I have an idea for a new photography project that could be a lot of fun.  I’m collecting a list of volunteer photographers from around the world to participate in the “Traveling Compact Flash Card” project.  The idea behind this project is to get a single volunteer from as many countries as possible to shoot a photograph on the traveling compact flash card and then send it on to the next person.  The ultimate goal of the project will be to publish a book through one of the online publishing sources when the compact flash card returns to me after its journey around the globe. 

I just started forming this project today, and I have a few volunteers already.  I’m also very skeptical about the success of this idea, but I think it’s worth a try.  I tried a similar project a few years ago, but it didn’t involve a traveling compact flash card.  I collected a group of volunteer photographers from all 50 states in the United States who were supposed to make a photograph of their state flag for the purpose of making a large poster print of all 50 flags.  I had lots of volunteers, but when the time came to produce the photos, I fell about 8 or 9 photos short of completion and couldn’t find additional volunteers.  I did find some replacement photographers, and still had difficulty collecting the photographs.  I’m hoping this project won’t meet the same fate. 

I expect that the compact flash card journey will be a treacherous one.  I expect to encounter several pitfalls in the project, but I have some ideas for contingency plans.  Each photographer who participates will be asked to back up the contents of the compact flash card when they receive it.  If the compact flash card gets lost in transit or lands with a photographer who refuses to send it to the next participant, we won’t have lost the photographs.  I’ll be able to send a replacement compact flash card to the last person who made a backup and re-start the card’s journey. 

I know it would be easier to just find photographers and have them email a photograph.  That would be too easy though :)  I’ll be adding blog entries about this project as it materializes…

Doc Watson

I think I officially ended my sports photography work for the local newspaper on Friday night with coverage of the Hickory Crawdads vs. the Lake County Captains at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.  I really loved doing this work and I’m gonna miss it, as I posted earlier.  I start my new part-time job tomorrow afternoon.  I’ll be working in the custom framing department of the local A.C. Moore store.  I have experience in framing since I spent about 18 months working in another local frame shop.  I had to leave that job because of conflict with my school schedule.  That shop isn’t open at night or on the weekends.  I’m having to change jobs because I need something steady and regular while I’m in school.  The newspaper work was on contract basis.  They called me when they needed me, and I went out to do the photo assignments.  That worked out very well for a long time but recently, the work has dried up and I can’t make ends meet with the small amount of work I’m getting.  I needed to be brought on as a part-time staff photographer to get a guarantee of a certain amount of work, and couldn’t make that happen.  The newspaper said they would still like to use me when I’m available, but my availability with this new part-time job is going to be weak and not really when they need me to be available.  I’ll be giving them my schedule for a while, so they will know when I’m available.  I figure that they will eventually find another person to take my place.

When I get out of school in about two years, I hope to be able to go back to doing the sports photography regularly…

I sincerely hate pre-election times here in the United States, especially the 18-20 months leading up to a presidential election.  The main reason I hate it so much is because politicians pander to stupidity in the general population.  It really grinds at my nerves.  The news media makes it even worse by playing sound bites that are taken out of context.  The important context of the sound byte is conveniently omitted.  They want us to draw conclusions from these sound bytes.  Example:

The United States makes up 5% of the world’s population, but uses 25% of the world’s natural resources.

If you consider this statement without any additional information, the conclusion you would probably draw is quite obvious.  You would think that the United States is somehow unfairly taking advantage of the rest of the world.  The convenient bit of information you never see or hear coupled with this statement is how the U.S. gross national product compares with the rest of the world based on population.  Some politicians would have you believe that we should reduce our natural resource consumption to 5% of the world’s natural resource availability to get inline with our population.  You never hear them discuss the impact that would have on our economy, or the world’s economy as a whole.  These natural resources aren’t just resources that we get from within our own borders.  We buy a lot of it.  If we stop buying those resources, the global companies who supply us would wither away at the same time.  This convenient little sound byte has much greater impact than you will ever be told by a politician.  Their objective is to have you believe that they are concerned about the environment and are willing to make you believe that they are going to do everything they can to protect it via cell phones, PDAs, SUVs, and 5000 square foot homes.  I haven’t met a politician yet who walks to match their talk.  That talk, however, is required to get big contributions and campaign efforts from environmental groups.

