Doug Benc/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL – MARCH 21: The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bench celebrates their team’s overtime win against the Drake Bulldogs in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament West Regional at the St. Pete Times Forum on March 21, 2008 in Tampa, Florida.

March Madness! These words says it all. At least I thought they did, until my latest assignment was to cover the first and second rounds in the NCAA basketball tournament in Tampa.

The sixty four teams (+1 play-in) are selected from all of the division one basketball programs across the nation to play for a chance at a national championship. Some say that many of these teams do not deserve to be there. Some “experts” say that the field of 64 is too much and should be cut in half.

Western Kentucky, Siena, University of San Diego and Villanova all are examples of the “madness” that can ensue when given a chance to play in a format of “one and done.”

These four teams were all seeded either 12 or 13 in the Tampa region of play. Each year in the tournament, there seems to be at least on upset of a 12 beating a 5 seed. But even more rare for a 13 seed to defeat a 4 seed, and to have two upsets of that magnitude in the same region is nearly unheard of.

When I got the assignment for the Tampa region, I was excited. I have worked as an editor in the past for Getty Images photographers Jonathan Daniel and Brian Bahr. I have even spent a little time on the floor during these games. The excitement that flows during a “sudden death” basketball game is incredible. But being on the floor for a game is much different than sitting in the back room or in front of my television.

I arrived four hours before the game on Friday and found my workspace already set up with a high speed transmission line. I had Scott Miller to edit for me; a must when you have four games in twelve hours.

I made my way out to the floor and found some of the other photographers milling about and working on positioning their remotes and discussion strategies. But one cloud that hung over the court, was the fact that we had two games for 13 seed vs. 4 seed, and 12 seed vs. 5 seed. Most of us agreed we had a few blowouts on hand for the rest of today. Maybe with a little luck, one of the lower seeds would make a game close and allow us some nice images of one of the teams. Even Nostredomus could not have predicted the massacre that followed.

The first game was Western Kentucky vs. Drake. Neither team conjures up a “basketball powerhouse,” but Drake seemed to be the better team and deservedly had the higher seed. As the game played on, WKU was looking every bit as good as Drake. We were hoping for a good celebration photo of Drake, since this would be a miracle win given the circumstances that WKU faced.

During the second half I had a remote that was focused on the bench of WKU. The photo that I was anticipating as players saw their season come to an end never happend. Instead, players sprang off the bench as a basket was scored at the buzzer (see picture above). Rogers raced down court toward me with his face lit up and teammates in chase to celebrate as the first higher seed in the Tampa region had fallen.

Doug Benc/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL – MARCH 21: Ty Rogers #5 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers celebrates his game-winning basket against the Drake Bulldogs during the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament West Regional at the St. Pete Times Forum on March 21, 2008 in Tampa, Florida.

This was a chance for an image that you never expect, but hope for in a region like Tampa. The photographers on the sidelines were moving fast to get their cards out of their remotes and get them on the computers to transmit what might be the biggest upset of the day. Our hearts were pounding as all of us, in some way, are part of this game. Very few of us (if any) are fans of either of these teams, but we all have a smile as if they were. The energy that flows from a game-ending three-pointer, in a win or go home game, is contagious.

During the break between games I check my batteries, lenses and memory cards then prepare to shoot three more games (none of which could possibly compare with what I had just witnessed.

The next game on my schedule was Connecticut vs. San Diego. Early in the game, UCONN lost A.J. Price. Price, the point guard who makes things happen for his team and who is the best player on the team, injured his knee and could not return to the game. After that, the outcome was apparent. A small section of San Diego students stood the ENTIRE game and never stopped cheering, chanting and yelling.

Doug Benc/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL – MARCH 21: San Diego Toerros fans cheer for their team during their game against the Connecticut Huskies during the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament West Regional at the St. Pete Times Forum on March 21, 2008 in Tampa, Florida.

As San Diego took control late in the game, some of those students were in tears. You could read their lips from 30 ft away “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

A second upset as the 5 seed defeated the 12 seed. This was going to be a good day for the photographers on the baseline of these two games. Most of us had never had the chance to witness a day of upsets quite like this.

