Powers: “I realized film could be a unique way to document my life behind-the-scenes with the Timbers"
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Timbers Manager of Equipment Operations Cale Powers is one of the oft unseen but key members of a soccer club. He, along with Director of Equipment Operations Sam Younie, are some of the first people to the stadium on a matchday and last to leave as they tirelessly prepare, gather, clean, organize and pack away kits, shorts, boots, jackets, socks and every kind of soccer piece of equipment one could think of.
For Powers, it also affords him a unique perspective on the behind-the-scenes coming’s and going’s of a club that is busy across so many different workplaces. From Providence Park to the Timbers Training Center to numerous stadiums on the road. Combine that access with a chance encounter with an old family film camera that Powers acquired and suddenly the equipment manager also became an amateur photographer with the team.
“I realized film could be a unique way to document my life behind-the-scenes with the Timbers,” said Powers. “It felt more intentional than just snapping pictures on my phone."
After chatting with the team’s Sr. Director of Photography and Creative Production Craig Mitchelldyer and Mitchelldyer’s photography intern Coral Scoles-Coburn for advice, Powers was off and running.
“I started focusing on capturing moments that don’t usually get seen in our day-to-day work.”
Looking through Powers’ photos of trainings, players, colleagues, locker rooms, airport tarmacs, team benches and equipment vans reveal a clear sense of togetherness in what it takes to put a team on the field to compete. Sometimes, Powers would even hand the camera off to a coworker to snap a shot or two.
Though Powers doesn’t consider himself a “photographer” in the traditional sense, he was drawn to it more as a way to preserve memories amidst the busy environment of pro sports.
“In our fast-paced work setting, we don’t always get the chance to pause and capture the moment, so this became a way to do that, both for myself and the people around me,” he said.
And in an era when everyone has a phone with a camera that can capture thousands of images or shoot HD video on a whim, Powers felt the intentionality of shooting on film makes things more valuable as an artifact of that moment.
“I like the aesthetic of [shooting on film], but more than that, I enjoy the unpredictability,” he said. “With digital, you instantly know if you got the shot. With film, it’s one chance, and you find out later. That mystery makes the process more meaningful to me.”
Shooting throughout the season with a Canon AF35M, along with a few captured with an Olympus Infinity Zoom 76, Powers usually utilized Kodak Gold film or, for black and white images, used Ilford HP5 Plus.
The swapping of film also sometimes led to other surprise results. In a photo from the team’s trip to Vancouver, Powers forgot that his camera was filled with black and white film – which only had 24 exposures rather than the assumed 36 his regular color film has. But the resulting images were positive, including a striking one of winger Antony.
“I was relieved when I saw how well that final shot turned out.”
Though hard for him to pick favorites, Powers did say that along with the Vancouver black and white photo, he liked an image of the equipment room in taken late at night/early in the morning after returning to Providence Park following an away trip to Minnesota.
Talking about that photo, Powers reveals as much about the pride an equipment manager takes in organizing hundreds of pieces of uniform as the shot itself.
“I like how all the elements of the kit room came together in one frame.”
Powers is also partial to images of the team coming out onto the field from the tunnel just before kickoff. The players are all set in their uniforms, the energy is high and anticipation for the pending match vibrates.
“It’s my favorite part of matchday: The tunnel walkout,” he said. “It’s the culmination of a week’s work, right before kickoff.”