Another sound byte that I am completely sick of:

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

This byte, for the most part, is simply designed to make one believe that babies are being killed in the process.  Stem cell research is not about embryos, as most politicians would have you believe.  The stem cell lines that scientists want to work with are harvested from a ball of cells called a blastocyst.  The blastocyst is a stage of development that comes well before the embryo.  The blastocyst is a ball of cells that implants itself in the endometrium of the uterine lining 6 to 7 days after fertilization.  This blastocyst is made up of stem cells.  What is a stem cell?  A stem cell is a completely undifferentiated cell that can develop into anything, but has not started differentiating yet.  The major issue with this idea is that there is no strict definition of when life begins after or at fertilization.  Comparing stem cells to embryos simply makes it easier to follow a pro-life path in the debate.  Politicians won’t discuss the blastocyst and the completely undifferentiated stem cells because it doesn’t make the general population feel like they are supporting the right to life issue.  These cells haven’t started developing into a human yet.  They will soon, but they haven’t at this point in their development.  The medical implications of stem cell research are very exciting.  Lab rats have re-grown severed spinal cords with the aid of stem cell research.  That type of breakthrough in humans may be possible with the proper research.  The ban on creating new stem cell lines here in the United States won’t stop stem cell research.  It’s going on in the rest of the world.  The U.S. just won’t become a world leader in this technology.  We will have to buy it from overseas when the time comes. 

Ok.. I have banged on two issues as examples, and I have covered beefs with both major political parties at the same time.  These are just two examples of why I hate what I read in the news, hear on the radio, and see on TV.  I can’t help but believe that I’m being played for a fool all the time by politicians on issues such as these.  What I fear even more is that many people hear these sound bytes and take them at face value without going on their own to find out what the real issues are…

I’m starting Radiography school on August 20th.  That’s just a little under a month from now.  I’ll be spending 5 semesters in this program, and it’s going to get hectic very quickly.  Since I’ll be working a part-time job while in school, my time is going to be limited.  In addition to the part-time job, I’ll have clinical work to do each semester as well.  The clinical work starts out rather slowly with only six hours per week during the first semester.  During the second semester, that clinical work goes to 15 hours per week.  During the summer semester, it drops to 12 hours per week, but the two final semesters both require 21 hours per week of clinical work in order to complete the program.  With a full-time class load, clinical work, and a part time job, I expect stress levels to get rather high once I get deeper into this program. 

Since you already know I’m into blogging, I will be blogging the journey through Radiography school.  I have found a few other students around the country who are blogging their experiences as well.  I created my Radiography Student blog here:

http://www.setzler.net/radiography

I have been shooting sports photography for the local newspaper for the last three years.  I have been doing it on a contracted per-assignment basis.  They call me when they need me.  The work is mainly local high school and college sports.  In the sports arena, I have covered football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, soccer, swimming, and lacrosse.  I have met a lot of great people and I have had a fantastic time doing the work.  I have learned a lot about one of the most difficult types of photography.  Sports photography is no cake walk.  It’s a constant battle between the photographer, the subject, and the elements.  Sports photography, by far, is the most challenging photography work I have ever done.  I believe that challenge is what compelled me to do it in the first place.  It wasn’t about the newspaper.  It wasn’t about making a hero or two at the local high school after each assignment I shot.  It wasn’t about filling a kid’s scrapbook with memories.  It wasn’t about cakes and cookies that showed up at the newspaper office with my name on it from thankful sports moms.  It was about learning and becoming effective at capturing the right shot.  All those other things were certainly nice though.  I have learned a new skill. 

On July 30th, I’m putting sports photography behind me.  I’m taking a different part time job that will suit my finances a little better while I’m in school.  I won’t like the job as much, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and do what you have to do to get where you wanna go :)  There might be an occasional newspaper assignment available for me on nights I’m not working the new job, but those will be rather rare since I expect to be working most Friday nights during the week. 

