With the exception of the 2020 pandemic year, when all such athletic events were cancelled here in Texas, I’ve covered the UIL Texas State Track and Field Meet each of the last 11 years. Over time, the work I’ve done there has grown. Initially, I covered three or four schools for two newspapers. Now, this is the single biggest sports photography related project I undertake each year.
For the 2022 meet, my team and I photographed well over 100 athletes from more than 50 different schools, for nearly two dozen news media clients.
This is a team effort all the way.
Photographing any track meet can be intense. The days are long and the schedule can be grueling. There are numerous challenges that will test your skill as a photographer. A major challenge is finding a way to shoot so many different athletes doing essentially the same thing over three straight days, and do it in a way that captures the moment — the energy, the emotion, and the excitement — all while challenging yourself to be creative enough to keep all of the photos from looking the same.
The physical challenges are immense. In past years, we’ve faced deluges of rain with hours upon hours of lightning delays that wreaked havoc on an already chaotic schedule. This year we faced brutal heat – afternoon temperatures near 100 degrees with on-field temps easily over 115 as the track surface absorbed and radiated the sunlight from a mostly cloudless sky.
From photographing athletes in up to nine events occurring at the same time to documenting and captioning the photos and submitting to clients, sometimes within just a few minutes after an event is completed, our team gets the job done.
While we try to work in shifts, my own schedule puts me there from before 8 a.m. to after 10:30 p.m. each of the three days of the meet. Having assistance, support and hydration is essential.
This year, our team consisted of second shooters Jon Kniss and Harrison Funk, client social media support and runners Ryan Coleman and Zach Smith, and scheduler extraordinaire Brandi Chionsini. I’m extremely proud of the work we produced this year, and there’s simply no way we could have accomplished it without every single member of the team.
The state track and field meet is just one of many sports events I cover each year for media organizations, high schools, universities and others. From regular weekly football, baseball, volleyball, soccer and basketball games to playoffs and state championship events, contact us if you need quality photography.
Below are some of my favorite images from this year’s meet:
