The dimensions of each baseball field rarely change, and when I’m shooting games I want to make sure I don’t overlook some new vantage points that I hadn’t tried before. At today’s Brown-Princeton doubleheader, I knew I’d have time to try something different.
Inspiration struck in the nightcap, when Jacob Faulkner started for the Tigers. Jacob has a fabulous submarine delivery that I love to shoot, but he also has a standard move as he starts an inning and faces most new batters. He turns his back to the plate and pauses a few seconds, presumably looking to center field or maybe the middle distance. Never having been behind him on the field, I had no idea.
But if I went into the outfield and shot from behind the fence, I might get some insight on where he’s looking and also get an unusual perspective on his appearance on the mound.
After a few innings of doing my usual shooting along the baselines and behind home plate, I walked out to the Princeton bullpen behind the right center field fence to see what I could see. Only one of the pitchers was out there, and I told him what I planned to shoot (and complimented him on getting a four-inning save in Game 1.)
The shots I got of Faulkner looking out from the mound were mediocre, not quite what I’d hoped they’d be. But when Princeton came to bat, I trained my Canon on home plate. With my Sigma lens extended to 600mm, I got a surprisingly clear view of the batter, catcher and umpire. Even better, when a couple of Princeton players whacked a couple of balls into play toward the outfield, I was delighted with what my camera captured.
I also took a few shots of plays in the infield. They turned out OK but were nothing special. I also got shots of Faulkner’s pitches hurtling toward the plate, but the definition wasn’t great. The shots of the batters were the best.
I’ll have to try that new outfield angle again, although I’ll have to act quickly. Princeton only has one more home game scheduled this season, tomorrow on Senior Day in the rubber game against Brown.
Here are a few other shots from today, taken from more traditional vantage points.
The Ball Caps Blog 
Your photos belong in a newspaper or are there even newspapers anymore? Well, then on line, definitely. That force out at second is something else. And a pitcher named Faulkner. I never could make it through one of his books, but plan on trying again one of these days.
Let’s keep it quiet — like, not on the Internet — but I’ve never read Faulkner.
Maybe I’ll give “As I Lay Dying” a go one of these days.