PORTRAIT: DC UNITED'S CHARLIE DAVIES

This month I had the opportunity to photograph DC United's Charlie Davies for On Tap Magazine. Charlie has an amazing story that has unfolded over the past few years. In early 2009 he was moving up the ranks of European soccer, from a Swedish team to a French Ligue 1 team, and making an impression on American fans with some goals for the US National team. Many Americans, myself included, saw him as the kind of striker we would need to successfully compete at the World Cup in South Africa—fast, creative and competitive. But in late 2009 a car crash left him with head injuries, a broken leg, broken arm, lacerated bladder, and little chance of making a full recovery before summer. Charlie began his rehabilitation in early 2010 and with a new lease on life and a positive outlook worked his way back to fitness. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the World Cup but by late 2010 he was back on track with his French club. Early this year Charlie was loaned out to DC United—a big pickup for a team struggling to find the back of the net—and Charlie has already become one of the league leader in goals.

Since moving to DC, Charlie has had a lot of people interviewing him and photographing him. Sometimes when athletes are made to do a lot of press they are moody and not willing to cooperate, but Charlie was a super nice guy, easy to talk with and he went along with my creative vision for the shoot. I was even able to get some tips from him for muscle recover after a hard workout! We started in the locker room at RFK stadium for some moody portraits and then moved out to the field for some daylight shots. The week before I was able to get a press pass to shoot the game against the Colorado Rapids for some action shots of Charlie at work. It was a thrill to be right there on the field and to meet some of the other photographers who have a lot more experience photographing soccer matches than I do.

The whole experience has been one of the highlights of this year. I have to thank my sister Stephanie for coming out as my assistant and contributing ideas and extra hands for this shoot.