Valley News staff photographers and interns are sharing the stories behind their favorite photographs of the year. More of their favorites can be seen in Photo Galleries. Staff photographer James M. Patterson shares his pick below.
Sometimes a photo just falls in your lap. After a scoreless first period between Woodstock and Lyndon Institute in the Division II hockey championship last March, it was my turn at one of two coveted lens holes cut into the glass at Gutterson Field House in Burlington, Vt. Several photographers were sharing time at the openings, and I was hoping that during my few minutes I might catch a key moment of action before going back to shooting through the smudged and scratched glass.
Despite my prime spot, when Cullen McCarthy scored the first goal of the game, I was entirely unprepared. I had switched to a short lens thinking I might catch some of the increasingly physical play in the corner behind the goal, so I missed the shot itself. Then as McCarthy slid to a stop in front of me, he turned his back and raised his hands in celebration. My frustration peaked when his teammates rushed in and pinned his back to the glass in a group hug.
Stepping back to avoid the impact as they slammed against the hole in the glass, that moment of missed opportunity brightened. The frenzied crowd came into view, releasing the tension that had built up over a period and a half of scoreless play. Right in front of me, a woman in a number 14 Wasps jersey, McCarthy’s number, rushed down from her bleacher seat, whooping and cheering before collapsing onto the glass in the gesture of a hug. Kim McCarthy, who just happened to be sitting a few feet from her son’s goal celebration, was in the right place at the right time. Luck was with both of us in that moment.
In the postseason, as Upper Valley high school teams head to playoffs and finals, there is great pressure to capture the drama and emotion on display as student-athletes compete with every ounce of their skill and energy to come away with a win. It is rare to take a photograph that expresses what they are feeling, and what their parents are going through in the stands, too. This photo feels like a reward for simply trying.
