The year was 2017, and it was the SheBelievesCup Inaugural. I had applied to US Soccer, received my press pass, and intrepidly I went into the stadium in 18(f) degree weather, and proceeded to get hypothermia.
Well it wasn’t quite that fast. I spent a lot of time caring more about what everyone else was doing, but I took my place with the other photographers and did my thing.
But I did have to leave half way through the 2nd match, when I was not able to get warm anymore. It took the entire 2hr drive home to warm up.
I was embarrassed by my performance that day. Proud of what I was able to do, but embarrassed by how I handled myself by not dressing properly, and sadly that was one of the big reasons why I left the world of sports photography, till now.
2 years later, new gear, new vigor, I decided to try again. This time with my Sony a77ii (SLT not Mirrorless) and an older Tokina 80-200mm f2.8 AT-X (not pro) screw mount lens.
It felt like a big step up in camera body (a move from my then Sony a3000 Mirrorless) but a bit of a step down because in 2017 I had rented the Sony 80-200mm F2.8 G-Master OSS lens. But I owned the Tokina, so that was a plus.
It was warmer, but I also dressed for the occasion. And enjoyed my evening with other friendly photographers from across the world that didn’t even seem to mind that the equipment I was using cost orders of magnitude less than what they were using.
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – ENG vs BRA – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA 
SheBelievesCup – 2019 – USA vs JPN – Chester, PA