FB: Southern Athletic Association

[Etchglow]

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern


Not to beat a dead horse, but I thought this article was interesting on the BSC issues:

https://1819news.com/news/item/birmingham-southern-college-will-likely-close-have-mass-layoffs-at-end-of-fall-semester-without-30-million-state-loan-attorney-says

most interesting part to me:

Man!  Those are some truly superb photos!  Is Ryan Merrifield really smiling at the guys tackling him?  Sure looks like it.  The catch by Caleb Crawford falling backwards is ridiculous.  Tucker Horn looking menacing throwing into the camera.

Thanks so much for sharing these!

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I love getting to shoot football games from field level. I've been shooting from the stands off and on for several years now. Doing this class has gotten me really wanting to upgrade gear again... I guess I should start making money if I decide that...

What gear did you use for these?  Were they touched up at all?  They are all fantastic!   I've shot my soccer daughter a bunch but can't seem to get the "wow" photos.  I hope you'll continue to shoot and share!  Thanks again.

I generally shoot with a Nikon D500 and either a nikon 70-200 f2.8 (more so for night games) or a Sigma 60-600mm (day games only because it is f5.6-6.3. A few in that gallery were shot with a loaner Fujifilm x-h2 and a 200mm f2 w/1.4x teleconverter.

Most were slightly tweaked in Adobe lightroom, mainly cropped, exposure adjusted by maybe 1/4 stop, and lens correction (makes a huge difference!) and then maybe a couple of tiny tweaks to some other stuff. Generally, I spend 20-3p seconds on a photo when I find one I really like because I kind of know the look I'm going for and have some scripted actions that get me 99 percent there.

[Ron Boerger]

Really nice shots, Etch.  Thanks.

While watching the blowout (and frying in the stands; you shouldn't be able to pick up a sunburn at a mid-October game, yet I look like a lobster this morning) it did amaze me that Coach Austin kept his QB1 in the game even after they were down 50. 

[D3Navy]

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern


Not to beat a dead horse, but I thought this article was interesting on the BSC issues:

https://1819news.com/news/item/birmingham-southern-college-will-likely-close-have-mass-layoffs-at-end-of-fall-semester-without-30-million-state-loan-attorney-says

most interesting part to me:

Man!  Those are some truly superb photos!  Is Ryan Merrifield really smiling at the guys tackling him?  Sure looks like it.  The catch by Caleb Crawford falling backwards is ridiculous.  Tucker Horn looking menacing throwing into the camera.

Thanks so much for sharing these!

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I love getting to shoot football games from field level. I've been shooting from the stands off and on for several years now. Doing this class has gotten me really wanting to upgrade gear again... I guess I should start making money if I decide that...

What gear did you use for these?  Were they touched up at all?  They are all fantastic!   I've shot my soccer daughter a bunch but can't seem to get the "wow" photos.  I hope you'll continue to shoot and share!  Thanks again.

I generally shoot with a Nikon D500 and either a nikon 70-200 f2.8 (more so for night games) or a Sigma 60-600mm (day games only because it is f5.6-6.3. A few in that gallery were shot with a loaner Fujifilm x-h2 and a 200mm f2 w/1.4x teleconverter.

Most were slightly tweaked in Adobe lightroom, mainly cropped, exposure adjusted by maybe 1/4 stop, and lens correction (makes a huge difference!) and then maybe a couple of tiny tweaks to some other stuff. Generally, I spend 20-3p seconds on a photo when I find one I really like because I kind of know the look I'm going for and have some scripted actions that get me 99 percent there.

Thanks for the insights.  You are inspiring me to take another swing.  Daughter is now in cross country and track so I should have some nice opportunities.

[Etchglow]

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern


Not to beat a dead horse, but I thought this article was interesting on the BSC issues:

https://1819news.com/news/item/birmingham-southern-college-will-likely-close-have-mass-layoffs-at-end-of-fall-semester-without-30-million-state-loan-attorney-says

most interesting part to me:

Man!  Those are some truly superb photos!  Is Ryan Merrifield really smiling at the guys tackling him?  Sure looks like it.  The catch by Caleb Crawford falling backwards is ridiculous.  Tucker Horn looking menacing throwing into the camera.

Thanks so much for sharing these!

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I love getting to shoot football games from field level. I've been shooting from the stands off and on for several years now. Doing this class has gotten me really wanting to upgrade gear again... I guess I should start making money if I decide that...

What gear did you use for these?  Were they touched up at all?  They are all fantastic!   I've shot my soccer daughter a bunch but can't seem to get the "wow" photos.  I hope you'll continue to shoot and share!  Thanks again.

I generally shoot with a Nikon D500 and either a nikon 70-200 f2.8 (more so for night games) or a Sigma 60-600mm (day games only because it is f5.6-6.3. A few in that gallery were shot with a loaner Fujifilm x-h2 and a 200mm f2 w/1.4x teleconverter.