The good side of leaving sports is that I’ll spend more time on my original passion in photography, which is the artistic portion of the craft. 

So… you won’t likely see much more of me getting mowed over on the football sidelines, camped out on the baseline at a basketball game, or looking for a larger hole in the chain link fences at baseball fields :)

I’m an avid fan of Brooks Jensen.  If you don’t know who he is, you should.  Brooks is the editor of LensWork Publishing.  He has been putting out a Podcast for quite some time now, and I subscribe to this via iTunes (free download) and listen on my iPod when time permits.  The contents of his podcasts are quite appealing to me.  He speaks about the creative process, which is also the core of most of his published content in LensWork magazine as well.  As I was working on getting caught up on past issues of the podcast, I came across one titled What Makes a Good Fine Art Photograph?  This peaked my interest since I had just recently written my own article called What Makes a Photograph Great? 

This is a difficult subject.  My left brain constantly wants to define things while my right brain wants to be intuitive.  Defining something as complex as fine art is something that needs to be done, but it’s simply an individual and subjective topic. 

Anyway… back to the tidbit I gained from this podcast… Brooks Jensen created a definition of fine art that I think I can live with.  In this podcast, he says “A good fine art photograph is one that makes the viewer so aware of the emotional content that the viewer is unaware of the print.” 

I can’t believe how simple and accurate this statement really is.  My own thoughts all along have been that everything about the photograph should be supportive of that emotional content.  The composition, lighting, and all other technical elements of the image are just supporting characters in this show where emotional content is the leading lady.  The supporting elements should be strong.  There is no doubt about that.  But, they don’t define the emotional content of the image. 

Instead of going into more depth, I think I’m just going to smoke this idea for a while and see how well it embeds in my mind…

L.P. Frans Stadium on 7/16/2007 - Hickory, North Carolina

I was browsing a friend’s blog yesterday when I came across his article about a rather new concept in social networking.  I have dabbled a little myself in this concept with accounts on FaceBook and MySpace.  Both of those sites don’t really interest me much at all.  My friends network isn’t large enough to need an online website to keep up with them.  What does interest me is online communities where specific and common interests are the themes.  I particularly enjoy photography related communities.  FaceBook and MySpace don’t lend themselves well to this concept.  Those communities seem to be dominated by the high school and younger generations.  It’s all about bling and me, neither of which interest an old fart like me very much.  After I read Jason’s article, I decided to go check it out to see what they had to offer.

After playing around on the site a little, I made one determination.  Ning.com offers a very advanced version of Yahoo, Google, and MSN Groups.  These three giants all offer free group sites where people can get together and collaborate on whatever issue is at hand.  The feature set on most of those seems lacking though, especially for photography-related themes.  As I explored more, I decided to create a network of my own. 

North Carolina Photographers

This will be a bit of an experiment over time probably.  I don’t know how many photographers in North Carolina are interested in a networking site, or if there will even be enough activity to make it worthwhile.  The site allows users to post photos, so photo discussion could be interesting.  The network is very configurable.  I have created several discussion forums where specific topics may be discussed.  I can expand that if I want to, or trim it down. 

If you are a photographer in North Carolina, you may want to give it a try!

exposure111.pdf

I run into a lot of discussion of resolution in terms of digital photography.  It seems that there is a great misunderstanding of what it means and when it matters.  Most of the discussion starts when a photographer looks at image size information in editing software, such as Adobe PhotoShop, and finds that a photograph is being represented there as 72 dpi, or some other number other than what they think it should be.  Comments like “My camera is only taking 72dpi photos!” start to fly.

A digital image file is a collection of pixels produced by a digital camera.  The number of pixels produced is fixed.  It does not vary.  A six-megapixel digital camera produces an image file that contains roughly 6-million pixels.  For the purpose of discussion, we will use the six-megapixel image file that is rectangular, containing 3000 pixels horizontally and 2000 pixels vertically.  Every time we press the shutter release on this camera, the image file that is created will be this size. 

