Hello, my name is Geoff Griffin. Some people call me Painted Barn Media, and my superpower is making time stand still.

Welcome to the first edition of Sideline Superheroes.  Recently, Mr. Simmons asked if I had any interest in becoming a guest sports columnist for the Southern Standard.  

Uncharacteristically, I told him yes right away and pitched the idea of interviewing the people in Warren County that work behind the scenes to make sporting events happen.  I’ve toyed with adding some sort of blog to my photography site and this is an idea I seriously considered.

I don’t really consider myself a superhero, but the people in future columns will be.  I chose my story for the first column so that I could introduce the column and then provide a taste of where I plan to take this column without abbreviating the interview with a real "Sideline Superhero."

Q: How did you get interested in photography and sports photography in particular?  

A: I’ve been interested in photography as far back as I can remember.  When I was 10 or 11, I saved up some money I got for Christmas and my birthday and used it to purchase my first camera.  It was Kodak Disc Camera – anyone else remember those?

Shooting sports photos was a natural offshoot of having two active kids.  It took some time to acquire a camera and lenses fast enough to capture great action shots.

Q: What is your scariest moment in sports photography so far?  

A: I had the opportunity to photograph the Titans vs Eagles NFL game this past fall.  It turned out to be a great game with the Titans winning in overtime.  

The scary incident happened during the post-game celebration.  I spotted Taylor Lewan, the Titans 6-foot-7, 315-pound left tackle celebrating with a large Titans flag on the field, so I started taking photos of him.  Suddenly I realized he’s getting closer and closer. 

He was sprinting toward the players’ family section of the stadium which happened to be directly behind me.  My inner voice that actually passed Physics in college finally managed to shout down my inner photographer voice and convinced my leg muscles to get the heck out of Lewan’s way.  I got some great shots of him celebrating – someday I’ll get around to making a huge print of one of them and hang it in my office.

Geoff Griffin is a special columnist for the Southern Standard. He can be reached through his Facebook page, Painted Barn Media.