Monday, November 14, 2011

Getting out of the Mob

With this weeks theme I thought I had the perfect shots already planed in my head.  The idea of a mob and it's vast pieces working and clamoring for the same shared desire seemed to bring one image to my mind.  The MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) at a University football game. 

I have been member of this rowdy and ruckus group for since 2008.  When the students chant, sing, jump and scream together defines a mob to me. I wanted to try and capture what that was and how it felt.  The task was a little harder than I anticipated.  Not because of the cold and the lights and the angles I had to work around. The actual mob itself was hard to pull away from. 

When I am photographing any event I need to separate myself for the proceedings, to become more of an ignored piece of decoration that moves from one place to another.  I could not separate myself for the mob of the MUSS.  

Singing while the band plays Metallica, chocolate milk to those who know it, or Utah Man fight song . Putting up your hands and doing the U of U Chop.  Jumping and screaming at the top of your lungs during a defensive 3rd down. Even jumping on my visible horse and riding during a specific western song. The atmosphere is intoxicating and pulls me in every time.

So my image is more about not being able to distance yourself from a mob.  Like Al Pachino said "Just When I thought I was out they pull me back in."


5 comments:

  1. This image is fantastic. It tells a story in and of itself. I keep coming back to it.

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  2. This picture gives the right feeling of the reds! I like it

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  3. I actually sat next to these guys.. it was a lot of fun!

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