What is the resolution of this image file?

The answer is very simple.  It has no resolution.  Resolution does not exist… yet. 

Let’s define a few terms:

• DPI - Dots per inch (same as PPI - Pixels per inch)
• Pixels - digital dots that make up a digital photograph
• Resolution - the relationship between the number of pixels and the amount of space between them

The amount of space between pixels on a computer screen doesn’t change, so the resolution of your digital image file simply doesn’t matter when you are viewing it on the computer screen.  All that matters is the total number of pixels in the image.  When you print a digital photograph, resolution plays a huge role.  If your pixels are too far apart (lower resolution), the photograph may not look very nice.  If the pixels are very close together (higher resolution), the photo will look better.

We have to consider image resolution when we are ready to print.  We have a digital image file that is 3000 x 2000 pixels in size.  When we make a print, the first point of consideration will be the size.  We have 6-million pixels to put on paper.  We can spread them out and make a large print, or we can pack them tightly together to make a smaller print.  The following chart shows the resolution of our 3000 x 2000 pixel image at various print sizes:

The number of pixels in our image does not change.  The only change is the size of the printed image.  Changing the image resolution only changes the spacing of the pixels when the image is printed.  It has no impact on the image being viewed on the computer screen.  Higher resolution (more dots per inch) is generally preferred when printing. 

WHAT RESOLUTION SHOULD MY IMAGE BE FOR PRINTING?

This is a more difficult question than we might imagine, and there is no easy answer.  The generally accepted rule of thumb is 300 dpi.  With today’s printing technology, you can’t really go wrong with this figure.  If you want to really investigate this question, you need to be familiar with the printer that will be used to print your photograph.  Some printing systems like more or less resolution.  For photographs, a common printing system in use today is the lightjet printers like those found in most of the 1-hour digital labs.  Those systems don’t usually require 300 dpi to get an excellent print.  In fact, a lot of them will automatically convert your image file to 150 dpi before printing.  Inkjet printers are capable of higher resolution printing, but it’s really difficult to see any visible difference between a 300 dpi print and a 600 dpi print, unless the print is relatively large. 

A Beginner’s Guide to Sports Photography

All photography in this document is � John M. Setzler, Jr. and may not be used or reproduced without written consent.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200 f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/400″ / No Flash

In all the different styles of photography I have tried, sports is definitely the most difficult. There are a lot of variables involved in sports that create unending challenges for a photographer. Since I rarely get to shoot in professional venue, life gets difficult for me. The greatest problems I’m faced with in sports photography are poor backgrounds, very poor lighting, and having to shoot through nets and fences. Learning to make the best of those situations will help me tremendously on those rare occasions where I do get the opportunity to shoot in professional venues. That being said, let’s take a look at the defining elements of good sports photography.

There are three specific elements that should be included in all great sports photographs:

• Action
• Faces
• The Ball (when applicable)

Of course, there are sports where faces and the ball will never be visible. In those cases, the action must be intense since it’s the only defining element of the sports photograph. When these three elements are in play, they should always be included.

Shooting sports effectively also requires some better-than-average camera equipment when shooting indoors or outside at night. Daytime outdoor sports will often allow you to get nice photos with about any kind of camera as long as you have enough zoom to get close to the action. Let’s take a look at some suggested equipment for sports photography…

THE CAMERA

The best cameras for sports photography are the digital SLRs that shoot 8+ frames per second. The high burst rates of these cameras give the photographer a much better chance of capturing the perfect photo by ripping of 8-16 images in a 1-2 second time period. With this type of flexibility, the photographer doesn’t have to rely as much on his own timing to get great results. Currently, the Canon EOS-1D Mark III (10 megapixels / 10 frames per second / $4500) and the Nikon D2H (8 frames per second / 4 megapixels / $3000) are the two best options in the camera market for sports photography. Less expensive cameras are available, but nothing less than these two models can shoot the fast frame rates. The digital SLR cameras that shoot 3-5 frames per second are OK for sports photography, but the timing of the photographs becomes a little more of an issue for the photographer. I can tell you from experience that a LOT of movement can occur in 1/3-second.

