My favorite pictures from 2013
Posted on December 30, 2013
Quiet moments in spring training are always special to come by, and this conversation between student and pupil before a game in Peoria is a favorite of mine. Coach and legend George Brett offering tips to the kid, Eric Hosmer. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
I have always been terrible at editing my own work. Sure it is easy to spot a kick-ass action picture when it is right in front of your eyes, but when it comes to subtle moments and feature pictures things start to get super subjective. This is why I have always had so much respect for the great editors who can go through a take and find the hidden gems.
Shooting the World Baseball Classic in San Francisco was a fun and nutty experience in March. When the seagulls took over the park in the 9th inning of this game it was fun trying to make a frame that told the story. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Since I didn’t have my own illustrious picture editor hanging around my Pleasanton home office this afternoon I had to go it alone as I poured through the 87 baseball games I photographed in 2013 in search of my favorite pictures of the year.
Being able to be on the field to shoot the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants get their rings was a cool experience. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Of course I am not the first photographer to bother all his or her friends with a blog post sharing some faves from the past year, but I have had such a good time checking out the great work by many others I thought I would give it a shot.
The Posey’s are such nice people, it was fun to shoot them in the Giants dugout before Buster got his MVP award in early April. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
In this post you will see a rundown of 18 of my favorite pictures that were shot with my real cameras (not my iPhone) over the past 12 months. Since this is just a selection of baseball it is really a set of 18 pictures from March through October.
It is no secret that Buster Posey of the Giants is my favorite player to shoot. I am always on the lookout for nice stuff of him in the dugout during a game. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
So here they are- in chronological order- my favorite pictures from 2013!
One of the super fun moments of the Giants season was when Angel Pagan slid head first into home plate with a game-winning walk-off home run to beat the Rockies in late May. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
It was pretty fun putting this group of pictures together. I know I am leaving some out, and I probably have too many in here. As my pain-in-the-ass friend and picture editing Grand Poobah Jim Merithew would say, “You need an editor!”
I never seem to be able to get the bat pieces and the ball in the frame on broken bat hits. This time I got lucky! (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Sorry Jimmy. I think 18 frames out of 87 games aint too bad!
I told you I like shooting Buster Posey! This was for a Sports Illustrated story we did of him in July. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
One thing I tried to do when I put this set of pictures together was stay away from clean, baseball card type stock images. Sure I shoot many of these at each game and they serve their purpose, but after awhile they all start to look the same.
One of the best days I had in 2013 with my cameras was when I photographed the Hot Rods Little League team in Mill Valley. Being able to shoot them in the dugout during the game was a blast! This is a little portrait of a super cool kid named Fiver. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
The first time I had the chance to shoot the Dodgers rookie phenom Yasiel Puig was super fun. This guy is gonna haunt my Giants for the next billion years. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
My Giants had a crappy season, but Angel Pagan was at it again when he came off the disabled list in September leading them to an exciting win. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
The A’s had another GREAT season in Oakland, and I got soaked shooting Kurt Suzuki and his teammates celebrating their AL West crown in September. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
I am lucky to be able to shoot the World Series each year for Major League Baseball. because of this I am able to witness some exciting moments in October.
I am a sucker for low angle silhouettes, but what the Hell- I like this one of the Red Sox stretching in St. Louis before Game 3 of the World Series. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
The Cardinals beat the Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series in St. Louis in the bottom of the 9th inning on a crazy, bizarre play that sent their dugout into a wild frenzy. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Home plate umpire Bill Miller gets ready for the stressful job of calling balls and strikes behind home plate before Game 5 of the World Series in St. Louis. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
One of the real highlights of the entire season was being able to shoot three World Series games at Fenway park in Boston. Not only is this 112-year-old ballpark full of history, it is also crazy photogenic with incredible backgrounds and GREAT shooting positions in the postseason.
Legendary Fenway Park Director of Grounds Dave Mellor allowed me to go inside the scoreboard in the Green Monster before one of the World Series games, and this is my favorite frame from this little excursion. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
By the time Game 6 rolled around in Boston the Red Sox had a 3 games to 2 advantage over the Cardinals. I envisioned a picture of the Red Sox celebrating with the Green Monster in the background many times. This would be really important and story telling because this would be the first time since 1918 the club had won a championship in their home park. I wanted to shoot the end of the game a little wide to give the moment a sense of place and a sense of history.
I was thrilled to get this picture of Red Sox closer Koji Uehara celebrating after the final out of Game 6. I had an incredible photo position looking up the third base line, so I was able to frame him with the scoreboard and the Green Monster behind him telling the story of the game. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
There is nothing like the anxious, nervous, scared feeling I get right before a Series is clinched. There have been times when I have struck out and come away with nothing due to events beyond my control. There have been times when I choked and screwed up big time, missing the moment. Luckily for me the 2013 Series ended well for me with several nice moments happening in front of me.
This picture of mine was used in the ad that MLB took out in all the Boston newspapers and USA TODAY. I was pretty happy to see my image get a nice run. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Well there you have it. 18 pictures. I hope you like a few of them. I am sure you will think I am nuts for including some of these, but what the Hell, it is all subjective right?
Thanks for taking the time to look. I hope to have a better set of pictures at the end of 2014.
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