
The Viewfinder
DECEMBER 14, 2020
-Shreyank Tripathi
ONE CAMERA, ONE GAME,
AND A MILLION MOMENTS...
Captured by an aspiring sports journalist.

The rivalry is not the only beauty any game portrays although, there are a thousand stories that go within the gameplay. When two teams play, the aesthetic of their jerseys sure attaches the thrill and emotions of its audience as well. Watching sports is like witnessing the circle of life just in a few hours, and fortunately, I got an opportunity to live this experience at the UCF vs Stanford game last year. It might be better if I would have visited the stadium just as an audience but the best part was that Florida National News appointed me as a sports journalist to capture the shots from this game.
Case Study
At the very beginning of my media career, I had got such a big responsibility, and this was when I was just new to the States, its culture, and American Football. All I knew about the game was that there's the phrase "go long" and the settings of my camera. The adrenaline rushed into my vein when as soon as I reached the stadium. I didn't know how the press room would look like and where I would go, what exactly do I have to do to get my work done. Someone guided me to a press room on the 6th floor and, then I realized that this looks good but, how do I click the pictures from here. Then a phone call with my boss at Florida National News made me worry that I was at the wrong place, and then she asked me to go downstairs and find another press room for the photographers. Luckily I saw people holding professional cameras in their hands and walking right ahead in front of me, and I followed them till I was at the right place. The challenges were not over yet, there were a lot of professional journalists on the field, and between them, I had to make my own identity and represent my channel without making any mistakes. The problems occurred one next to the other such as surprise drizzles, favorite shot blur due to the autofocus, and the most expected one, the battery dying.

The solution to my situation was instant. It was just diving in a pool where the water seems to be cold at first. It sure took a lot of courage to stand there as a professional and finish the work. The most helpful thing that motivated me was the media badge that acted as a mentor to me while I was doing something new to give my passion for media a new lead. Instead of comparing myself with the professionals out there, I tried to find what's different in me. The things that made me unique was waving at the audience to catch their attention with a smile, staying there, and covering up my camera through a cardigan when it started to drizzle and not leaving my place, and not stopping to click pictures until I had to.

Case Study

Games always motivate us to fall, stand, and give a tough competition until we win, and my win was the final assets that I collected that gave my audience a chance to relive the precious moments of the game with the essence of being there on the stands and enjoying that thrill and fun they might have missed.