A camera with automatic focus tracking is also very beneficial to a sports photographer. With this feature, the camera’s focus can follow a moving subject, which allows the photographer to fire the camera exactly when he is ready without having to re-focus.

Most sports photographers will also quickly say that weather resistance is a great feature to have in the sports arena. Bad weather doesn’t always stop outdoor action, especially in the professional ranks.

THE LENSES

Fast telephoto lenses are the primary weapons that a sports photographer carries into battle. Aperture sizes of f/2.8 or better are usually a requirement for several reasons. The primary reason is so the photographer can get fast shutter speeds for stop-action photos. The secondary reason is so the photographer can blur out the background as much as possible to reduce background distractions in an image. These fast lenses are preferred, especially when shooting indoors or in poorly lit conditions. Here are some of the popular lens configurations for top-notch sports photography:

• 70-200mm f/2.8 Zoom ($1500)
• 300mm f/2.8 ($3700)
• 400mm f/2.8 ($6500)

A lot of sports photographers will use two cameras at any given event. They will a longer lens on one camera body and a shorter lens on the other body so they can work long range and closer action without having to switch lenses. In some sports, shorter and faster lenses work well too. A 50mm f/1.8 or an 85mm f/1.8 lens can be quite effective if you are close enough to the action. The autofocus capabilities on these lenses aren’t stellar performers, but they can get the job done.

THE MONOPOD

You won’t need a tripod for sports photography in most cases. You are going to be moving around too much to deal with something that cumbersome. If you want or need additional camera support, a monopod will be your best bet. All monopods are not created equal either. This one is, by far, the best I have ever used:

• Manfrotto NeoTec 685B ($145)

This monopod will extend with a simple pull of the top grip. It has a squeeze trigger mechanism that allows you to lower it to a desired height. There are no twist or flip locks to mess with when in action.

THE FLASH

Whether or not you will be able to use a flash in sports photography varies from place to place. If you are shooting a professional sporting event, you won’t likely be allowed to use a flash. There will be lots of other photographers, and if all of them were using flash, the athletes would go blind and your flash would end up in everyone else’s photos and vice versa. Professional sporting events are usually lit well enough that you can function without a flash. If you are shooting at an NCAA Division 1 college event, the same rules usually apply for the same reasons. NCAA Division 2 and junior colleges may differ. If you are ever in question about the usability of flash at an event, just ask someone, preferably a game official. When you get down to the high school level, a flash is almost required at many locations. The indoor and outdoor lighting is usually poor. Some places are better than others, but plan to use a flash. There is only one high school in my local conference that has enough light on their football field and in their gym to keep me from needing a flash for decent sports photography. Your situation may vary.

Never, at any level, use a flash for baseball photography. The fans who are in the stands with their point and shoot cameras with a flash don’t bother the game play. The flash units on those cameras are basically ineffective beyond 15-20 feet, so they won’t be noticed on the playing field. You, on the other hand, should be using a hot-shoe mounted speed light that is capable of lighting up a baseball that may be traveling towards a player at nearly 100 miles per hour. You don’t want to be responsible for breaking someone’s concentration who is watching that ball. Someone could get hurt.

Two popular flash units for Nikon and Canon:

• Nikon SB-800 ($310)
• Canon 580EX ($390)

Both manufacturers make less expensive models that aren’t quite as powerful. For what you are using flash for in sports, those models would probably be just as effective. In sports photography, unless you are working in very dark conditions, the flash should be for fill rather than as a primary light source. That being the case, a really high-powered flash unit is not entirely necessary.

