Photographer Craig Mitchelldyer shares 24 of his favorite images from 2024.
Over the course of this season, I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of images. Over 56,000 of them make it into our archive. To narrow down those to just 24 of my favorites for the season is no easy task. From preseason to training sessions, travel, road matches, home matches, and everything in between I have a front row seat to the best moments of the year. Here are some of my favorites.
Trying for something a little different during preseason on February 13th in Palm Springs, Calif., I flew the drone over a drill during a training session. The shadows give a fun optical illusion.
An image from a remote camera captures fireworks on opening night, February 24th.
Another remote from opening night, this time catching the fan reaction after a goal.
Claudio Bravo walks from the plane to the bus in Columbus, Ohio on April 18th. I like the layers and the light in this photo and it’s a little bit different look at a travel day.
April 19th in Columbus, Evander evades his teammates during a game of tag at the end of a training session.
Diego Chara tied the league record for most matches played for a single team on April 20th in Columbus. Former Timber Darlington Nagbe and Chara share a moment after coin toss before the match with the Crew.
Head coach Phil Neville and assistant coach Dave van den Bergh have a conversation on the plane to LA on April 26th.
Kamal Miller and the rest of the team wear Diego Chara’s number as they run onto the pitch at LAFC on April 27th. In this match, Chara broke the MLS record for most matches played for a single team.
An ariel view of Providence Park shot from a plane during the match against San Jose on May 15th.
Evander takes a corner kick in the smoke against Sporting KC on May 25th.
The Timbers break their huddle before a match in Austin, TX on May 29th. The light in this photo is the kind of light photographers dream of.
James Pantemis joins the crowd during the Green is Gold Charity match on June 26th.
Diego Chara gives last minute instructions in the huddle before a match with Nashville on July 7th. I love the light hitting Diego in this photo. The sun is bouncing off of an apartment building across the street from the stadium and spotlighting him perfectly.
Santiago Moreno celebrates after scoring against Real Salt Lake on July 13th.
Zac McGraw uses a goal celebration to announce an upcoming addition to his family in a match where he scored twice in Leagues Cup play against Club León of Mexico's Liga MX on July 28th.
Evander and Juan Mosquera celebrate with Santiago Moreno after he scored against Colorado in Leagues Cup play on August 1st.
That same night, Larrys Mabiala is hoisted in the air after his final match with the team.
Perhaps my new all time favorite tifo displayed as the team huddles up on the field before the match against Seattle on August 31st.
An epic moment in the rivalry, Timber Joey holds up a gutted fish after the Timbers' victory that night.
The Big Three: Goalscorers Jonathan Rodríguez, Evander and Felipe Mora hold up log slabs after a win over LA Galaxy on September 18th.
The light show during pregame in Salt Lake City gave the huddle a dramatic look on September 21st.
Felipe Mora walks towards the team plane on September 27th. When we got to the airport I noticed a small puddle on the tarmac and when the sun came out, I put my camera on the ground next to it and used the reflection to make a nice travel photo.
On October 2nd against Austin I placed a fisheye camera on the ground in the center of the huddle and fired it with a radio trigger to gain a different perspective just before kickoff.
The Cascadia Cup. Diego Chara and the team hold up the trophy in Seattle on October 19th.