Most were slightly tweaked in Adobe lightroom, mainly cropped, exposure adjusted by maybe 1/4 stop, and lens correction (makes a huge difference!) and then maybe a couple of tiny tweaks to some other stuff. Generally, I spend 20-3p seconds on a photo when I find one I really like because I kind of know the look I'm going for and have some scripted actions that get me 99 percent there.

Thanks for the insights.  You are inspiring me to take another swing.  Daughter is now in cross country and track so I should have some nice opportunities.

It is always a ton of fun.  If you're anywhere close to Austin I'd recommend doing one of the Precision Camera classes.  I've done a couple and they include full access as well as loaner gear.  The gear depends on which camera company is sponsoring that specific event.  I think this was the last football class of the year but they said they're planning on adding some Basketball and track classes.  They've partnered with Southwestern so it'll be one of their events.  I'm thinking of trying a baseball game this spring if they have one with UMHB.

As an example of where my process goes, first photo is the original image, second is the edited one:

[D3Navy]

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern


Not to beat a dead horse, but I thought this article was interesting on the BSC issues:

https://1819news.com/news/item/birmingham-southern-college-will-likely-close-have-mass-layoffs-at-end-of-fall-semester-without-30-million-state-loan-attorney-says

most interesting part to me:

Man!  Those are some truly superb photos!  Is Ryan Merrifield really smiling at the guys tackling him?  Sure looks like it.  The catch by Caleb Crawford falling backwards is ridiculous.  Tucker Horn looking menacing throwing into the camera.

Thanks so much for sharing these!

Trinity vs Southwestern gallery.  I'll probably go back through it again to find pictures I like again this week...

https://williambrown.smugmug.com/Football/College/2023-UMHB-Football/Trinity-vs-Southwestern

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I love getting to shoot football games from field level. I've been shooting from the stands off and on for several years now. Doing this class has gotten me really wanting to upgrade gear again... I guess I should start making money if I decide that...

What gear did you use for these?  Were they touched up at all?  They are all fantastic!   I've shot my soccer daughter a bunch but can't seem to get the "wow" photos.  I hope you'll continue to shoot and share!  Thanks again.

I generally shoot with a Nikon D500 and either a nikon 70-200 f2.8 (more so for night games) or a Sigma 60-600mm (day games only because it is f5.6-6.3. A few in that gallery were shot with a loaner Fujifilm x-h2 and a 200mm f2 w/1.4x teleconverter.

Most were slightly tweaked in Adobe lightroom, mainly cropped, exposure adjusted by maybe 1/4 stop, and lens correction (makes a huge difference!) and then maybe a couple of tiny tweaks to some other stuff. Generally, I spend 20-3p seconds on a photo when I find one I really like because I kind of know the look I'm going for and have some scripted actions that get me 99 percent there.

Thanks for the insights.  You are inspiring me to take another swing.  Daughter is now in cross country and track so I should have some nice opportunities.

It is always a ton of fun.  If you're anywhere close to Austin I'd recommend doing one of the Precision Camera classes.  I've done a couple and they include full access as well as loaner gear.  The gear depends on which camera company is sponsoring that specific event.  I think this was the last football class of the year but they said they're planning on adding some Basketball and track classes.  They've partnered with Southwestern so it'll be one of their events.  I'm thinking of trying a baseball game this spring if they have one with UMHB.

As an example of where my process goes, first photo is the original image, second is the edited one:

Great recommendation, thanks.  Your minor edits add a lot - a little more visibility in darker areas and focus on the main subjects.  Very cool.

[D3Navy]

https://www.d3football.com/columns/features/2023/defense-week/caleb-harmel#comment-6307305847

In case anyone missed this, it's a nice write-up on Caleb Harmel, middle linebacker at Trinity.

[BSCpanthers]

For those keeping up, the judge threw out the lawsuit by BSC towards the state treasurer.  The college is currently determining what the next step is.  The problem with the law passed that would have given BSC the loan it needs to survive, it stats the treasurer "MAY" issue the loan instead of "SHALL" grant the loan, which gives the treasurer the right to deny, doesn't matter if the school qualifies per the law or not.  So possibly a run to the state Supreme Court is next. But right now, it's not looking good for BSC after this semester. 

Here to hoping for survival, I want more shots at Trinity, we have never beat you guys.

[Ron Boerger]

For those keeping up, the judge threw out the lawsuit by BSC towards the state treasurer.  The college is currently determining what the next step is.  The problem with the law passed that would have given BSC the loan it needs to survive, it stats the treasurer "MAY" issue the loan instead of "SHALL" grant the loan, which gives the treasurer the right to deny, doesn't matter if the school qualifies per the law or not.  So possibly a run to the state Supreme Court is next. But right now, it's not looking good for BSC after this semester. 

Here to hoping for survival, I want more shots at Trinity, we have never beat you guys.