THE CAMERA BAG

If you must carry a camera bag as a sports photographer, a backpack is probably your best bet. You definitely don’t want to have a shoulder bag to deal with while you are moving around. Your best bet is to leave it in the car and only take what you need in with you. You shouldn’t need more than two cameras and two lenses. If you need more gear than that, hire a Sherpa :)

One of the best simple investments I have made is a photographer’s vest. It has enough pockets so I can carry extra batteries, filters, pens, notepads, and about anything else I could ever need. It definitely keeps me from having to lug my shoulder bag in most cases where I wouldn’t want to deal with it.

THE LENS HOOD

Your lenses should be equipped with lens hoods when shooting sports. Balls and people fly off the playing area more often than you would imagine. Lens hoods will help protect your expensive glass from unnecessary damage.

CREDENTIALS

If you are not carrying the credentials of a photojournalist or authorized freelance photographer, you should keep yourself in the same area as people in regular attendance at the event. Credentialed photographers have a job to do, and you don’t want to get in their way. If you are carrying proper credentials, you should make every possible effort to stay clear of the other official photographers who are covering the event.

RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES

• Pens
• Notepads
• Digital voice recorder
• Extra batteries
• Knee pads

THE PHOTOS

Learning where your best shooting locations are and how to get the best possible shots from a sporting event comes from experience, but researching what other people are doing is also a good way to get started. As previously stated, you should be looking for action, faces, and the ball (when appropriate).

BASKETBALL

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200 f/2.8L / ISO 800 / f/2.8 / 1/400″ / No Flash

There are several types of action shots you can expect to see during the course of a basketball game. This photo example simply shows a player driving across mid-court with other players in pursuit. I prefer shooting from the baseline wall for basketball photos. I also sit on the floor with my back to the wall to get the lowest possible camera angle.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 / ISO 800 / f/2.0 / 1/400″ / No Flash

When working from the baseline, the baseline drive is another opportunity you should look for. The player on the wing will drive towards the basket along the baseline and either go up for a shot or dish off to someone else in the lane.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 / ISO 1600 / f/2.0 / 1/320″ / No Flash

The drive to the basket and the shot can also produce some good images. Lots of fouls occur in these scenarios, and the facial expressions can be excellent. These photos can also be difficult to get. When the player goes up for a shot, arms and the ball get in the way of the face rather frequently from the low baseline shooting angle.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/320″ / With Flash

In some venues, you can change your shooting angle to get shots that eliminate distracting backgrounds. Consider yourself lucky if you find this opportunity and work it as much as you can.

Canon EOS-10D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 / ISO 400 / f/2.0 / 1/500″ / No Flash

Sometimes you can add some additional dynamics to an action shot by tilting the camera. It’s a great idea to experiment with this technique when you get the opportunity.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 800 / f/2.8 / 1/125″ / No Flash

It’s critical to know who the key people are in any given sporting event. You should shoot some feature type non-action shots of those people while you are covering the event. This particular image was taken to highlight a 400th career victory for a local coach. You should also treat key players the same way. Get individual player photos to accompany your action photography. This idea holds true for all sports, not just basketball.

BASEBALL

With the exception of professional levels, baseball is one of the more difficult sports for a photographer as far as shooting locations are concerned. High school level baseball rarely has any accommodations for a photographer inside the fence. I find myself shooting through fences and nets quite frequently. As stated earlier, make sure your flash is disabled when photographing any baseball game.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 3200 / f/4 / 1/400″ / No Flash

When photographing baseball, it’s extremely important to get photos of the starting pitcher for both teams. If one of your pitchers throws a no-hitter or a perfect game, it’s going to be newsworthy, regardless of who the team is. Right-handed pitchers should be photographed from the third base side and relatively close to home plate. Left-handed pitchers are just the opposite.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 800 / f/4 / 1/640″ / No Flash

Photographing a pitcher from just off center behind home plate is another good perspective. In this situation, you will usually find yourself shooting through a fence or net. You must place your long lens right up against the fence in order to make it disappear completely in the photograph. You may also be required to use manual focus in this situation. The camera’s auto focus system may have trouble locking on your subject when shooting through a fence or net.

