All posts in photos

17Sep

photos from the sidelines: week 2

In blog, football, photos by b murf / September 17, 2012 / No Comments

Okay, so the Washington Redskins aren’t exactly ready for prime time just yet.

While there were still a few positives to take away, the simple fact that the Redskins continue to find ways to lose to a St. Louis Rams squad that has trouble consistently beating anyone else is enough to put a damper on the excitement level Week 1 brought to the nation’s capital.

While quarterback Robert Griffin III continues to find new and creative ways to impress, too many of his teammates failed to match his intensity level against St. Louis.

The offense showed glimpses, but failed to put together time consuming drives that enable the season opening win at New Orleans. The defense created three turnovers, but struggled slowing down Sam Bradford and friends. And special teams … well … they sure are “special,” aren’t they?

But the beautiful thing about an NFL season is the Redskins could absolutely make it all better by winning next weekend against Cincinnati. Before you completely move on to next week’s game though, please take a minute to check out my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines.

10Sep

photos from the sidelines: week 1

In blog, football, photos by b murf / September 10, 2012 / 1 Comment

(photo by Brian Murphy)

As you know by now, the Washington Redskins started their season off with a bang — shocking the New Orleans Saints 40-32.

The offense, led by a gentleman named Bob Griffin, looked better than it has in a while. The defense, thanks to the inspired play of a couple lesser-heralded safeties, got timely turnovers. And special teams … well … they were definitely “special.”

All in all, it added up to what was probably the most satisfying Redskins win since ’07 — when the team rallied together to make the playoffs after the tragic death of safety Sean Taylor. Wins have been hard to come by for Washington in recent years and quality wins like this have been even more rare, so please forgive ‘Skins fans if they’re enjoying this victory a little more than usual.

For those fans interested in reliving all of the action, here is a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines of the Superdome.

30Jul

photos from redskins training camp

In blog, football, photos by b murf / July 30, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Redskins officially kicked off the most highly-anticipated training camp of the Mike Shanahan Era late last week.

That’s what happens when a franchise that has lacked a true franchise quarterback for more than 20 years trades away a stack of high-draft picks for the right to select Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III.

So while ‘Skins fans are typically quick to proclaim “This is the year the Redskins finally turn the corner and become respectable,” there’s actually a legitimate reason for cautious optimism in Ashburn these days.

For more than a decade now, Washington has been known as a defense-first franchise. Well, if RGIII is as good as advertised, this might finally be the year the offense is worth tuning in for as well.

With that in mind, I headed out to Redskins Park with my trusty camera to see first-hand how the new-and-improved Redskins look.

And for those interested, here is a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture during my first trip out to see training camp.

16Jul

photos from caps development camp

In blog, hockey, photos by b murf / July 16, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Capitals hosted more than 40 rookies and undrafted free agents during the 2012 Prospect Development Camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex from July 9-14.

The week-long event, which was free and open to the public, gave the team’s coaches and front office a first-hand look at players hoping to one day fulfill their dream of playing in the NHL.

In addition to seeing highly-touted players such as first round draft picks Filip Forsberg and Tom Wilson for the first time, it also provided an opportunity for less-heralded players such as T.J. Syner and Gregory Miller to make an impact as well.

In fact, both of those players scored during the final scrimmage of development camp — with Miller’s tally coming in the final minute of play and Syner netting the overtime winner for the Red Team in a 4-3 victory over the White Team.

While none of these players will likely make the Capitals this season, the camp still featured a standing-room only crowd throughout the week. Even if this is the leanest time of the year for the world of sports, that’s a testament to the local fanbase.

For those interested, here is a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture during the final day of this event.

02Jul

tiger woods wins at congressional

In blog, murf, photos by b murf / July 2, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Regardless of what some may think of how Tiger Woods carries himself away from the golf course, there’s little doubt that the world of golf is much more interesting when he’s competitive.