At the end of the very long day, it was reflection time. Four games, four upsets and the energy that had carried me throughout the day was now drained. According to ESPN, four upsets in a single region had never been accomplished before. The upsets guaranteed that at least two seeds of either 12 or 13 would reach the “Sweet 16.”

While watching the highlights on ESPN later that day I got the chance to see my photo from the WKU bench being mentioned as the “most telling image of the day.” Having the chance to shoot a day like this is incredible! When friends ask about my job, it is usually just another day, but today it was much more than typical – it was historical.

Doug Benc/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL – MARCH 21: Gyno Pomare #21, Rob Jones #22 and Devin Ginty #3 of the San Diego Toreros celebrate their team’s 70-69 overtime win against the Connecticut Huskies in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament West Regional at the St. Pete Times Forum March 21, 2008 in Tampa, Florida.

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Team Getty Images

The Super Bowl is a thing of the past.

What used to be just a game and an event or two prior is now a weeklong barrage of press conferences, parties, charity events, planning, lots of late nights working and oh yeah a game. This season’s Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona was no different than year’s past except our team was actually bigger this time around. With a crew of over 40 people (yes, you read that right) Getty/Wire/FilmMagic had every event covered with sometimes as many as 8 photographers, three editors and a four man video crew at one party. Overkill? Who knows, the material seems to sell and the clients are happy.

A team meeting before the game.

I was the first onsite editor to arrive in Arizona and flew in Monday straight from NHL All-Star weekend. I headed directly over to University of Phoenix Stadium (bad name for a pro-team’s stadium) and met with photographer Harry How who was setting up a remote from the catwalk. After a quick dinner, the few of us in town went to bed because we had an early Tuesday morning with media day.

I think the best way to see what media day is all about is to click here and watch this multimedia piece put together by Javier Salinas.

Tuesday night marked the only night that we had off with no events except for one thrown just for the media. The NFL put on a giant media party at Corona Ranch, a giant grass area with a real live rodeo ring. Food drinks and an hour and a half performance by the Gin Blossoms capped a pretty good night overall. With just a few of us in town on Tuesday, we were the lucky ones who actually got to have some fun at night.

The Gin Blossoms on stage.

We actually counted and were shocked to know seven Gin Blossoms songs. “Hey Jealousy” never sounded so good with the band signing to literally 25 of us.

Good times at the media party! From l-r, field editor (me), assignments editor Deborah Dadlani, runner John Salmon and field editor Mike Heiman sitting down.

The rest of my week from noon to four a.m. or so was filled with news conferences and parties that I edited. Celebs were hitting all the parties around Phoenix/Scottsdale/Glendale and Tempe and our large team of entertainment photographers and editors were there to capture all the mayhem. I went onsite to most of the events that I had to work however, our team was so big this year we rented a house in Tempe to act as headquarters where we had 10 editors at a time working on photos and photographers constantly coming in day and night dropping off cards. It seemed to be a good call to get the house, despite everyone battling colds and bronchitis and having to spend all day together listening to everyone coughing.

I think for the majority of the team that works primarily on sport, Sunday couldn’t come fast enough. Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest sporting event of the year in the United States and you can argue that it’s the single biggest one day annual sporting event in the world. So for us there, we were pretty excited to see if the New England Patriots could make history and go undefeated (19-0).

Our team consisted of 16 photographers who shot the game spread between staff, stringers, entertainment and contributors. All in all, we transmitted 1,374 photos that night to gettyimages.com and our editorial clients all over the world. To do this, we had a trailer outside the stadium where we had all the images fed to the nine of us editors through our Getty Images system.

Editors in trailer

The system worked flawlessly as our team of eight runners (thanks again runners) were able to deliver the digital cards to our distribution center located under the stands in the stadium. Mike Heiman and Bob Covington would then send all the images to us editors in the trailer to work on.

The runners

The distribution center

The editing trailer

At times the game was stressful, especially in the final quarter, as the New York Giants were finding a way to hold on to their improbable win against the heavily favored Patriots but all in all the night went great. And now, a year to prepare for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida.

Michael Heiman celebrating the end of the Super Bowl week.