;

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 800 / f/4 / 1/500″ / No Flash

Another good perspective on a pitcher is from his open side as he is delivering to the plate. There are several compositions form this angle that can lend themselves to a horizontal image if the pitcher has a nice wide-open windup. If they are pitching from the stretch with runners on base, that opportunity may be harder to achieve.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 400 / f/4 / 1/1000″ / No Flash

You may be able to eliminate distracting background elements such as fence lines or billboard advertising by moving a little higher into the seating area of some stadiums to compose your pitcher photos. You have to find a balance between height and camera angle though. You don’t want to move high enough where you will lose the pitcher’s face in the shot.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 200 / f/4 / 1/1000″ / No Flash

Another good place to look for action in a baseball game is the runner coming from second to third base. It’s quite easy to capture action and intensity in this image. This is also one of the few instances when having a ball in the photo isn’t as critical. This situation also benefits greatly from having focus tracking and a fast burst rate camera. When I shoot this situation, I will generally shoot a burst of 10-15 photos in a burst while my camera follows the subject focus on its own.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 800 / f/4 / 1/2000″ / No Flash

Sometimes at the end of that run from second to third base, you can capture a nice slide into the base. This is also another spot where a burst sequence can be very helpful to create a sequence of images of that slide.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 400 / f/4 / 1/500″ / No Flash

Sometimes that slide at third base comes in head-first, which can create some great action. Images similar to this one can be made at first base when the runner dives back to the base on a pick-off attempt from the pitcher. One other quick note… If you notice in these last three photos, the camera angle is very low. Each of these images was made from the dugout, which allows me to stand below ground level and have my camera right at ground level if I choose. In this head-first slide photo, the face (or at least the eyes) will almost always be hidden if the camera is not very low to the ground.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 800 / f/4 / 1/1250″ / No Flash

The play at the plate is a difficult photo to come up with. I find it so difficult that I don’t often shoot it. I’m using this particular photo as an example of why I don’t shoot this shot very often. I have the action and the ball, but the faces are hidden. Shooting this photo, like the head-first dive into third base, requires a very low camera angle to pull it off nicely. If the runner slides into home plate feet-first, there are some better opportunities to capture faces. Being ready for this shot is also quite difficult. Being in the right position for it when it happens is critical. Unfortunately, being behind the plate is not the best location for shooting some of the other action aspects of baseball.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 200 / f/4 / 1/1600″ / No Flash

The steal attempt at second base is another great source of action on the baseball field. This photo can be made from several locations on the field as well. The only thing to be aware of on this photo is the umpire who might be wandering around between you and second base in the infield. He’ll inevitably find his way into some of your photos at the most inopportune times. Another good location to shoot this photo is from directly behind first base, especially if there is a chance of a double-play being turned. You can catch the sliding runner and the infielder throwing to first base at the same time.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L w/1.4xTC / ISO 200 / f/4 / 1/1250″ / No Flash

The swing of the bat and the break towards first base can also create some good action photos. These photos can be shot from near third and first bases. Shooting from the first base side, you can shoot a burst and catch the runner digging towards first base as well.

One additional area to look for action is when an outfielder dives to catch a fly ball. I don’t have any examples of this in my own portfolio because I never shoot it. I don’t have a long enough lens to shoot that particular photo effectively, so I generally don’t even try. In the greater scheme of things, it should be a part of a sports photographer’s portfolio though.

FOOTBALL

For me, football is the most difficult sport to photograph. It’s not because of the sport itself, but the conditions in which I have to work to shoot it. Light is the primary friend of the photographer. Light is hard to come by in my local high school football conference. There is enough light to play the game, but not enough to photograph it without the help of a good flash unit. The other big hassle that comes along with football is finding a reasonable position shoot. Football sidelines are crowded, especially in professional football. I have only worked two professional football games, and I learned one thing. There are many more photographers on the sidelines than there are football players on the field. In fact, there are several hundred photographers and videographers surrounding the field at any professional football game. In high school and college football, photographers are generally allowed to work the sidelines between the goal line and the 20-yard line on either end or side of the field.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/400″ / With Flash