I hate scum (hint: not you or anyone at BSC).  Here's the story from AL.com:  https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/judge-says-he-will-dismiss-birmingham-southerns-lawsuit-seeking-30-million-state-loan.html

[TLU02SA]

For those keeping up, the judge threw out the lawsuit by BSC towards the state treasurer.  The college is currently determining what the next step is.  The problem with the law passed that would have given BSC the loan it needs to survive, it stats the treasurer "MAY" issue the loan instead of "SHALL" grant the loan, which gives the treasurer the right to deny, doesn't matter if the school qualifies per the law or not.  So possibly a run to the state Supreme Court is next. But right now, it's not looking good for BSC after this semester. 

Here to hoping for survival, I want more shots at Trinity, we have never beat you guys.

I hate scum (hint: not you or anyone at BSC).  Here's the story from AL.com:  https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/judge-says-he-will-dismiss-birmingham-southerns-lawsuit-seeking-30-million-state-loan.html

Unfortunately for BSC, this is a simple statutory construction issue and canons of statutory construction are not in BSC's favor.  BSC has a right to appeal the trial court's dismissal but this decision is not going to be overturned by an appeals court or the Alabama Supreme Court. What BSC needs is another source of funding.

[BSCpanthers]

Been needing that source for a couple years now, and been hoping something would be announced along those lines.  Also, there hasn't been a real update on how much committed monies they have other then the often said $45mil that has been stagnant for a year now.  Without a major benefactor, the school is indeed in trouble and time is not on our side. 

[tigerguy]

For those keeping up, the judge threw out the lawsuit by BSC towards the state treasurer.  The college is currently determining what the next step is.  The problem with the law passed that would have given BSC the loan it needs to survive, it stats the treasurer "MAY" issue the loan instead of "SHALL" grant the loan, which gives the treasurer the right to deny, doesn't matter if the school qualifies per the law or not.  So possibly a run to the state Supreme Court is next. But right now, it's not looking good for BSC after this semester. 

Here to hoping for survival, I want more shots at Trinity, we have never beat you guys.

I hate scum (hint: not you or anyone at BSC).  Here's the story from AL.com:  https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/judge-says-he-will-dismiss-birmingham-southerns-lawsuit-seeking-30-million-state-loan.html

Unfortunately for BSC, this is a simple statutory construction issue and canons of statutory construction are not in BSC's favor.  BSC has a right to appeal the trial court's dismissal but this decision is not going to be overturned by an appeals court or the Alabama Supreme Court. What BSC needs is another source of funding.

Lawyer here - agree on all fronts. Don't see much chance this gets reversed considering the discretion given to the treasurer, unless BSC can show some kind of negligence/bias in carrying out this discretion. This is either a case of extremely poor drafting, or they drafted this just to create the appearance they were trying to help a private institution to keep the heat down. I don't see how the legislatures could have allowed this discretion into the statute (knowing full well the treasurers opposition while it was being drafted) if they ever intended for this loan to go through. Hate this for BSC.

[Ron Boerger]

The bonus D3FB ATN Podcast is well worth a listen if you have an interest in how the Pool C rankings are determined.  Spoiler alert: one of the first questions answered has to do with whether or not the national committee can override the order of teams provided by a regional committee. 

[crufootball]

The bonus D3FB ATN Podcast is well worth a listen if you have an interest in how the Pool C rankings are determined.  Spoiler alert: one of the first questions answered has to do with whether or not the national committee can override the order of teams provided by a regional committee.

I am not sure I have ever used this term but does anyone else get a gaslighting vibe ever time we hear from the national chairs. I feel like they say these things that brand new D3 fans can take but if you have followed for very long at all the statements just don't add up to a consistent logic?

[wally_wabash]

The bonus D3FB ATN Podcast is well worth a listen if you have an interest in how the Pool C rankings are determined.  Spoiler alert: one of the first questions answered has to do with whether or not the national committee can override the order of teams provided by a regional committee.

I am not sure I have ever used this term but does anyone else get a gaslighting vibe ever time we hear from the national chairs. I feel like they say these things that brand new D3 fans can take but if you have followed for very long at all the statements just don't add up to a consistent logic?

What did he say that doesn't add up to you?

[crufootball]

The bonus D3FB ATN Podcast is well worth a listen if you have an interest in how the Pool C rankings are determined.  Spoiler alert: one of the first questions answered has to do with whether or not the national committee can override the order of teams provided by a regional committee.

I am not sure I have ever used this term but does anyone else get a gaslighting vibe ever time we hear from the national chairs. I feel like they say these things that brand new D3 fans can take but if you have followed for very long at all the statements just don't add up to a consistent logic?

What did he say that doesn't add up to you?

One of his last statements before the midway break "When you start to understand the process, it really makes more sense, if you are fan of a team you might still hold to that it doesn't make much, but if you really look back, it has really been fairly consistent at what we have looked in order to determine playoff teams".

I won't claim to be an expert, I would like to think I am an educated homer but almost every year I hear from you, Pat, Frank, etc. of how this is never consistent. I also won't pretend this is an easy process for them, this year especially is going to very challenging with only 4 at large picks but I have almost no doubt that there will be at least one thing that very educated and non biased people like yourself will tell us, well that isn't they way the national committee did things last year or the year before.