East Texas Photo: HS Basketball: Kaufman vs. Kennedale

Friday was another fun night of shooting some basketball as Kaufman was at home to take on Kennedale. We are now in district play, and a good crowd came out for the Lions. The Lady Lions were well into the second quarter when I arrived and started shooting.

I got a Canon 85mm f1.8 lens to try on basketball earlier this month, so I was eager to see what I could get with it. There is very little room on the baseline, so on the 40D, this lens was a little bit too close much of the time. I chopped off a lot of hands and feet...

Canon 40D, 85mm, f2, 1/640, iso1600

Looking across the court wasn't so bad, but there was not much chance of getting the rim in the picture with the player.

Canon 40D, 85mm, f2, 1/640, iso 1600

After halftime, it was time to play with the wide angle a little bit. I like the effect, but if the action isn't right in front of you, it can get lost in the photo. This one is even croped down a bit.

Canon 5D, 14mm, f5, 1/100, iso1600

After reading this post over at A Little News, I was trying to keep an eye out for coach reactions... not much there while I was looking though. This is a unique spot to see the coach watching the game, but it really needs something from the coach or action on the court.

Canon 40D, 14mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

The girls held out for a tough win, and I thought they played much better than during the December tournament. Nicely done ladies.

The boys team had a tough task ahead as well, facing last years 3A champions.

I decided to stay in one spot and use one camera for the entire first quarter. The 5D with the 70-200 seemed most useful for both ends of the court, and I thought that worked pretty well.

On offense, some nice passing... (and unfortunate backgrounds)

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

and scoring...

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

On defense, 200mm was close enough to the action.

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

From my perspective, the cheerleaders made neat reflections on the floor... I like the artistic version better than the in focus ones.

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

The Lions were down by 1 point at halftime... or, as Coach York mentioned to the baskeball coaches going into the locker room, "you only have to outscore them by two in the next half."

I decided to roam around a bit. I like to shoot from the top of the bleachers, but with a size of the crowd, there were often people blocking the action...

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/400, iso3200

From the visitor bleachers, I had a good view of some of the very competitive defensive play in midcourt. With both teams pressing hard, it was difficult to get down the court...