In football, I can’t really make too many recommendations on specific shots to shoot at a game. Photographing football is more of a patience game for a photographer. Your job is to follow the ball with the camera. Once again, the automatic focus tracking and burst modes are quite important choices to make. If you are working with a flash, you will want to consider purchasing an external battery pack for the flash. Your flash won’t be able to keep up with the camera shooting fast bursts of photos.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/640″ / With Flash

Some of the more common plays in football to look for are the quarterback or running back breaking around the end of the offensive line. Defensive players in pursuit or making a tackle can become part of this action.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 800 / f/2.8 / 1/320″ / With Flash

When using a flash in football, it can help make faces inside helmets more visible so that any facial intensity that may highlight the action will become more obvious in the photo.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/320″ / With Flash

As shown in this photo, the flash can be your worst enemy as well. There isn’t much you can do to eliminate red-eye without losing so much flash power that the light provided becomes inadequate or useless. Your benefit from getting red-eye in a lot of photos is that you will learn quickly how to correct it effectively in PhotoShop!

SOCCER

Soccer is a bit easier to photograph than football. The action on a soccer field is rather constant. There are no time-outs, no huddles, and the only break in play is on a foul or a score. The players aren’t bunched up as much as in football either. However, like football, shooting soccer is a patience game for the photographer. The field is large and chasing the action up and down the field just isn’t a good idea. In a soccer match, your best bet will be to find a location you like with minimal background distractions and just park there for a while. The action will come to you.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 800 / f/2.8 / 1/500″ / With Flash

The lack of helmets and full body armor lends itself well to better face visibility in soccer. Photographing from the sidelines is OK in a soccer match, but shooting from the end of the field near the goal frequently gives you the ability to see more faces than you will from the sideline.

WRESTLING

Wrestling can be more challenging that one would imagine. In general, it’s not that difficult. Some of my local high schools try to turn their wrestling matches into discos or rock concerts by shutting down all the lighting and only having a single light on above the mat during a final match. I guess this is great for the non-combatants who are making out in the bleachers of the gym, but it’s not so great for the guy who is making photos.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 800 / f/2.8 / 1/200″ / With Flash

There are a couple of good things about photographing wrestling. In all my other sports shooting, I prefer lower angle photography, but in wrestling, I generally stand up and shoot down towards the athletes. It makes it slightly more difficult to get faces visible, but it always completely eliminates ugly backgrounds from these events. I use the flash to minimize detail loss in shadows. As mentioned before, when I’m working in one of those single-light wrestling matches, my flash becomes the primary light source for the photo. Unfortunately, I have no other choice.

In a wrestling match, I usually pick a spot along the edge of the mat where I won’t be in the way of spectators (or minimize the number of people who I block). The wrestlers twist and turn, and will eventually provide facial views for you.

RACING

Racing is a fun subject to photograph. Sometimes, finding a great position to shoot from can be difficult though. As with any other type of sports photograph, you want to have a minimally distracting background.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L / ISO 1600 / f/2.8 / 1/125″ / With Flash

Sometimes, an elevated position will allow you to minimize your backgrounds. In this photo, I also rotated the camera slightly to add some additional dynamics.

Canon EOS-20D / Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L / ISO 200 / f/7.1 / 1/100″ / No Flash

Racing is also a good subject for a technique called panning. Panning a moving subject allows you to create a good sense of speed and motion by having the subject sharp while the surrounding environment is in motion. Panning doesn’t work as well on people because a person in motion is only static in certain places. Some quite interesting shots can be made of people if you experiment with the idea though.

IN SUMMARY

Sports photography is a lot of fun if you enjoy sports. If you don’t enjoy sports, you will be better off sticking with flowers and waterfalls :) Some of the major points to keep in mind when photographing sports:

• Carry only what you must.

• Shoot from low angles whenever possible

• Pay attention to cluttered backgrounds

• Stay within your designated area

• Photos should include action, faces, and the ball!

Have a good time shooting sports :)

John M. Setzler, Jr.