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 weekly feature designed to give fans a behind-the-scene look at the image. This photo was taken at Texas Stadium during the October 2005 game between the Eagles and the Cowboys. It earned third place in the feature category in the 38th Annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Photo contest.
"I was coming out from halftime and the team had already kicked off. Dallas had the ball and was driving. Texas Stadium was a tough stadium to shoot in because that streak of light that comes in from the roof would more often times than not ruin the photo with players going from dark shadows into light and what not.
"The light was trickling up the far end zone and I thought that it looked like there would be a cool picture to be made from this. I laid down on the ground in the end zone with a wider lens. I laid there for a minute or two, through a couple of plays, until I got a photo that I liked.
"People have always done different types of photos in that stadium, but I had never seen that shot done before. Anytime that I go to the stadium where there's neat light coming in, I try to take a picture with it. It doesn't always work out. The teams have to be on the field in a certain spot usually, but if you want to make good pictures that are not just good action shots you always have to be looking for good light.
"I think lighting is one of the most important things in good photography. Usually, the best light is at the end of the day or the first light in the morning. But in that case, because of the way the roof was structured, the light was just breaking through and landing on the ground in the middle of the day.
"It was a pain to shoot in that stadium. If it was a day game, you got streaky light. It could be really tough to shoot action shots. In the end zone that I was shooting from was always in shadows. If somebody was in that, you were exposing your camera for the shadows, but if a player ran into the bright light at the other end of the field you couldn't switch your camera settings quick enough. What might have been a good picture is now blown out with too much light. Anytime there was a day game and it was nice outside that was going to happen no matter what."
