Little League again

I got a little bit closer to what I wanted out of little league photos.  This is the second team I've shot in as many weeks, but this time the weather was much more cooperative.  We started at 7 p.m. and the sun had settled behind some hazy clouds.  I need to photoshop that guy out of the background.  The one above is actually a little over-processed for my taste (and I did it :).

This is what the standard photos look like.


And here is the setup..  Softbox as key camera left (didn't have any lefty batters to shoot this time either).  Second light is an ABR 800 shooting through a Lastolite Tri-grip behind and right.

Wednesday Photo Roundup - May 22

Yes, it is about time for another amazing blog post.  Or maybe just a set of links to things I've found interesting over the last few weeks.

For the shot above, I imagined something more like this, but shooting outdoors with gusty wind (and no assistant) made it a bit impossible to use anything other than straight reflectors on the flashes.

Looks like Flickr decided 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and tried to turn into 500px.com overnight.  I haven't decided if I like it any better, but I do know that doubling the price is not exciting.  Considering that I use Flickr mainly for hosting photos for this blog and some sharing within area groups, it will be hard to justify.  The big selling point is 1 terabyte of storage for your photos.  But it used to be "unlimited" for pro accountholders.  Also, if you have a terabyte of photos on Flickr, you may want to learn to resize images.

Photography on the silver screen?  fStoppers has a top-ten list of photography-related movies.

Human models aren't the only ones to get a full photoshop makeover for magazine covers.  Check out this time-lapse of a cover shoot for an iPhone a few years back.

Here is another great post with photographer Peter Belanger who pulls off those pristine product shots.

Another list.. Photo blogs that cover the business of being a photographer.  Worth a look at all five of them.

PDN's photos and photogs of the year.  Be inspired.

Good thoughts on social media marketing misconceptions. (via @justinwise)

Pet photographers... be inspired.

Another list... Places to shoot before you die.  What is on your photographic "bucket list?"

Insurance Shots - Pitchers

When you are covering events photographically, especially for a news outlet, getting a decent photo is part of the job. Of course you want a great defining moment of the game or peak action, but you have to have something, so usually it is wise to get something quick and safe as 'Insurance' before trying crazy things that may not work out.

In baseball or softball, the simple shot is the pitcher. Even if the rest of the game gives you nothing, the pitcher shot is always there. If you happen to have great evening light, even better, just find a cleanish background and you have a photo. The trick here is to catch a nice moment in the pitching motion or expression of effort.




Layering in some other background players or something can work nicely as well...


Given harsh, boring or otherwise unhelpful lighting and background situations, framing the pitcher with the batter works well. It generally takes a lot of shots to get this right given the narrow window of space and everyone moving during the process.

Once the natural light goes away, look at how the lights are playing on the pitcher's face. If you are lucky it will get under the cap and make a unique look. Lights at high school baseball stadiums is spotty and difficult, but unique if you play around with it.


Finally, a fun shot is using manual focus for a spot between the pitcher and the batter, with a high enough shutter speed to catch the ball as the focal point. Again, it takes a lot of shots to get one good one.

Quick pics - eyes on the ball

Baseball batting practice is a great chance to get some photo practice as well, and a unique perspective that you can't get during the game without a monster lens and a center field seat.






Almost ball-on-bat.

Stay warm everybody,

Don J.

Dugout Portraiture

With Terrell in the baseball playoffs, I've had the opportunity to get back out to the field for some sports shots. They may not let me come back next year because they only scored one run in each game that I attended.

Today's game started at noon, and while it was a little bit overcast, the lighting was nice. When the sun came out though, it was typical harsh lighting.

What I noticed is that a dugout is a great example of finding nice light during midday sun. With one large open side and shadow everywhere else, it is like a huge softbox on one side.

See?

Having a nice solid, dark background helps also, of course. Any time you are caught in the sun and trying to make a nice photo, look for shade that has one open side to the light, then look at the light on your subject.

Good posing would help, but even for snapshots of players, you cannot go wrong with good light.





Although there was plenty of light, my action shooting today was not great, so here are a few of my favorites from Thursday.


At 7 p.m. for the start, the light was getting really nice, washing across the field.




After losing the pretty light, it was just dark and funky.


This is a crop of a photo when a runner was avoiding a pickoff at first base.. made me laugh.


Perfect Mothers day gift? A camera of course.

Keep looking for good light,

Don J.

Busy Week = Lots of Photos

Well folks*, It has been a busy week, so that is my excuse for not posting more. As proof, I offer this post with some of my results for the last 8 days...

After returning from vacation and a short post from that experience, I got to work on Monday night processing photos from my church's Easter Sunday services. Easter was rainy this year...


But inside, it was no-holds barred worship service... video from J here.



I tried a remote camera at the front row of seating to get a different view without having to walk in front with a camera...


And I also cought some funny stuff before the service... what's going on here, guys?


Tuesday I was out to shoot some Terrell Tigers Baseball... a difficult late-season loss to Mesquite Poteet. Between bad baseball timing and poor positioning, and not a lot of action to begin with, I did not come up with much. I also did not take a picture of the DPS Officer writing me a speeding ticket. The officer did not have a lot of humor going on, so the camera stayed in the bag.

Pre-Game light was good...


And a little game-action






This was about as close as I got to an actual action shot...



Wednesday was a rare opportunity to shoot for my "day-job" employer. We helped with an event displaying some new technology and I took some snapshots of the festivities.





Friday I took the opportunity to redeem myself at the baseball field. Terrell was facing the rival Forney Jackrabbits and it proved to be a very interesting game. I met up with Mr. Obstructed View who was shooting the game for the Terrell Tribune. I also got to meet Jim, of Terrell Daily Photo fame.

Pre-Game emotions were high, and both teams seemed in good spirits.


Tuesday's experience paid off, and there was a bit more action during the game. Of course, my getting kicked out of a spot behind home plate by the umps was not exactly fun. No, I did not get a picture of that.

Pick off attempt at first base


Close play at third


Diving safely into second


Tie goes to the runner


The game ended with some controversy as a last-out game-tying run was overturned by a baserunner interferance call. Naturally, i was shooting at the plate instead of where the interference happened.....



Saturday capped off a fun photo week with a Senior shoot with a wonderful young lady. I wish everyone was as adventurous a photo subject!

We started with some basic shots


Finding fun backdrops


Then going a little crazy with scaffolding


Pulling benches into the street


Spinning on a merry-go-round


and finally, a nice, safe, colorful wall


OK, so that's what I've been up to. I hope you had some photo fun this week too. More to come in the way of insight. If you have any particular questions, comments or topics that you would like me to address or experiment with, just let me know!

Happy Shooting,

don j.
* "folks" assumes more than one person reads this. Hi Mom.