Gary Harris (14) of the Denver Nuggets before the first quarter of game one of the teamsÕ second round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Monday, April 29, 2019.
Getting your player ready...
In 2019, I concentrated on portraiture and sports photography. With so many negative things happening in the world, I enjoy bringing fun into the mix. Sports is an easy outlet. Maybe a team loses, but the idea that so many people can focus their attention on a team or back their city, school and state is remarkable. The chaos, the emotion, the colors and flow draw me in and the details beyond the field of play keep me looking and searching for something unique and wonderful.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Regis Jesuit players celebrate after their 5-2 win over Dakota Ridge on Monday, March 4, 2019, in the CHSAA state hockey title game at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Ben Kirschner of Golden celebrates with his missing tooth smile after the second half of Golden's 10-9 win over Cheyenne Mountain in the Class 4A lacrosse state title game at All-City Stadium in Denver on May 20, 2019.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Colorado Eagles Kevin Davis sports a classic hockey tooth gap during practice in Loveland on Feb. 6, 2019. Davis said that he has been playing with the gap for nearly three years since losing it as a teenager.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Yonatan "Yoni" Kefle, 21, runs on a treadmill during an indoor practice because of snow in Denver on Oct. 30, 2019.
Portraiture lacks the inherent intensity and chaos of sports. It is a great avenue for telling a story when action is not apparent or has taken place days, months, years and even decades before as was the case with Wyoming’s Black 14. Capturing the mood, essence and being of a person is something I strive for. Using light to bring focus into their eyes is an intimate experience. To be trusted in a tight space, while having people move unnaturally to make them appear seemingly natural is a challenge, but worth it when their inner light shines.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
University of Wyoming Black 14 member Ivie Moore on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. "We never got a chance to protest against Brigham University before he just out lashed all of a sudden and said we could go back to the colored and negro leagues – the Gramblings and the Morgan States. Man, that was really a shock to me. He jumped the gun and he told us we were no longer Cowboy football players. It has been haunting me ever since.” Before a 1969 matchup between the University of Wyoming and Brigham Young University, 14 black members of the UW football team approached head coach Lloyd Eaton to ask if they could wear a black armband in protest of the Mormon church’s treatment of black people. All 14 were immediately dismissed from the team before being berated by Eaton. Many consider this a turning point in the history of UW football as they were in the midst of a four-season run in the AP top-25. It would take until 1988 before the Cowboys would again crack the top 25.
Colorado Army National Guard Master Sergeants Michael Landers (left) and Mitchell Landers (right) stand in a reflection of the American flag during the inauguration of Governor-elect Jared Polis at the Colorado State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Janie VanWinkle pulls the ties off of a bale of hay on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, while working on her ranch outside Grand Junction. The ties are saved and ground up before being added back into feed for the cows. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