This weekend, Woods outlasted his competitors to win the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club for the second time in the six year history of the event. Just as importantly, the win was his third of the year and the 74th win of his career, which moved him past Jack Nicklaus into second place all time on the PGA Tour — eight short of Sam Snead’s record.

Woods, who also won the AT&T National in 2009, outlasted Bo Van Pelt on the final nine holes of the tournament for the victory.

“I remember there was a time when people were saying I could never win again,” Woods said. “That was, what? Six months ago? Here we are.”

While Woods is still a polarizing figure elsewhere, he’s seemingly always had a huge following locally — especially since he played such a key role in bringing the PGA Tour to the area. As the unofficial host of this tournament, Woods always has the biggest crowds following him.

And for the fourth time in the six-year history of the AT&T National, I was fortunate enough to cover the event. While cameras are not permitted on Congressional Country Club once the tournament officially begins, I was able to shoot photos during the Pro-Am last Wednesday.

For those interested, here is a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture of Tiger Woods during this year’s festivities.

04Jan

2011 redskins season in photos

In blog, football, photos by b murf / January 4, 2012 / 5 Comments

(photos by Brian Murphy)

For better or for worse, another year of disappointing football has come and gone in our nation’s capital. And while the 2011 season wasn’t exactly what fans of the Washington Redskins hoped for, it wasn’t all bad.

Head coach Mike Shanahan continues to retool and reshape his roster — dumping overpaid and underwhelming players in hopes of building a younger and hungrier roster.

The Redskins are no longer the oldest team in football. Nor are they the automatic punchline when an aging veteran hopes to collect one last payday before heading off into the sunset. These are obviously positives that a beleaguered fanbase can take pride in.

On a personal level, the 2011 campaign represented the first time in my seven years covering the team that I was able to cover all 16 regular season games.

In fact, the only time the Redskins took the field without me on the sidelines the entire year was when they traveled to Indianapolis for a meaningless exhibition game during the preseason.

Otherwise, I was there for the highest of the highs (also known as Week 1) and the lowest of the lows (a.k.a. – The John Beck Experiment).

Additionally, this was also the year I made a conscientious effort to push myself as a photographer. I figured it was well past time to take the training wheels off and see if I could keep up with the big boys on my own.

Once the season finally ended, I wanted to go back through my photos from 19 weeks of football to see what I was able to come up with.

With that in mind, here are the most compelling photos I was able to capture during the 2011 season. Please take a moment to look through them and let me know which ones, if any, stand out to you.

And finally, I’d like to sincerely thank all of you for your amazing support throughout the years. It really does make all of the long hours and travel worth it.

Hail.

16Dec

covering the 2011 army-navy game

In blog, murf, photos by b murf / December 16, 2011 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Please forgive me for the lack of posts on the website this week. I’ve been a little under the weather,* so everything else has had to be put on hold.

*On a side note though, if you’re interested in losing five pounds in 24 hours, I’d highly recommend food poisoning. It’s really, really effective.

In the interim though, I thought I’d share a link to my photos from the 2011 Army-Navy game. I know most of you have no real affiliation with the U.S. Army or Navy, but trust me when I tell you it’s one of the coolest events I’ve ever had the privilege to cover.

For starters, every single person in attendance actually cares about the game — unlike pro games where at least a third of the people in attendance couldn’t care less about the outcome.

There are also videos shown throughout the game where the Army takes playful jabs at the Navy and vice versa, which is a thousand times better than watching corporate sponsorships videos.

Finally, there’s the fact that as soon as these young athletes graduate from college, they become brothers in arms. They don’t leave college early to go to the pros. They don’t get arrested for attempting to buy large quantities of narcotics so they can make a few extra bucks during the bye week. They become service members who will likely be deployed to somewhere halfway around the world before the next Army-Navy game rolls around.

And for that, I respect the hell out of them. So for those interested, here’s a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture at the 2011 Army-Navy game.