Greetings and salutations, I hope this finds you all well, and I hope things are going well for everyone, as the year winds down. Things have been stop-start for me in the midst of football season, which is always the busiest time of the year for me. This past weekend, I covered Rice’s home game against the Army Black Knights. Shooting football is always fun, but not when the weather is inclement. And the weather this past Saturday was wet, or as I call it, two-of-every-animal-bad.

Between Friday night and Sunday night, the city of Houston (and all of Southeast Texas) was drenched from the remnants of Hurricane Patricia as perpetual bands of rain lashed all over town. And unfortunately, Rice Stadium was not spared from the deluge. As the game started, even as Rice jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the rain was showering the stadium, but it was as least tolerable. And yes, I took precautions beforehand, dressing for the precipitation and making sure my camera equipment was well-protected. Things held up until the start of the second half when the rain came down harder and harder. At some point in the third quarter, the sky just opened up and it started pouring hard, VERY HARD. The rain was so vicious that I could barely see the action on the field, let alone shoot it. And my main camera was nearly useless as water droplets completely covered the front element, making shooting very difficult. As the quarter progressed, I constantly dried off the front element to at least get shots in focus, but the driving rain made that difficult.

Oh yea, back to the game proper, Rice stretched their lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Army fought back to tie the slosh-fest with just two minutes and thirteen seconds left, right as the rain started to let up. On Rice’s subsequent possession, they drove 63 yards in 93 seconds, just as another strong line of storms passed over the stadium. Amidst the inappropriately placed heavy rain bands, Rice scored the game winning touchdown with 24 seconds left, winning the contest, 38-31. It was a great win for Rice, a truly memorably one, but it was simply the most miserably football game I’ve ever shot. I’ve shot games in extreme heat and cold and been reasonably fine, but never in rain that consistently fierce. And yes, every single part of my person and gear was completely soaked afterwards. But it was another memory created in a very long year, a year that has been a rollercoaster in many ways. Sometimes life involves doing things you don’t want to and doing things in VERY harrowing conditions. All you can do is push through and fight it out, even if you’re drenched into the stone age in the process.

Well, with all that said, thank you for your time and for reading my blog once again. I hope to have another entry online by mid-December if not sooner. Thank you for the support, and until next time, fare thee well.

All images copyright 2015 Erik Williams/Rice Sports Information

Good morning all, I hope this finds you all well today, especially with end of summer here.  It’s been a while since my last entry, and I had hope it would be something different after the one in June regarding the Houston Astros. However, last Friday night’s game forced a change in plan. Last Friday night, I covered the Houston Astros’ series-opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game already had personal significance for me, as I grew up a fan of the Dodgers, which is weird considering I’ve lived my whole life in Houston. So seeing my favorite team as a youth was exciting, aside from the obvious matter at hand, as both teams led their respective divisions.

The game started out rather slow, but the Astros took an early 2-0 lead after two innings, eventually stretching it to 3-0 after six innings. As the game went on, a discernible buzz grew around the stadium as Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers hadn’t allowed a hit. Seventh inning comes and goes, still no hits for the Dodgers. When Fiers retired the side in the top of the eighth inning, the roar in Minute Maid Park had grown to a fever pitch, and the crescendo built even louder as the Astros took the field in the top of the 9^th (still leading 3-0) and Fiers, whom had never pitched as long or as heavily in his career, retook the mound. And his task to attain the no-hitter was not an easy one, as he faced the top of the Dodgers’ order in Jimmy Rollins, newly-acquired Chase Utley and Justin Turner. Still bringing the heat after 130+ pitches, Fiers’ forced two consecutive fly-outs on Rollins and Utley, setting the stage for, well, history. And it was a moment I’ll never forget, with all the fans cheering and screaming, as Fiers at 9:43p, on his 134^th pitch of the game, reached back and rifled a pitch past Turner for strike three, his 10^th strikeout of the night, winning the game and securing the no-hitter. Needless to say, it was near pandemonium on the field and in the stands, and understandably so. It’s not every day there’s a no-hitter in Major League Baseball, so to be at one involving your two favorite teams (past and present) and to capture the moment is a humbling yet exciting experience.

The experience became crystallized for me yesterday when I learned that one of my images from the game (mainly the celebration) was printed in this upcoming week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, making it now seven times I’ve been published in S.I. since October 2012, and it’s my first “double-truck” shot of any kind. (In photo-parlay, a double-truck is a shot that extends over two pages of a publication.) And understandably, I am beyond overjoyed to attain an accomplishment like that, especially regarding such a momentous event.

With an uncertain professional future ahead of me, I am starting to cherish the grander and sweeter moments I now experience, moments that make the accomplishments stand out more. And what I’ve achieved is a testament to hard work, passion, respect, determination and dedication. With those things, you’re not guaranteed victory or success, but without them, you won’t get anywhere worthwhile in life. Put your best foot forward and love what you do, that is a start towards great things, and the occasional no-hitter. Anyways, that’s it for now. Thank you all for the support, the kind words, and the encouragement. Until next time, fare thee well.

Greetings and salutations all, I hope this finds everyone well. Things have been rather busy, but with summer here, I can expect things to slow down a great deal, which will be beneficial with a busy fall ahead. The spring saw me cover a lot of baseball, much more than I have this time last year. And a bit of my time has been spent at Minute Maid park, home of the first-place Houston Astros. No, that’s not a misprint and I am not inebriated. As of this entry (June 2^nd), the Houston Astros are in first place in the American League West division. Not only are they in first place in the AL West, as of this entry, they have the best record in the American League overall (and are percentage points behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in baseball altogether).

Though the 2015 season is only at the one-third mark, it’s an incredible accomplishment for a franchise that had lost 100+ games three of the last four seasons. And it’s been pretty fun watching this young team grow together, led by the timely hitting of Jose Altuve and the solid pitching of Dallas Keuchel. (Oh, and speaking personally, it’s also been fun shooting the games with “new” equipment on hand, improving the image quality and results.) With four months left to the season, it will be very interesting to see if the Astros can keep this pace up and win the division, or in lieu of that, qualify for the playoffs as a wild card (either way, making the playoffs for the first time since 2005). But as it stands now, they are the most interesting story in baseball thus far.

Anyways with that, thanks for reading my blog, and I hope to have another entry online very soon. Thank you all for your support, and until next time, fare thee well.