Watching the Replay

"Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on from the bench after scoring a goal against the New Jersey Devils at Verizon Center on October 10, 2015 in Washington, DC."

If there is one thing I'm trying to achieve in sports photos - it's making the viewer feel as if they were there.

The best way to do that is to get close. Shooting with a wide angle lens is the easy way to achieve feeling like you're sitting or playing next to a superstar athlete.

Unfortunately, that's not always an easy task in the world of professional sports.

Some sports differ from others. With one you can almost touch the players, where as in with others, it still feels like there is a disconnect even for the media stationed on the sidelines.

Hockey is one of those sports everyone can feel close. A small environment, fans and photographers are only separated from players by a thin piece of plexiglass. It's easy to feel and hear the action despite the barrier.

In some arenas, the crash box for television exist - and photographers get the opportunity to get in there on occasion. It's the open air space between the two benches. Here there is no glass protection and it's an adrenaline rush.

This vantage always produces great imagery and it's pictures like the above that help viewers feel as if they helped celebrate a goal with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.