Today is the Eagles home opener at Lincoln Financial Field. And even though I am not going to the game, it is a culminating event for me. For the last year I’ve been working on a big project for Eagles Premium Client Services — probably the biggest photography project I’ve ever worked on. Last year the Eagles contracted me to shoot panoramic images from almost all of the 172 luxury suites in the stadium, with the idea that each suite holder would get a framed poster that said, “A view from your suite at Lincoln Financial Field,” as a gift at the home opener of the 2012 NFL season. I spent four Eagles games shooting multiple images from each suite in Lincoln Financial Field, and then stitched those images (about 9-10 vertical shots) together using the Photomerge plugin in Photoshop over the last twelve months. Then, I made a unique 12 x 36 inch poster with the image, the aforementioned quoted text, date of the game, and the suite number and company name. After getting the posters printed, I framed each one by hand in a black metal 12 x 36 inch frame. The final count was 168 framed posters. The total man hours surpassed that by a factor of two to three. All in all it was a rewarding experience to finish such a large job. And I hope it brings the Eagles and fans some good luck for a winning season. Lord knows, Philadelphia is yearning for some serious football success.
Below are a few of my favorites, although the lettering is different on these posters than the prints each suite holder received.
The image above shows the field during the national anthem just before the Eagles played the Chicago Bears on a nationally televised Monday Night Football game. A group of U.S. Marines brought the flag out onto the field and held it taught during the Star Spangled Banner. I saw the the marines holding the rolled up flag inside the the stadium and it seemed to go on forever.
