Point of View: A photo essay of the 2025 season | Part I

Senior team photographer Matt Aguirre shares his perspective of the 2025 season as he breaks down five of his favorite photos.

Aerials at Allegiant

28mm

1/1600th

f/2

ISO 2000

I always appreciate the opportunities that arise during the offseason to capture content away from the football field. Shooting Raiderettes auditions every May reminds me that the players and coaches are not the only people in the building chasing their dreams. The blood, sweat and tears these dancers put into their pursuit of becoming an NFL cheerleader is nothing short of inspiring, and I feel like I captured a little sliver of that commitment here with Raiderette Bria doing an aerial in front of the Al Davis Memorial Torch.

Tom's Patek

85mm

1/3200th

f/1.4

ISO 50

A hobby I picked up in 2025 is collecting watches, and thanks to Instagram's algorithm, my explore page is just post after post of watch collectors traveling all over the world to discover rare and unique timepieces. Occasionally, I'll see a post that features a celebrity and their lineup of watches. Little did I know that this photo I snapped of Tom Brady in August would go viral among both Raider Nation and the watch community. For Raider Nation, it was one of the first photos of Tom at Intermountain Health Performance Center since he was announced as a minority owner. A few weeks after this photo was posted, I began seeing the usual posts that overview a celebrity's watch collection, but with Tom Brady's, and using the above photo — talk about two worlds colliding. The most rewarding part of the process was that in the moment of capturing this photo, I took notice of the rose gold Patek Philippe Nautilus sitting on Tom's wrist and thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if this made it on the watch pages on Instagram?"

IYKYK

400mm

1/2000th

f/2.8

ISO 1600

There isn't much to say with this one other than if you know, you know. When you see Jeanty positioned like this on the field, you know you're about to witness something special.

One-Handed and One of a Kind

400mm

1/2000th

f/2.8

ISO 1600

I'm both proud and infuriated by the sight of this photo. Proud because it captures one of Brock's most insane catches from his career so far. Infuriated because I could've made it so much better. We're our own worst critics, I guess. Long story short, before I head to the sidelines after shooting 177 Feet Up on Allegiant Stadium's catwalk, I usually grab my wide angle and telephoto lenses in our media workroom, since I don't need them on the catwalk for the first half. For some reason at this game, whether it be time restraints or just pure ignorance, I completely forgot to pick up these lenses on my way to the field. This meant the only lens I had for the remainder of the first half was my super telephoto 400mm lens, which is ideal for shooting subjects from afar. Any action in the end zone would be very, very tight, unless it was on the opposite side of the field. Obviously with my luck, the play of the year happened right in front of my face. Shooting subjects that close can make for a dramatic, tight composition, but it can also be difficult to keep your hands steady when you're that zoomed in and in a fast-paced moment like the one above. But for what I had in the moment, I think I made the very most of it.

Tunnel Vision

85mm

1/800th

f/1.4

ISO 125

The addition of smoke for player introductions brought opportunities for dramatic portraits throughout this season. The enveloping smoke isolated Kyu Blu Kelly's intensity before the game here, something that's hard to do in a packed and screaming Allegiant Stadium. I'm still unsure to this day if his stare at my camera was intentional or just pure coincidence, but I've come to learn that that's sports photography — a lot of great photos are made with just a little bit of luck.