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2017 from Behind the Photographers Lens

By Boston Brazzell

Posted on December 28, 2017

Cincinnati Soccer Talk is privileged to have one of the best sports photographers in the city on staff. Alex Vehr continues to amaze us on a match by match basis. He goes into each match striving to capture the game in a way that is creative and tells the story. His field level seat gives him a unique perspective into each match and he is always willing to share that with us. We asked Alex to put together his favorite shots of 2017 and to share a bit about each. Of course he couldn’t just pick a few so we put them all below for your viewing pleasure.

: The Bailey celebrates a victory over St. Louis.

: A full house welcomes Don Garber to Woodward Theatre as he visited Cincinnati. We cheated,. i

: Justin Hoyte wraps this shot around the Charlotte goalkeeper for his first goal with FC Cincinnati. The game ended in a 1-1 draw on 06/10/2017.

: Had I known that Sam the Eagle (from the Cincinnati Zoo) was doing a fly-in before the Charlotte game, I would have positioned myself a little bit better for this shot. Regardless, it was an awesome event.

: The atmosphere just prior to kickoff before the Columbus Crew match was incredible. The Crew supporters filled their section and the Bailey was rocking.

: Bryan Weigel celebrates the victory over the Columbus Crew.

: Jeff Berding took time to celebrate the victory over Columbus by giving praise to the Bailey. He even went in the crowd after the game to lead cheers, and bought beer for the supporters after the match.

: The moment Djiby scored against Columbus. At that time, this was the greatest soccer experience I had seen in person. The Crew were supposed to be better than us, they threw out their starters and dominated the match, but this one moment sent Nippert into absolute mayhem.

: One of my favorite things to do is take part in and cover the march to Nippert Stadium. Supporters gather all over Clifton and come together to march into the stadium together. If you have not done this, it is well worth your time.

: Mitch celebrates with the Bailey after defeating Columbus 1-0. Before the guys at CST picked me up to cover the games, I was in the Bailey section supporting this team. The very first game I attended, FCC won and I watched Mitch celebrate like this with the Bailey section. I asked myself why there were no photographers behind him to catch this image. Luckily enough, a few weeks later I was covering a game for CST and captured an image similar to this that has become somewhat symbolic for this club. I had to duplicate that shot for a victory like this (I still believe I am the first to capture this shot).

: I had another idea to capture this celebration up in the stands with the supporters. The result was a pretty awesome photo.

: This is probably my favorite image that I captured of this past season. “Mitch Says No” is a well known chant by now, and his heroics against Chicago in the penalty kick shoot out made for a night that nobody will ever forget. I had friends that do not even like soccer reaching out to me to tell me how awesome that game was.

: FCC defeats the Chicago Fire in PK’s. The picture speaks for itself. Anybody that was in attendance that night will never forget this match. For those that left this game early, you missed the greatest soccer moment this city has seen (so far).

: Mitch celebrates the victory over Chicago with the Bailey.

: One of the memories that stands out to me about the Chicago game, was the fact that the entire stadium stood for the entire game. I tried to capture that in this image. Upper Bowl, lower bowl, the Bailey, everyone stood as one for this match.

: Photo Credit: Alex Vehr

: Djiby connects for an early goal against the Richmond Kickers.

: Every once in a while, mother nature presents a photo opportunity that you cannot pass up.

: Harrison Delbridge’s father leads the supporters march into Nippert prior to the match against Harrisburg.

: Justin Hoyte sends a header into the box against Harrisburg. An awesome shot that shows the spray form Hoyte’s head as he makes contact with the ball.

: Omar says Goodbye. In a friendly match against Valencia, Omar Cummings played for the final time.

: One photo sums up the match against Rochester on 07/29.

: Nippert Stadium goes wild over Corben Bone’s first half goal to put FCC up on New York 1-0.

: What could have been. This shot, taken moments before kickoff in the semi finals of the US Open Cup between FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls was going to be my story cover for this game. It captures the atmosphere at Nippert Stadium perfectly.

: A night to forget in Louisville. It was a great experience to shoot FCC at an away venue. The Orange and Blue got annihilated in Louisville 5-0 on 08/13.

: Ronny Salerno lights a flare as he leads the supporters towards Nippert Stadium prior to the Open Cup semi final match against New York.

: Perhaps my favorite moment from this past season was the march to Nippert before the semi final match of the Open Cup. Fans lined up and down Vine St 4-5 people deep on each side to welcome the supporters groups from Mecklenburg Gardens. I overheard an older couple saying to each other “This is something that Cincinnati has never seen before. It is phenomenal.”

: Ronny Salerno lights a flare as he leads the supporters towards Nippert Stadium prior to the Open Cup semi final match against New York.

: Perhaps my favorite moment from this past season was the march to Nippert before the semi final match of the Open Cup. Fans lined up and down Vine St 4-5 people deep on each side to welcome the supporters groups from Mecklenburg Gardens. I overheard an older couple saying to each other “This is something that Cincinnati has never seen before. It is phenomenal.”

: Corben Bone connects to put FCC up 1-0 over New York in the semi finals of the Open Cup.

: The MVP for FCC in the open Cup was not able to play in the semi fins due to yellow card accumulation. He was inconsolable after the final whistle.

: Lindsey Horan connects and scores on this header for the Women’s National Team at Nippert Stadium on September 19th.

: Cincinnati native Rose Lavelle warms up before her match against New Zealand at Nippert Stadium.

: Djiby scores his first goal for FCC. It came in a friendly match against the University of Cincinnati in Clifton. I could tell from watching him play in this friendly that he was a special player.

: Cincinnati native Rose Lavelle warms up before her match against New Zealand at Nippert Stadium.

: Djiby scores his first goal for FCC. It came in a friendly match against the University of Cincinnati in Clifton. I could tell from watching him play in this friendly that he was a special player.

: Djiby scores his first of 4 goals against St. Louis.

: Djiby celebrates a hat trick against St. Louis. I like this photo because of the hat in the foreground that a fan threw on to the turf at Nippert.

: Sometimes I get very lucky with my shots. The action occurs so fast and every once in a while I line up my subject in my viewfinder and capture a perfect image that needs no editing. This shot of Kadeem Dacres is an example of this.

: The first matchup against Louisville. This hard fought game ended in a 1-1 draw.

: Ronny Salerno leads the supporters to the Bailey

: Djiby saves the day against Cleveland. It’s hard to believe it, but it took extra time to defeat AFC Cleveland in the Open Cup. If Djiby had not scored, we might not have had the magical run we did.

: Welcome Danni Konig. Danni Konig celebrates his first goal for FCC. He was a spark for the offense this past season

: Supporters hold their scarves up during the national anthem. These shots are always fun and I try to be creative with them.

: The Rain Delay. A Heavy downpour against Bethlehem was simply more time to party for the Bailey. I could hear them singing and shouting from the other side of the stadium. I had to go over and capture the moment.