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

A special blogging post from John Wolfson – my father…

I received the call on Wednesday afternoon from my son Maxx (a field editor with Getty Images). “Dad, would you like to be a runner at the Packers game on Sunday?” Finally, after paying for college, buying cars, and raising a great kid, I was paid back in 4 quarters.

You have to understand where this was coming from. Maxx and I have been Packer fans since he was toddler. We have been traveling for years to Lambeau and other stadiums a couple of times a year to support our team and spend time together which has been difficult to do with out work schedules.

Although I have been to Lambeau numerous times, I was not prepared for the adrenaline rush when I walked out onto the field before the game. This is sacred turf to the Packer community and I felt honored to be there.

My first thought before the game was not to let Maxx and the photographers down. I was shown the way to the field thru the tunnel and up two flights of stairs, down a hall way, etc. No problem!!! Well after the first quarter, I pealed off my jacket, gloves and hat. Now keep in mind that it was snowing the whole game and the temperature was in the high 20’s. Not only was it a great experience to run the cards, but I lost 5 pounds at the same time and turned white from the snow in the process.

One of the most impressive things I learned was the hard work, dedication, professionalism and teamwork it takes to produce the photographs that Getty Images distributes.

I would like to thank Jamie, Matt, Jonathan Daniel, Maxx and Getty Images for a once in a lifetime experience.

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Packers quarterback Brett Favre turns to hand the ball off in the blinding 3rd quarter snow. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

“That was awesome. I’ve been hoping for that for 17 years. I wanted to play where you couldn’t see the field and the snowplow comes out. It just kept getting worse and worse.”

—Green Bay Packer Quarterback Brett Favre on the playoff game against Seattle on January 12, 2008 at the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.

Well, Brett, old boy, I’ve got 12 years on you. As my Getty compadres Jamie Squire and Matt Stockman and I were driving to Green Bay this past Saturday, it began to snow. Nothing blizzard-like, just a good sized snow shower. I mentioned to them that this was my 29th season shooting NFL football and I had never shot in a real “snow game.” Oh, I’ve had my moments in bizarre weather during my career. Heat, brutal cold, rain, sleet, light snow, you name it. I had a couple of games in the old Browns stadium in Cleveland that were messy. I was hit by a frozen dog bone in one of them and taken down by a defensive back who hit me at the knees while I was slipping on ice trying to get out of the way in another. Someone from the “Dawg Pound” also once hit a Bengals quarterback right in the back of the helmut with a frozen dog bone as he was calling the signals. In January, 1986 as the Chicago Bears were completing a whipping of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, it began to snow lightly and fans starting cheering…the snow.

(more…)

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Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

This past weekend I was lucky enough to spend my Saturday as a card runner on the sidelines of Qwest Field for the NFC Wild Card game between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. As a Seahawk fan this was a dream come true, as a Getty Images employee I was in for one of the biggest learning experiences in my career.

My job for the day was to be available on the field for the photographers. When they captured major action in the game, or about one quarter’s worth of shots (depending which came first) I would take their cards and bring them to Maxx who would be waiting in the media room. Maxx would then download the images from the cards, choose the stand out images, caption them and then upload them to our site.

We arrived at the stadium about three hours before the game. Plenty of time for the photographers to put together their gear and for Maxx, our photo editor genius, to set up. The weather was threatening rain and high winds and our photographers needed plenty of time to protect their equipment before heading out in such conditions.

Photographer Otto Greule Jr. wraps his gear in protective plastic wrap.

Arriving early also gave us an opportunity to check out the stadium, review our plan of action and of course, enjoy our lunch.

The view from the Seahawk tunnel about two hours before the game. Maxx and Otto discuss who will be shooting where.

The first of three meals served to the media room.

For those of you who watched the game, you would understand why the first half was a great learning opportunity. I had plenty of time to check out the field, watch our photographers in action and learn the ropes.

Getty Images photographer Jed Jacobsohn in action during warm ups.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images – Typical Seattle weather. Once we prepared for storms, the sun came out.

The third and fourth quarters were another story. As the action picked up on the field, the photographers were busier than ever. The shot below was taken while I was standing right next to Otto. I was stunned at how quickly the action moves, but even more so by how quickly the photographers were able to react. One minute Otto would be giving me cards that he had filled, the next second he was on his knee capturing the shot.

