GAMEDAY: Under the Lightning

I had a GAMEDAY cover assignment dropped in my lap this week. The theme was something/anything to do with night games since Georgia plays South Carolina Saturday in the first of what will be several night games due to a TV deal with ESPN. The Bulldogs haven't been under the lights since the Alabama "Blackout" 41-30 loss last September.

my preliminary sketch

The section was going on the press early Thursday. I was given the assignment to do Wednesday afternoon. The sports editor fed me a potential idea that would have worked in the studio, but I had a vision for something more complex and it needed to be after dark. I knew what I wanted to do, but the problem was bringing it all together on such short notice and with a 6:30 softball game on my schedule. First I texted Charmarcus Pittard, one of the great guys from the Cedar Shoals football team, to see if he and a teammate would help me out by posing for me at 8pm. Then I called the preps editor to let him know I couldn't stay long at the softball game and talked to the sports editor to make sure it was okay I missed my 9pm deadline for the game pics. I dropped by UGA to borrow a helmet and football that I needed as props for the cover and was ready to go. It was going to be tight, but I could do this. Then the unthinkable happened.

I cropped Sanford Stadium lights out of a photo from the Alabama game last year, then did a photoshop sketch to plan out the cover.

My softball game photo request said simply "Madison County Softball." Normally when we shoot a game it would say "Madison Co. Vs. somebody." This one was different because the story was more of a feature on the team than a gamer. I made the horrible assumption that the game was being played at the Madison County softball complex in Danielsville, Ga. I drove the half hour there only to discover that the game was in fact in Winder which was an hour away. I paused a moment in the parking lot to scream, curse, and slam my fists into my steering wheel. Then I accepted the fact that I just had to do my best to get it all done. I did the math and realized I would only have 15 minutes at the softball game to make it to meet the guys at the Cedar Shoals practice field by 8pm. When I got to Winder another challenge awaited me. The softball field was nowhere to be found. I drove aimlessly in a panic, wasting precious minutes, but to no avail. I made some phones calls and finally got directions to the field which was a few miles from the school. I got there and shot like a crazy woman for half an inning before having to leave.

Madison County pitcher Erin Gibson led the Red Raiders to a weather-shortened 1-0 win over Winder-Barrow on Wednesday, pitching five scoreless innings.

I sighed with relief as I got close to Cedar Shoals, realizing I was going to make it on time just fine. That is when the real storm started. Rain drizzled, lightning popped in the sky, and panic struck again. Charmarcus and fellow defensive lineman Caleb Miles were still on board when I made the risky decision to do the shoot anyway. I felt I had no choice. I set up in total darkness as quickly as I could. It was somewhere in here that I think I lost my $70 remote. I was using 1 speedlight and 2 white lightnings powered by heavy battery packs called vagabonds. I grounded them by driving the included metal rods into the rock hard field as much as I could. The thunder rolled closer and closer, the flashes of light stretching to the skies above us. Just as I started shooting the drizzle turned to a light shower that was building. I laid smack dab on the mud laced ground to get the shot. Once I felt I had something usable I sent the guys back to the nearby shelter and made three trips back onto the field to grab the gear as the storm's intensity rose. A bolt cracked nearby as I ran to grab my last metal light stand begging under my breath for the sky not to strike me dead. I survived.

Cedar Shoals d-linemen Caleb Miles, left, and Charmarcus Pittard pose for an illustration

Back at the paper I had to edit my softball before setting about to do my Gameday photoshop composite. Before I'd even started, the assistant sports editor (who designs Gameday) was back in the office asking me about it. I did the fastest illustration of my life. I feel more proud of this one than maybe any other I've done just because of what I went through to pull this thing off. Yes, I survived...for this week.




Design layout by assistant sports editor Chad Clark (colors are a little funky because this is the CMYK version that went to press)

Check out the full GAMEDAY special section.