Triumph & Defeat

Most times, my photography is about natural landscapes, architecture and abstract scenes, but rarely people.  Beginning last March I started shooting high school sports, which forced me to look for the human element of each event as I tried to tell the story of the game.  Over time I began to notice the different aspects of each sport as a whole and as parts of the whole.  There were little things, such as how ponytails have a life of their own, the body language of the teams based on whether they were winning or losing and the different coaching styles.  After taking thousands of photos over the course of the year, this image has become one of my favorites.  For me it has all the elements of the story that is being told.  There is the victor, the vanquished and the judge.  The body language says much.  The loser turning away, the victor arm held high, standing strong and yet looking away, almost seeming indifferent to the outcome.  Perhaps others will interpret the scene differently.