Otto Greule Jr. /Getty Images

The day was exhausting, I can’t imagine how the photographers do it every weekend, carrying all of their equipment as they run around the field. The experience certainly opened my eyes. Here’s a few things I learned along the way:

-I was amazed at the camaraderie among all of the photographers in the media room, especially considering they are each other’s competition. I watched in awe as they discussed settings on their cameras, congratulated each other about shots from previous games and even loaned one another equipment.

-Out of 4,000 images taken between our two photographers on Saturday, 73 made it up to www.gettyimages.com before the game had ended.

-Thanks to the uploading speed of editor Maxx Wolfsson, our images appeared on four major sport websites minutes after the game ended.

-Shooting a game is a sport in itself, it takes speed, endurance, agility and patience. One glance off the field and you could miss “the shot” of the game.

-While we all work for the same boss,  who happens to be in the third picture below, our experiences at Getty Images could not be more different. It was an honor to escape my cubicle and be part of a team that was much closer to our customers.

Maxx edits the final images of the game.

Jed and Otto check out ESPN.com and MSNBC.com to find their images on the front page.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images – Getty Images Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein watches the Seahawks defeat the Washington Red Skins.

After the game, while relaxing with Maxx, Jed and Otto, Maxx asked when I would be posting this blog. “Monday morning,” I said without hesitation. Maxx gave me a hard time about turning it around more quickly, “you have it get it up before the excitement wears off,” he said.

Trust me Maxx, it’s going to take a lot more than two days for this excitement to burn off. In fact, my ears are still ringing.

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Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The BCS National Championship is quickly approaching the Big Easy, the teams have arrived, and the fans are coming in droves. As a local, its great to see the hotels, restaurants and bars filled to capacity again. We started off the year with a bang with the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Hawaii, and it’s only going to get better, as we have the BCS championship, the NBA All-Star game, NCAA Women’s regional basketball tournament, and the Arena Bowl Championship again.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

During the big year-end games, we have a larger crew which helps us not only ensure that we have every photo to help tell the story of the game, but in a way it helps us to be able to experiment a little when you know you have two other photographers out there. For instance, during the Sugar Bowl, I took a chance using a low angle viewfinder to place my camera directly on the ground and get as low of a shot as possible. Kneeling in the back of the end zone, I was lucky enough to have the Hawaii quarterback fumble the ball, and a Georgia player pounced on it, scoring a touchdown to really help put the game out of reach for Hawaii. The low angle was a unique look at a key play during the game.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The BCS Championship is going to a great game between two tough teams, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Louisiana State University Tigers. We’ll just have to wait and see who is crowned the BCS National Champions.

See you at the game!

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An image I shot with a remote camera mounted above the tunnel the players come out of in Jacksonville - Doug Benc/Getty Images

“Hey Doug, need someone to carry your lenses or bag on the sidelines?” asks my neighbor as I am leaving my driveway. This question strikes me with humor and intrigue. Here is a former professional baseball pitcher, that won a World Series ring with the Yankees not long ago, and he thinks I have the greatest job in the world.

I have an unusual week ahead – I am covering three football games in a three day period. It’s late Friday night and I have to get to Miami and get some sleep for an early game the next day between Georgia Tech and Miami. Then immediately following that game, I have to drive to Jacksonville and stay the night to cover the Houston Texans and Jaguars game the following morning. From there it is another long drive home, get some sleep and catch an early flight to Atlanta for the Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons.

Saturday morning comes quickly, and with the Miami fans, I know that I need to arrive even earlier than I do at most stadiums. Three to three-and-a-half hours before kick-off is the minimum. In Coral Gables, you better make it closer to four plus hours. The parking fills up fast and paying for a spot in the local neighborhood can become very costly.

Seeing the workroom brings chills to the back of your neck. It’s damp, hot with tall counters for which there are no stools unless you have brought one from home. The smell hits you as soon as you walk through the damp corridor leading to the photo work room. You pass buckets set up to catch water dripping from the stands above you as if the rain is draining through holes in the ceiling. Of course that would be an assumption since it hasn’t rained in two days. It’s clear to me why this will be the last year of football played in the Orange Bowl, and the University of Miami will be moving to play their home games at Dolphin Stadium beginning next year.

