Panama Prevails

"Roberto Nurse #9 of Panama celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the United States in the second half during the CONCACAF Gold Cup Third Place Match at PPL Park on July 25, 2015 in Chester, Pennsylvania."

Everyone always wants to shoot the championship and big name teams, players.

Photographers think these big time match-ups produce the best pictures, when in reality, every day matches do the same.

After two days of coverage during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it was the third place match at PPL Park that provided one my favorite rectangles from our coverage of the last two days of the tournament.

While the championship game boasted a lot more emotion - as Mexico hoisted the trophy and scored three times - the third place game still proved to be visual.


As I roamed the upper concourse for a cleaner angle in the second half, a go-ahead goal had Panama tasting victory. It's one of the frames you hope is storytelling after the final whistle - and it was.

Looking forward to one more soccer game this week and hoping the action and emotions continue to be great.

Running, Jumping and Throwing

"Tara Davis of the USA in action during the Girls Long Jump Final on day five of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on July 19, 2015 at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia."

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW

There is no greater stage than that of a championship.

The Getty Images team had the great opportunity to travel to South America to document the IAAF World Youth Championships.

Over six days, we covered competitors 17-years-old and younger battling for gold medals in a range of track and field events.

For myself, I had not documented athletics like this for many years. So it was very much a challenge - especially with added pressure this was a global competition.

What made the days even more of a contest for photographers was that the backgrounds were very busy. Trying to find clean angles took a day or trail and error during the running, jumping and throwing.

But at the end of the day, the team beautifully documented these athletes giving it their all. It's always inspiring to witness youth doing something so extraordinaire early in life. I know many of these athletes will one day be in the Olympics - and it was an honor to capture was was for many their first time on a global stage.

The Big One

"Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, is involved in an on-track incident following the checkered flag during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 6, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida."

Nothing can prepare anyone for the big one.

A late night, or should say morning, the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola in Daytona started about four hours late following a rain delay.

Just before midnight, fighting to stay awake due to the time of morning, the race began. Yet it wasn't until the last lap that woke the entire venue.

As Dale Earnhardt Jr., took the checkered flag I slowed my shutter speed to get more motion in the cars, tires - then instincts took over.

When Earnhardt Jr., speed across the finish line, I caught a view of sparks and panned backwards. As I caught up with the pack of stock cars speeding near 200mph, I did my best to pick up the machine of Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, as his car flipped over directly into the catch fence.

From more than 190mph to zero, it was a horrific, terrifying and frightening split second incident.

I continued to shoot through the sequence as his car crashed onto the front stretch, engine block breaking away from the front end and the race car eventually landing on his roof. Silence is all I heard as he was then hit by the number two car - before crews from other teams rushed to his aide.

These moments were tense. No one was sure what to expect from such a surreal incidnet, but the family support of the sport really touched a lot of people as safety was the number one concern for everyone in Daytona - competition or not.

It was gratifying to know no one, fans or drivers, were seriously injured. It shows how far the sport has come in terms of keeping everyone involved safe.

As always, a huge shout out to our team at Getty Images. A total team effort, everyone pulled their weight on an extremely late day, night and morning - especially following the aforementioned. I couldn't be more proud to be apart of the team.