Shattered

Robert Caplin of The New York Times, took this photograph of me, just over a year ago, on April 27, 2007. Let's just say, my Cannon 300mm lens probably saved my life.

I was covering a New York Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox, at Yankees Stadium, when Johnny Damon hit a foul ball into the photo box, where all the photographers are positioned to shoot pictures from, shattering the front element of the lens. All you could hear was a poof sound and a rain of glass flying out. I was very lucky that night, it could have been my head that would have been hit. Unfortunately a photographer standing next to me, had to leave the game because he was shaken up. I shot the rest of the game with only a 70-200mm lens, which wasn't easy.  

The next day when I told my wife, she was insistent that I wear a helmet when covering baseball games. A year later - I just can't bring myself to use one. 

Oh, yeah before I forget - the lens couldn't be fixed. It now sits on a shelf in the Tech Department of The Star-Ledger.