Shooting simple sports candids is a worthwhile effort also... especially in minor league and professional sports. Most team managers, pitching coaches, and hitting coaches have had previous experience in professional baseball.
Here are a few of my softball teammates. Unfortunately, we play at the end of the day, so the light's pretty directional. Also, since I pitch, I can't get any of us playing defense. :)
Some shots of basketball matches at a retreat I went to last week. They're kind of hard to shoot up close, but the focus tracking on the 1D helped.. sometimes it thought the background was a better idea, though, disadvantage of a wide angle I guess. Not far enough out of focus for it to be sure.
Frisbee games are hell. Less predictable than b-ball, the frisbee goes super fast, other players get in the way almost all the time, etc. Don't have any to show from those.
This is one of the better photos I have gotten recently at an American Legion baseball game. I hate shooting at this field because I have to shoot through a chain link fence most of the time.
Here's another shot of a stolen base attempt. I love shooting this shot and I do it regularly. The action at 2nd base is probably the most dynamic of the infield action photos from any angle...
OK so I started this thread and then pretty much had a couple of weeks of down time, and even this week its mostly boring "camps" preparing for high school sports to start back up. Tonight I headed out to the local dirt track as they had a night of racing that involved 12 "Nascar" stars. Here are a few Sportraits and a couple of action shots.
MattO
Edit to add the local guys gave up their seats for a night and let the Nascar stars jump in and drive them, they put on a good show and I enjoyed shooting it.
Soccer camp tonight for the paper. While I normally wouldnt post non game stuff, I wanted to show a couple of examples from tonight. I am learning to shoot tight and watch for emotions(something I've really had trouble with in the past) that usually requires me to shoot a burst and hope that emotion and peak action meet somewhere in a frame, 8.5 FPS and fast focusing lens help in this pursuit.
Sergeant Slaughter was the guest entertainment at tonight's baseball game :) Another blast from the past... great thing about Slaughter... he was autographing for free, and he was handing out pictures that he would autograph as well. He's not a pocket digger like Rosco P. Coltrane was :)
The Renault Formula 1 road show is in Johannesburg this weekend. They started assembling the cars yesterday. A few shots from that. Any comments and crit is most welcome.
These pictures are great. I have recently purchased a 70-200 f4 IS USM canon lens and have been trying to take action shots but don't seem to be having much luck. I took some this morning of surfers, got home and they are just too out of focus for my liking (nothing like what has been shown here).
Thought about my settings and realized that I had the IS still in Mode 1 and gather that is why my shots are out of focus. (I'm new to all this and there's enough buttons on the camera to remember about let alone the lens, sheeeesh)
What settings do you guys use. IS mode 2? AI Servo Focusing? Centre focus point (through the lens that is - and follow the subject with that point)? Av and largest aperture in low light but what Tv setting do you prefer for action shots when there is enough light? Do you turn IS off altogether if shutter speeds are high?
Trying to work out how to get this right. Need any help you can offer.
These pictures are great. I have recently purchased a 70-200 f4 IS USM canon lens and have been trying to take action shots but don't seem to be having much luck. I took some this morning of surfers, got home and they are just too out of focus for my liking (nothing like what has been shown here).
Thought about my settings and realized that I had the IS still in Mode 1 and gather that is why my shots are out of focus. (I'm new to all this and there's enough buttons on the camera to remember about let alone the lens, sheeeesh)
What settings do you guys use. IS mode 2? AI Servo Focusing? Centre focus point (through the lens that is - and follow the subject with that point)? Av and largest aperture in low light but what Tv setting do you prefer for action shots when there is enough light? Do you turn IS off altogether if shutter speeds are high?
Trying to work out how to get this right. Need any help you can offer.
Thanks
IS could actually be causing your issues with softness. I dont use IS for any sports/action shots I use. In fact I personally dont own a lens with IS anymore. At the shutter speeds your shooting to stop action its usually a hinderence more then help.
