Director of photography Michael Clemens shares his perspective of the 2024 season as he breaks down five of his favorite photos.
Divine Intervention
When we practice patience, we begin to accept that not everything is within our immediate control.
This realization brings a sense of peace, allowing us to trust the process and wait for the right moment – whether it's in life, or in this case, photography.
Sports can move pretty fast, but at times, by taking a moment to observe, reflect, and wait, we often become more aware of the little things that others might not see and get something unique.
This was the case in Baltimore during player walkouts.
It was pretty dark, and what light there was was pretty bad. Every so often, I would see this streak of light flash across a player. The problem was, it was in a very specific spot and distance, so it didn't happen every time. I kept shooting and waiting and practicing on each player that passed me in hopes that one of them would hit it at the exact spot. If they were too far from me, they'd be behind the light. If they were too close to me, they'd be in front of it.
As more and more players walked down the tunnel, I started narrowing in to where I thought they needed to cross to give me a chance at the photo I envisioned. Of course, I wasn't going to stop them and say, "Hey Maxx, can you move over a little?"
But then I saw it.
I would sort of call it a "Divine Intervention" as Divine Deablo was walking down in the precise spot I thought was needed to finally get this.
Sure enough, he nailed it (and so did I).
You're telling me I can go whenever I want?
It's been a few years now since Allegiant Stadium was completed back in 2020. I've photographed this beautiful venue from every nook, cranny and angle imaginable. But with that said, every time we needed to use an image of the stadium for press, marketing or design, it would feel old and tired (the images, not the stadium).
I was asked to photograph it again.
In my head, I thought "Ugh, I have to go all the way to the stadium, drag all my gear and shoot something I've shot a million times?"
I decided to go late at night and I found myself completely alone in this gorgeous building. I kept thinking to myself, "If you told me when I was a kid that I could go into the Raiders stadium whenever I wanted, walk around the whole building, on the field, I would have DIED with excitement."
I've said since Day 1 of this job, it's a little boy's dream (especially this little boy), but sometimes you unintentionally take it for granted.
That night reminded me of just how lucky I am to not only be working in sports and the NFL, but for the boyhood team I grew up rooting for.
The calm before the storm
When a rookie enters the NFL, expectations are often tempered by the natural learning curve of adapting to the league's elite competition. Few, however, anticipate the meteoric rise of a player who exceeds all expectations in their first season. That's what made Brock Bowers' season so unprecedented.
A player who steps onto the professional field for the first time and then dominates with record-breaking stats becomes a surprising story. Coaches, teammates and fans alike watched in awe as this rookie's talent, determination and ability to rise to the occasion transformed him into an immediate star.
Not even experts can fully predict how a rookie will perform under the pressure and spotlight of the NFL, and I was no different.
When meeting Brock for the first time during a tour of Allegiant Stadium, I could never have dreamt that this quiet, unassuming, shy young man would turn into the complete dominating force that we saw.
Looking back at this image made me realize just how, at that moment, none of us knew what we were in store for.
Carlson for 3 (again)
For a "team bonding" activity this season, the Raiders headed next door at the Aces facility where each player was given a personalized Raiders basketball jersey with their name and number, and went through a series of skills challenges.
It started off in total chaos. When the doors opened to the two full courts, basketballs began flying! There were 53 Kobe Bryants out there!
After a while of fooling around, warming up and having a ton of fun, the football operations staff began wrangling all the players over by the bleachers to settle everyone down and give instructions of how the competition would play out.
When nobody was paying attention, and the basketballs kept being dribbled, the call rang out to STOP.
At that moment, Daniel Carlson jokingly yelled out "No" and heaved his basketball from the stands toward one of the hoops. As in typical Carlson fashion – "swish."
Nothing but net.
It was easily a 75 foot heave. As though it was a scene out of "Rudy," the team hoisted Daniel on their shoulders. I'd say "mission accomplished" for the bonding of the team.
Minority GOAT
It's not often you find yourself in front of one of the most recognizable people in the world. I have been so fortunate in my career to be in the airspace of tremendously notable, talented and famous people, but there was something a little different about this one.
There is such an "aura" around Tom Brady and all the history he has been a part of in our NFL world. So many of those moments were not in the Raiders' favor.
But now the greatest of all time is on "our side" as a minority owner of the organization. He's bringing his years of experience and knowledge to the building which is such an incredible asset.
The entire staff lined the balconies of HQ to welcome him to the organization when he arrived for the first time after his ownership stake was official.
He spoke eloquently and heartfelt, and was clearly moved by the warm reception. I'm looking forward to what his impact has on the future of our organization.
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