Yesterday I had the chance to shoot the UF vs. FSU baseball game which was played at the baseball grounds up here in Jacksonville. Unfortunately UF got their butts kicked but I still had a great time shooting the game. As I arrived to the will call area I gave my name and the guy told me "oh Tim Darby? he's already here" well yes I'm here now but I assure you I haven't been here long. This guy was adamant that "I" had already arrived. After showing him my ID and a few other things with my name on it he finally believed me. When I asked him what the other Tim looked like, he didn't remember. Us "media" types must all look alike. This wasn't quite the start to the evening I was hoping for, as if I wasn't nervous enough, I had that start. Ha!

I found my way to the press box and walked around like I was lost up there for a bit before putting my bag down and heading out. I walked down to the UF dugout where I stood and watched some of the pre-game action and kind of acclimated myself to the area etc. I began talking to another photographer that was already in the photo box. He was a really nice guy who shot for the Alligator and had some serious equipment ( D3, 200-400 f4 and a bunch of other stuff) which I was obviously envious of. He noticed I was shooting with a 180 f2.8 and I mentioned how I was hopefully going to get a 70-200 f2.8 in the (hopefully very near) future. He said he had his with him and that if I wasn't going far he'd be happy to let me use it. Keep in mind at this point I had known the kid for oh, a good 30 seconds and he's offering to loan me a $1,500 lens! So I hesitated at first but then decided to take him up on it. I had a lot of fun shooting the game and talking with my new friend. It was fun to hang out and watch a good photographer with some pretty serious equipment shoot the game. I will say it was pretty scary to be down at that level right in the line of fire of some low line drive foul balls. It feels like the aluminum bats they use speed up the hit and with the time lost looking through the viewfinder it can get a little nerve wracking. Fortunately we didn't have many close calls and I survived! Some of my photos are here

Today wasn't too bad, but not very eventful or productive school wise. I got to spend some good time with Britt on her day off and hopefully I can get a little more school work done.

The above picture was not taken today but reminds me of a fun time of year - baseball season! It's opening day so the TV has had baseball on most of the day and evening. That was a good rest on my mind while I tried to pound out the first few pages of my ALWR (LONG legal writing requirement I am trying to satisfy this semester in my Sports Law Seminar). I made some progress, a couple pages short of my daily goal but not too far off. If I can apply myself a little more tomorrow and cut out the nap I can make up the ground. Also, tomorrow night I will be shooting the FSU/UF baseball game being held at the Jacksonville Baseball Grounds. This will not be my first baseball game, but it will be my first night game and first UF baseball game. Wish me luck! *nervous*