Game: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Date: December 19, 2010
Location: New Meadowlands Stadium
Story Behind the Shot
The Tools of the Trade
Camera: Nikon D3S
F-Stop: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/1250 sec.
ISO Speed: ISO-800
Focal Length: 400 mm
Max Aperture: 3
"I remember thinking to myself when DeSean Jackson went out there for the final punt return that there was no way the Giants would kick it to him. The game was going to head into overtime. Next thing you know, they kick him the ball. I remember looking and seeing him bobble the ball, pick it up and begin weaving through the traffic. I vividly recall the punter jumping to try and stop him. Jason Avant had the big block that freed him up at the end. I remember that block because he blew that guy (long snapper Zak DeOssie) up pretty hard. Then, it was off to the races.
Anytime I know it's going to be a last-second play, I go down to the line behind the end zone. In that instance, you're hoping he comes to you and he did. You have a 50-50 chance of that happening and it worked out. I was lucky. He came down and made for a good picture before going across to the other sideline.
There were so many frames of him - coming through the hole, the guys falling, the punter diving. There were all kinds of pictures that I got out of that. When he raised the ball, the original, uncropped version, he had just got the ball in. He was pretty close to me, and if he had come one step closer he would have been out of the frame. If he extended, the ball would've been cropped off, so I knew that was pretty lucky.
I already had the camera set before the play since the lighting is not going to change in that situation. You don't have to worry about clouds rolling in at that time of day in the middle of the play or anything like that. I started with the big lens as he got close up and crossed into the end zone. After he scored, I switched to a wide lens and followed him.
Every time I see the picture used, I get excited about it because I knew it was such a great moment. It was sort of a culmination of everything, and I just like seeing it."
About the Photographer
Drew Hallowell started with the Eagles as an assistant photographer in 1996 and aided in the team's transition to digital photography which was completed in 2003. In the last 10 years, Hallowell has been honored three times by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Picture This is a feature designed to give fans a behind-the-scene look at the image. This will appear in the Giants-Eagles edition of Gameday Magazine which can be found at Lincoln Financial Field and at participating Philadelphia-area ACME Supermarkets.
