a post for the north girls basketball parents (and parents of future athletes/teams i work with)

first off, i am incredibly excited about the opportunity to work with and alongside the cougars this basketball season. someone (or maybe a few folks) convinced the majority of you to agree to having me tag along for this ride with my cameras and to do what i can to capture the essence of this team and this season.

some of you know me well. some of you probably had never heard of me before it was shared that i’d be shooting a “media day” shoot with the team this past weekend. some of the players are quite familiar at this point with having me around and more importantly having a camera pointed at them while they’re competing on the court. for some of them, this will be a new experience.

all of that is perfectly okay.

by nature, i’m a kind of quiet, easy-going guy. i welcome any chance i get to introduce myself in-person and chat before a game, during halftime, etc.

when i’m shooting, i am locked in. by the end of shooting a game, my left eye usually has a hard time focusing correctly because i’ve spent several hours keeping them both open – my right eye through the viewfinder and my left looking out the left side of the viewfinder to see peripherally what’s happening. i tend to make a lot of strange faces throughout a game. i’m thinking about where i want to go next around the court. i’m thinking about which player is getting the hot hand next. i’m analyzing the flow of the game to figure out where something exciting is likely to happen. will this offensive set result in an open 3 pointer? will it yield a baseline cut and a play at the rim? is there a high likelihood on defense of someone stepping in to draw a charge? who on the bench will be the most hyped up when a big shot is made?

i’m thinking about all of this – the whole time i’m shooting. it’s a lot to keep straight and i don’t always get it right, but this is what’s going on in my head to hopefully yield the most interesting images from each contest that i can…

with that said, i think it’s important to share a bit about how i decide what to try to shoot in the moment. shooting a fast moving sport like basketball, the majority of my focus is always going to be on what’s happening on the court. i do, however, LOVE trying to catch moments of intensity, excitement, despair, etc. that might be elsewhere around the court. it could be on the bench. it could be from a fan or parent in the stands. it could be the student section going nuts (hopefully). all of that adds up to help tell the real story of the game, in a visual sense.

this is important to keep in mind when you’re reviewing my galleries of images after each game. my goal this season is going to be to get images out to you all within 2-3 days after each game. i may ask for a little wiggle room from time to time on that, but i want to keep the images flowing as close to as in realtime as possible. everything will be available for download for you all, and physical prints can be purchased directly through the galleries if you’re interested in exploring that.

i’m never going to be the photographer who’s concerned about getting a decent photo of every player, every game, just for the sake of “fairness.” i’m looking for the most interesting moments in time. i’m looking for the craziest faces. i’m looking to create iconic images. i’m looking for the unbelievable things that you’d never believed happened without a photo to prove it.

so to the players… i welcome you acting like i’m not even there. i’m a ghost. i’m invisible. don’t worry about where i am or putting on a show for the camera. make amazing plays. make a difference in the game. make it undoubtedly clear that you are a fantastic teammate in how you interact with and support your teammates. play for your team. succeed. all of that will deliver plenty of drama and intrigue for me to do my thing, and do it well.

i never ever want to be a distraction. if i feel like i’m taking away from the focus and intensity of a player, i’ll relocate and/or leave.

a bit more about me… i’m a 2009 graduate of bloomington south and a 2012 graduate of miami university (b.s. in entrepreneurship). i grew up in bloomington, lived in cleveland, ohio for a bit after college, and my wife michelle and i have been back in bloomington since 2019. we have a 14 month old daughter who i hope to get to a few games this season somehow. just like i view athletes as inspirations for my daughter, i aspire to be a positive influence and inspiration for everyone i’m around as part of my work. in addition to working with several current high schoolers who are passionate about sports photography, i also frequently go in to speak with yearbook staffs, JAG classes, etc. about my work, being entrepreneurial, my inspirations, and whatever else they may be curious about as they approach life in the real world.

i am a sports fanatic. i’m a diehard cleveland cavaliers, cleveland browns, and atlanta braves fan. despite not going to IU, i love all IU sports – especially men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, and baseball.

someday when i grow up, i hope to land permanent photo work with a professional sports franchise – preferably the cavaliers.

if you aren’t a north girls basketball parent and you found this post, thanks for giving it a read as well. i’d like to line up projects with different teams and in different sports each season if possible. some of my favorite images i’ve created have interestingly come from sports that i never thought i’d enjoy shooting (track and field comes to mind).

if our local news and media sources can’t give our local athletes the respect and attention they deserve, i love the opportunity to step in. getting embedded with a team or individual athlete is one of the most fun things for me. there’s no greater honor than supporting the families and teams that support me and mine.

i hope all of that is decipherable and helpful if we’re just getting to know each other (and maybe even a tad bit interesting)… i can’t wait to kick this thing off on thursday against northview.

roll cougs

(oh, and if you aren’t following me on instagram or facebook yet, please do… i’m @baechtold.jpg on instagram and just search for me on facebook.)