. I stopped where I was, took my hat off and looked to the flag. After a brief moment it dawned on me where I was. I was standing on the field in front of the dugout. I look to my left and there was the entire team lined up next to me! Talk about a bigger-than-life experience!

Ultimately the Mariners did not win, but it was still a great game and the team played hard. I told my good friend Dave Powell from Sparks, Nevada about the opportunity and invited his son to join me for the game. Mike is 15 years old and is a sports fanatic. He spent a few days up here, we hit the Zoo, the Space Needle, he schooled me at basketball (a humbling experience at best) and we got to play catch for a while. We had a great time and to see him on the field during batting practice was priceless. His eyes were about as big as golf balls as Ichiro ran right past him along with all the other players. Again, a bigger-than-life surreal experience. I cannot thank Jeff and Stephanie enough for making it happen.

I took Mike to the airport early this morning and then hit the Zoo all day to cover the Herbie Hancock concert (pics to come later) and a bird show they needed photo's for. I only had a few minutes to pic some photo's from the game so I'm sure I'll be posting more later as I find other favorites. In the meantime, here are some shots and have a great day!

Mat