Girls Basketball: Off and Running
Friday night Greater Atlanta Christian hosted regional opponent Avondale High School for a Region 6 AA match up. From the first tip, Greater Atlanta Christian started the game with the normal press defense and quickly mounted a big lead. By the half, GAC was leading 51-6.
Finding Artistry in the Pool
In my second outing for swimming this year, I wanted to find some of the beauty of the sport.
In this example, I used the 300mm lens. At the right distance, it compresses items and makes them appear closer together – in this case, making the lane dividers appear stacked.
Wait for the Reaction
In some events where the action makes for less than compelling photos – like 50 meter freestyle swimming heats – the reaction shots are better than the action.
The State of Youth Sports, 2009
Rather than follow a lot of the normal “End of Year” highlight packages you see on ESPN, or the “Year in Images” that Sports Illustrated created so long ago – I decided to summarize what’s great about youth sports…but in images only.
We’re # 1
Good Light
It seemed like every week of the season was either rainy or overcast. On the last weekend before the Lanier Bowl – finally had that elusive “Golden Hour” game.
Getting Sideways
So much time in sports is spent photographing subjects vertically. There’s good reason for it – the subjects in sports spend a lot of time running, and in some sports are using their feet. In football, however, there’s a lot of action that happens only from the waist up – so in my mind it makes great sense turn the camera back to horizontal and shoot very tight on the upper bodies of players on opposite sides of the ball.
In this case, the wider view (horizontally) allowed me to see the defender trying to wrap up the ball carrier – where as a vertical of this shot, from the same position on the field would have lost the contact except for part of either.
Evasive Action
I thought this sequence of Sharon Springs War Eagles runner being pursued by a Midway Wolverines tackler had several great things working for it:
- Tight framing
- Great faces on the ball carrier
- A great backlight and rim light on the helmets
Four Looks for Swim
Swimming is a challenging sport to cover. Held indoors under usually dim lighting, with the added difficulty of constant splashing, the photographer is challenged to find the swimmer’s face and freeze the motion. The photographer needs to think more conceptually in some cases to find the best images. The techniques can vary based on stroke.
Backstroke: Waiting for the start
Backstroke actually has an advantage in the pool – the swimmer is face up, with light falling directly on their face and usually swimming at a slower pace. However, a great photograph can be found at the start – with the swimmers anticipating the start. There’s great repetition that helps frame and isolate my subject.
Giving Thanks
The last twelve months have proven to be an excellent development in my business, so with today as Thanksgiving – I needed to give thanks and pay tribute to those who have helped the development.
People and Communities
The Families of Forsyth County youth sports: For a year, you have taken an interest in my work, and invited me to photograph your children. I’ve worked every game like it’s the World Series, since I know for a lot of the kids it’s one of the biggest things going in their lives. For all of the faults that people can find with youth and high school sports – it’s still one of the best ways to pass time for kids.
The staff and families of Greater Atlanta Christian School: For more than three years you have welcomed me at athletic events and treated me as a member of your community. The school has a great spirit for it’s athletic teams, cheerleaders, and musical groups – from it’s student body right up through the parents.
You Make the Call
There’s no replay in Youth Football obviously – but if this was a play in the College or Pro ranks it surely would have come under review.
The ball carrier (white jersey) is apparently stripped of the ball near the goal line.
Detail of the hands and ball:
Another detail from the above frame – looks like the ball has changed hands:
Forward Motion
Football, like all other sports, is about bodies in motion. However, Sports Photography in many cases is about freezing a moment of that motion crisply. In some cases though, the motion of the athlete still comes through in the frame.
The Eyes Have It
I’ve always thought the eyes were very important in any sports image – it gives the best view of what is going on in the mind of the athlete. It’s why the photographs with the greatest impact always seem to have compelling eye contact with the subject.
Studio Portraits
As I blogged about last spring, I want to create unique portrait experiences for athletes that move away from the ordinary sports portrait that so many young athletes get.
I’m also now working on the studio experience – as the field of play is not always available, it makes sense to also provide a studio experience that has a twist versus the conventional sports portraits. I’m trying to do away with the well used looks and develop new ideas.
This is my son Aidan, who plays U6 Soccer at Atlanta Soccer Academy this fall.
The Big Catch
“Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable.” – Tom Landry
How often do you see an over the shoulder catch of a downfield pass in a sixth grade football game?
Tools of the Trade: The Resolving Power of the 300/f2.8
My most commonly used lens for field sports is Canon’s 300mm f2.8 L-series lens. It’s white, a little more than a foot long including lens hood and the lens has a diameter of five inches.
The question I’m most frequently asked: How far can you see with that? How far isn’t always the most of the important aspect of this lens (there are many 300mm lenses on the market) but how clearly I can see it.
I was reminded of this while sorting Saturday’s photos from Forsyth County Youth Football. This frame is only slightly cropped, but is taken with a teleconverter that extends the lens to 420mm:
The amazing part being that my subject is running past me, and I can practically count his eyelashes:
It reminds me of the wasp that I saw from behind first base last spring at a softball game – that was buzzing the hitter:
Yes, those are the legs of the wasp hanging!
Gang Tackles
Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. – Vince Lombardi
On the Line
The offensive and defensive lines in football: None of the glory of the ball carriers, but lots of hard work and contact!
Ready for attack!
In the midst of battle individually…
And as a team, the chaos of the battle.
Giving the Stiff Arm
When the lone tackler comes calling – the runner responds with a stiff arm!
And the tackler has his own response!
The Return of Friday Night Lights
Last Friday was the second Varsity Football game I have had a chance to cover this fall. Right before game time, the skies started to break up and the blue skies shined through. It was actually an evening that felt like Fall – usually in the Atlanta area we are treated to almost a full month of games that feel like summer time.
Warm Ups are For Photographers, Too
This time of year, I make it a point to reach the field early for high school games to catch as much of the pre-game warm ups as possible. With sunsets around 7:20 PM this past week, getting to the field early meant catching the last rays of daylight (although cloud cover late Friday meant less sunlight than expected).
Warm-ups give me an opportunity to get pictures of players who may not see as much playing time, or whose positions are more difficult to get clear shots of in action – like receivers.
Close Calls
Passing doesn’t happen much in youth football. When it does, the receivers and cornerbacks battle it out for the ball and give everything to try to make the catch.
And even after the first tip, the players still try and make the catch (check out the wide open eyes on the fallen Sharon Springs player in the white jersey):
