Through the Lens: Studying the surroundings

‘Through the Lens’ will appear once per week during the offseason. Packers team photographer Evan Siegle deconstructs some of his favorite images from the 2018 season. Each week will offer a new photo gallery of some of his best photos from the past season.Reflective thinking I’m always studying my surroundings – I think all photographers have that instilled in the back of their minds too, or at least they should. I’m always thinking how backgrounds, objects, textures, light, etc., will strengthen my composition. Sometimes I revisit the composition if it doesn’t work out the first time around, which is kind of what happened when I took this reflective image of LB James Crawford. There is a plaque that hangs on the concrete wall inside the tunnel, which reads “Proud generations of Green Bay Packers Players, World Champions a record 13 times, have run over this very concrete to Greatness.” I’ve used this plaque in many compositions before, but one day I noticed the reflections that it captured. I knew it could create a creative composition. During Week 2 against the Vikings I looked for that moment. It was a noon game so I knew the light would be perfect. As the players were starting to linger in the tunnel I captured this moment of Crawford before the team was introduced. Luckily, he walked far enough into the frame while gazing out at the crowd. This image was shot with an 35mm lens (ISO = 2500, Aperture = f2, Shutter = 1/400th)Portrait mode You can have a lot of fun with portrait photography. Most of the time I go for the game-face type look but it really depends on the subject’s personality and game style. One of the players that I was going to photograph was defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. My goal was to create a nice light setup and have Wilkerson in his defensive position. I used Elinchrom studio gear for this shoot, that included a Litemotiv softbox Octa 190c (as the main light source) and two Rotalux stripboxes. I made sure to shoot from a lower angle to make it look like I was lining up against him. I like how the light highlights his muscle tones in his arms and the look in his eyes adds a nice touch of intensity too. Hopefully that portrait screams intimidation…I’m glad I lined up against No. 96 in the studio instead of out on the gridiron! This image was shot with a 50mm lens (ISO = 100, Aperture = f13, Shutter = 1/200th)Photobombed I love capturing those unexpected moments, especially when the players interact with the fans. Before every game I document the players as they head to and from warmups. Most of the players usually stop and sign a few autographs or just give a high-five before they head to the field or back into the locker room. It makes for some great photo opportunities. During Week 16, against the New York Jets, a bunch of fans were yelling for Randall Cobb. One family was lucky enough to get a picture taken with him. I snapped a few frames and then all of a sudden Davante Adams snuck up behind them with an unexpected photobomb. Usually it’s No. 12 with the epic photobomb but this time Adams pulled it off beautifully. It made the moment pretty hilarious and a moment that family will never forget. This image was shot with an 35mm lens (ISO = 100, Aperture = f2, Shutter = 1/1600th)

Through the Lens: Studying the surroundings

Background objects can make for a creative composition