The Rockets 'stomp a mudhole in Cincinnati and walk it dry!'

Andola Dortch charges through Cincinnati defenders during the 2nd round of the WNIT tournament at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. She would go on to score 13 points. (PHO245 photos by Paul Murray)

Fans and players celebrate as the Rockets dominate Cincinnati. The Rockets won 72-51, advancing them to the 3rd round against VCU.

UT's Kyle Baumgartner attempts to score ahead of Cincinnati's Bjonee Reaves. 

 Anybody who knows me knows that I HATE SPORTS. So they can appreciate my feeling of contempt  when I had to shoot my first sports assignment on Monday night. 

   I watched Toledo take on Cincinnati in a women’s college basketball game.

UT head coach Tricia Cullop applauds her players.

At first I was really hesitant about this kind of task. But I realized that basketball fans are not as crazy as football fans. One of the things that turn me off about sports is the crazy macho attitude. Maybe those kinds of attitudes are a lot more common in male sports. 

   I have to say, though, that the energy at the beginning of the game was electric. I got a taste of what pumps those sports fans up. The energy reminded me of pro wrestling, which I am a huge fan of. Pro wrestling is the only entertainment venue in the world where you hear “fruity pebbles” chants. 

   Marching band music and screaming face-painted fans are not exactly as intense as witnessing the attitude adjustment of WWE superstar John Cena, and the loud “Let’s go Cena!" and  "Cena sucks!” chants from his admirers and haters. But hey, energy is still energy.

The game wound down and became boring to me in a short time. I was able to focus on my shooting. I was able to get lots of very helpful advice from the professional photographers sitting next to me on the sidelines. 

    Sports photography is very difficult. It is especially difficult to get action shots with an inferior lens, while constantly having to manually focus the images while the players are running at you. I did manage to get a few good images, though.

   After the game I got to go back into the media room and watch the local sports anchors interview the players and the coach. I found out how quiet a media room gets when the photographers work diligently to edit photos, write captions/stories, and submit them by the end of the night. I have a newfound respect for these people. 

    I was exhausted by the end of the night. Overall, I would NOT want to be a sports photographer, and I still dislike sports. However, this was a useful learning experience. When I go back to shooting landscape photography, I will feel much more relaxed!

Gaming culture helps extinguish my anxiety!

   

(Top) An assortment of mages gather together at Old School Gaming in Toledo, Ohio, March 9. The hopes were high to have fun and win prizes at Friday Night Magic. (Center) Rob Coffman duels a fellow planeswalker in the game of Magic: The Gathering. He came in second in the tournament of Friday Night Magic. (Bottom) Two players of Magic: The Gathering square off against one another. Prizes were at stake in the tournament of Friday Night Magic. (PHO245/Paul Murray)

    Feature photography is harder than I expected. I had previously done landscape photography. I was never very thrilled about photos that involve people. I think the world is a beautiful place, but I tend to dislike most people in general. The thought of approaching a random stranger with a camera is probably one of my biggest fears. I have never been good at talking to strangers normally, and I am definitely introverted in social situations.

   This project amplified my social fears. It actually got me wondering if I have a social anxiety disorder. I would say it is quite possible at this point. My anxiety jumped off the charts just thinking about attempting something like this. I think that I definitely want to steer clear of people photography.

   With this in mind, I had an assignment where I had to go out and shoot people, so I chose an environment where I felt relatively comfortable: an environment where I was surrounded by fellow nerds. I went to document the tournament of Friday Night Magic.

   Magic: The Gathering is the most popular trading card game in the world, with a base of millions of players.

   The level of competition ranges anywhere from the professional level, where a player can win prizes up to $40,000, all the way down to Friday Night Magic, a casual tournament where players can have fun with their friends. This experience proved that the gaming culture is interesting at any level.