Here I am working in the work room in the bowels of the Orange Bowl.

I break out the computer and get all me gear set up greet fellow photographers that I work with quite a bit throughout the year. Al and Walt from the Miami Herald are in another one of the small rooms located nearby. Shortly after that, more photographers begin to filter in. The Sun-Sentinel and Reuters share a space in the room I am working out of.

As the players enter the field, photographers are allowed to stand in a area so we can all capture the team’s running out of the tunnel. Once in a while you can make a nice frame of the moment. During the National Anthem, I look up and see why I was able to park so close to the stadium, the stands are as empty as I have ever seen them. It seems that Hurricane fans are not as rabid as I had thought, when their team is not very good.

I send a few frames at half-time and then the rest of my take at the end of the game. It is a fairly uneventful game with no upset and no real story line, other than two teams that are in rebuilding years facing each other. The media meal was not very appetizing and is usually avoided. But after the ESPN camera crews eat, there are leftovers for those that have the stomach. Al and Walt from the Herald do their best with the cold sandwich. I pack my gear and get on the road for a six hour drive to northern Florida for the Jaguars game the following day.

A sandwhich that sits between two Miami Herald photographers

Again the following morning, I find myself going through the same ritual as the day before. With more on the line in this game, you can sense the arriving home crowd is very excited. Walking through all the tail-gaiters, on my way to the gate, I hear those familiar words, “Hey mister photographer, I will carry your lenses if you get me a ticket to the game.” I smile and nod, without them knowing, that I would gladly take them up on the offer if it was possible. I am still a bit sore from the game yesterday. The knees ache a little, your muscles are bit sluggish, but the anticipation of another football game has me excited. I arrived early enough to do a second edit on my images from the day before.

There is a different feel to an NFL game. You can tell by the professional attitude that the NFL staff, Jaguars personnel and other sidelines officials show. This is a big game for the Jaguars, as they have only lost once and have the Colts coming to town the following week. A win today and a win next week would propel the Jaguars into first place in their division and most likely a strong contender in the AFC.

The Jaguars prevail and I transmit my images to reflect the win. By the time I leave the stadium, most fans have left and I have an easy drive out of town. I stop a couple of hours outside of town to get something to eat and rest up for my drive home. I arrive at home around 10 PM, enough time for me to fill out my weekly expenses and get them sent to my boss. Set the alarm for 4:30 AM and get some sleep.

I arrive in Atlanta in mid morning and get checked into my hotel. I avoided renting a car this time and decided to try staying near the airport and take the train into the game tonight. I get to my room and begin my second edit from the Jaguars game. I call down and get some dinner sent up and charge the batteries for my cameras.

Taking the train in has proved to be a bit more challenging than I thought it might be, but not impossible. I have to take a shuttle from the hotel, then I change trains downtown and take it one stop to the Georgia Dome. It’s nice to not have to negotiate the traffic and just step of the train and walk about 200 yards to the entrance.

The worn muscles are little sorer today than the day before. The Falcons have a very nice coffee bar set up for the media near the field, a perfect drink to begin a big game, such as this one. I picked a bad week to give up caffeine. But the roar of the crowd and the energy on the field more than gets your blood pumping and again the excitement creeps in and has me ready to go.

Like the three days prior I find myself transmitting at half-time. Only this time I need to send a few more than I normally might. With the late start, more newspapers will be on deadline and can’t wait till the end of the game for images before they go to press. The rest are sent as the game ends and again, the photographers are the last to leave. We file out of the photo work room one by one, saying good bye to each other until next game.

I touchdown in West Palm and call my wife to let her know I am safely on the ground and that I will be home soon. She tells me that my two boys can’t wait to see me, since they haven’t’ seen me since Friday night. I drive into my neighborhood and my friend spots me and waves me down. He asks how my weekend went and if I got some good photos. I tell him it went well. Before I drive away, he smiles and reminds me that if I ever need someone to help on the sidelines, he is ready and willing.

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