Edwin and Jaime’s wedding was supposed to have had their wedding set to the backdrop of the dramatically tapered mountains of St. Lucia, the cool ocean breeze flowing in and out of the ceremony and a little bit of leftover Christmas spirit. Covid had other plans for them as it did for many others in 2020, but while they couldn’t have their destination wedding, they still had their Coronavirus wedding here in Florida. While they couldn’t have their wedding that they originally planned for, they had each other and their love and that was more than enough for them.
JC Ruiz
My Favorite Photos From the 2020 MLB Season
The 2020 MLB season was definitely a unique one. 2020 in general was a whole other story to be honest. For the 2020 MLB season I was tested for Covid numerous times a week and I was the only sports photographer, other than the Marlins team photographer, in the well shooting. There were 60 games in 60 days and I had a stretch of 14 games in 10 days including a few double headers. The 2020 MLB season truly was an experience and one that I’m more than ok with not having again.
I Felt Like I Lost My Creative Spark
This past year has been a draining force in many aspects. From the pandemic doom and gloom to the 24 hour political circus it just feels like a never ending ride to hell and back. And somewhere along that ride it felt like I lost my creative spark. The urge to go out and photograph was gone. So was my desire to write. It felt almost life draining. I had no desire what so ever for the faintest thing creatively.
Sunday Night Football – Saints vs Bucs
Who can’t get excited for a Sunday Night Football game with both Tom Brady and Drew Brees in it? Two legendary quarterbacks throwing 300 yards each with multiple touchdowns. Fast pace action left and right and me right there capturing it all. Narrator: It didn’t go the way JC had planned for. It was a one sided game in favor of the Saints.
Opening Day 2020 – Braves vs Marlins
Opening Day in baseball is always filled with a regal pomp and pageantry, but Opening Day 2020 was filled with a lot less. While having sports is a great escape from what is happening in the real world, this year there was no escaping what was happening all around. From the Covid-19 and the calls for Social Justice, baseball took a backseat and put these causes into their forefront all the while providing a distraction, albeit a brief one, from the chaos and turmoil gripping the country.
Photographing MLB Baseball During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Photographing any sports during the Covid-19 Pandemic is and will be a unique experience. There were new rules and guidelines to follow and not to mention that they will probably change every day, if not more. For me, photographing Major League Baseball games during Covid-19 was therapeutic and in all honesty, it was such an amazing time given the perpetual doom and gloom of news that was associated with Covid-19.
Credit the Photographer
As photographers we are asked to get paid in exposure instead of money like most other professionals because people don’t seem to value our craft because all we do is press a tiny button and the camera does all the work. We post our photos on Instagram, Twitter and other portfolio sites like 500px or Flickr in hopes of attracting clients that like to pay with money not exposure. And while we scroll through other feeds and profiles we often seen how work posted on other sites and profiles without giving credit. Just because we post our work doesn’t mean someone can steal it, repost it and not credit the photographer.
Why Do I Procrastinate?
I’ve wanted to write about this topic for a while but I kept putting it off for another day and kept putting it off. Why do I procrastinate? It’s not such an easy answer. For some people it might be laziness or rather do it later when its convenient for them. I have a few reasons why I procrastinate and some are just weird to me.
My Sports Photography Workflow
As a sports photographer, it is super important that my sports photography workflow for during and after games is on point. If I’m slow transmitting photos up to the teams, the leagues or wherever then the chances of my photos being picked up dramatically decreases. The whole point of my sports photography workflow is to get my photos off my camera and uploaded in the shortest amount of time possible.