Sports is part of our culture, and by our culture I mean the world. Sports and competition has been a pinnacle for the world for as long as man can recall.
I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, Bucks County to be a little more specific- and if you know anything about Philadelphia it's probably for one of three things: our cheesesteaks, our history (from the 1700s), or our VERY passionate love for the city's pro sports. Depending on the season if you're walking into a Wawa in the Philly area- you're either hearing how the Phils are doing at that exact day or Go Birds! I learned from a young age that to live in that area meant devoting a bit (honestly a lot) of your heart and soul to Philly sports.
I grew up playing baseball- I was a catcher and jeez did I love it. Like most though, my playing days did not live beyond my teenage years. I also grew up skiing, which I still do to this day- when the northeast actually has snow anyways these days. The one sport I would say I still take very seriously is golf, I have taught for the last 8 summers and played 3 years of Varsity back in high school.
Through my own sports experiences I realized how important preserving those moments are. I learned that while the photos you see on ESPN and in Sports Illustrated may be for the fans, they are just as much for the athletes, their families, and allow professional and collegiate athletes to reflect and reminisce over their most impactful and special moments. For the fans, you want to see the big goal- the team rushing the court after a buzzer beater. For the athletes, you want to see the conversations with your best friend between plays- the silence and focus before the whistle blows.
Some photographers only cover the game for the papers or the fans- RCH Photography covers the game for the headlines, but even more so for the athletes themselves.
So its simple. Why do I photography sports? Because covering sports means capturing raw emotion, passion, spirit, pride. It means capturing greatness, photographing sports, in the direction that I do with RCH Photography allows me to tell stories and to capture moments- even the most passionate of Philadelphia sports fans wouldn't notice.
Focus on Greatness. That is the slogan of RCH Photography, but why is that what I choose to tailor my work to? As I discussed last week, covering sports to me is more than capturing a game winning goa
