So how do you like your job?

There is no major league baseball team in the Portland, Oregon area and for two years we’ve been without professional baseball of any sort until this year. Now there is a short-season Single A baseball team called the Hillsboro Hops who have just begun play.

I went to a game recently with a friend and brought along my Nikon D5100 with the goal of capturing some quality baseball photos from a fan perspective. We were sitting down the right field line and in a minor league baseball stadium that is very close to the action. The northwest summer sunset was behind us.

The lighting was perfect for a still like the one you see, although from our seats it was not so good for stop-action. Plus the first base coach was often blocking the view of home plate. I went looking for other opportunities and decided to focus on in-between innings, which often is a world into itself.

I love the shadows and the simplicity of the interaction in this photo.