Darren Georgia, Chicago based photographer and content creator for Major League Baseball, shared with us two of his favorite and the story behind them.
“This photo will always be one of my favorites, as I was the only photographer at the stadium who captured it, to my knowledge. The Cubs had just signed Tony Kemp, and I didn't have many photos of him, so I decided to follow him during warm-ups.
As he took the field, he started to run out to center field for a warm-up jog. He began to speed up, and went straight into a back handspring, then flipped through the air. I looked around immediately after to see if anyone else had seen it or shot it, and to my surprise, only myself and the video board crew had captured it. He only did it one other time after that for the remainder of the season. My favorite part of this shot is that it looks as if he's just levitating in the air.”
“This photo was taken moments before Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease made his Major League debut. Dylan was the No. 18 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, all eyes and cameras were on him. I followed him as he entered the dugout moments before he took the field for his first Major League start.
Despite the other players in the dugout getting hyped up for the game, and the thousands of fans eager to see him pitch, Dylan took a moment to breathe. Your Major League debut is something you work your whole life for and is a special moment for almost every young player's career.”
Darren Georgia
has been living in Chicago for the past eight years. He originally moved to Chicago from Colorado straight out of high school to pursue a career in comedy and attended classes at Second City and iO. After four years of pursuing that, he transitioned his focus into photography. Photography started as a hobby about three years into moving here and was all self-taught. It eventually turned into a passion of his, and he knew he wanted to become a professional photographer in some capacity. He began to network and got his dream job covering his favorite sport, baseball. Darren has worked for many of the major sports leagues, including MLB, NFL and NHL, as well as individual professional sports teams in Chicago [White Sox, Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks and Chicago Fire.] He has been extremely grateful for the opportunities he has received.
“I'm a big believer in doing what you love, chasing your dreams. I love what I do, worked hard to get to where I am, and wouldn't change a thing.”