More Fall Baseball

Coppin v. NavyThis is football season and I’ve been shooting a lot of high school football lately. But on Saturday when I was picking up my son, James, from the Naval Academy, we attended the Coppin v. Navy baseball game. I always enjoy trying to capture the action at a game and I had my camera, so why not?

The first game was very close–just a one run game. Navy held on to record the win.

Coppin v. Navy

I enjoy shooting at Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, MD. I can go to the top of the stands and get nice, clear backgrounds, like the one above. Backgrounds are critical to a good, quality photograph. A background can make or break a photo. Chain link fences, parked cars, trashcans, and empty stands are all troublesome backgrounds. Yuck!

Shooting a baseball game in the midst of football season was a a good change-up for me. Sorry for the pun, but it was fun! I hope you enjoy these photos from Saturday’s baseball game. More will probably be coming sometime soon. The second game wasn’t as close but it was still a lot of fun to see the athletes in action!

Coppin v. Navy

 

Coughlin v. Pocono Mountain East Photo Gallery in the Pocono Record

Coughlin v. Pocono Mountain EastPocono Mountain East hosted Coughlin in high school football action on Friday night. It was a beautiful night for football and it was Homecoming for the Cardinals!

This photo was published online by the Pocono Record on Saturday. Today a photo gallery of several of my photos appeared online, too. I like these online photo galleries because they really give the viewer a broader sense of the action on the field. There are just so many plays that make up a game story and it is really tough to capture everything in one or two photographs.

You can check out my gallery here.

 

Fall Baseball – College Style

Coppin v. Navy

Today I picked up our son, James Shank, from the Naval Academy as he was attending Candidate’s Weekend. Pickup time was 10:45am. We then ate an early lunch at Dry Dock and decided to attend the fall baseball game between Coppin and Navy.

Fall baseball for me was a new concept back when I was coaching Little League baseball. I always thought baseball was a game played in the spring and summer, not the fall. I’m glad I was wrong!

James moved from Little League to the Lehigh Valley Baseball Academy. We met another player named Jay Maletz who now plays at Coppin! So, we attended today’s game to catch the game and watch Maletz in action.

We were not disappointed! In the second game, Maletz had the sole RBI for his team and played a strong first base! This is Maletz’s hit in the second game of the doubleheader.

Coppin v. Navy

Here is is making an incredible scoop to record the out.

Coppin v. Navy

Coppin v. NavyI love fall baseball!

 

 

Nikon 200-400mm f/4 — My Go-To Lens!

Pleasant Valley v. Lehighton

Out of the last 21 sports photographs I had published, 16 of them were captured with my 200-400mm f/4 zoom lens. This means that 76% of these published photos were taken by this lens.

I knew I wanted this lens over two years ago and even long beforehand. It was my dream lens and I saved for 3 1/2 years to be able to purchase it. The anticipation was almost too much to bear at times! I was sold on this lens by Lennie Rue III and his son, Len Rue, Jr. I read their book, How to Photograph Animals in the Wild. I read and reread this book, but I paid particular attention to all the photographs and with which lens they were captured. Overwhelmingly, a major majority were captured with the 200-400mm lens.

I also knew the 70-200mm f/2.8 was working at the time as my primary wildlife and sports photography lens, but it just didn’t have enough reach. The 1.4x extender helped, but it just hardly seemed to be enough. I convinced myself that I needed the 200-400mm lens. Then I started to save my pennies for it!

Now, after 1 1/2+ years of use, I can honestly and convincingly say that this was definitely a wise purchase for me. I use it on nearly every shoot and it is my go-to lens for both sports and wildlife photography.

I really like the zoom lens because I can compose different shots depending on how far away the subject is from me. This is particularly helpful in baseball. Let’s say that I am on the first-base side of the infield. From this location I can photograph the third baseman, the shortstop, the second baseman, the pitcher, the batter, and the catcher. This is nealry 2/3s of the team! Now these position players are not all at equal distances from my location, but with a simple twist of the zoom barrel, I can compose a pleasing composition on any of these six players.

Similarly, I find the zoom feature a great tool in wildlife photography. Patience is the key in wildlife photography. Staying still in one location is often helpful and the zoom lens gets put into a lot of use in this scenario.

I typically keep the 200-400m lens on my monopod or tripod. It can be handheld, which I do on occasion, but my preferred method is to mount it on a support. This makes using it a joy rather than a burden.

When I am shooting sports, I am almost always on my knees with this lens on a monopod. I rest my left hand on the barrel of the lens and can quickly zoom in or out depending on my need. I always remember: righty tighty to zoom in closer to my subject.

The lens is clear, too. The photographs it produces are excellent when printed or shown on a computer screen. It focuses very well, and it even has a memory position to store a select pre-focused location. With the touch of a button, the lens focuses to that memorized distance. This is great for plays at second base, for example. I can be shooting the batter and then quickly press the memory button and the lens is in focus for a play at second base. Sweet!

Yep, the 200-400mm f/4 Nikon lens is now my go-to lens for sports and wildlife photography. I am very glad to have it in my lens arsenal!

One Friday Night Shoot Produces Five Published Photographs!

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain EastFriday night I photographed the football game in Swiftwater, PA featuring Stroudsburg vs. Pocono Mountain East. It was a typical night for high school football and I was in my favorite place — right by the action with my camera!

I am getting better and progressing in my photographic skills in trying to capture the action at these Friday night games, but in no way was I prepared for what was about to happen after this game!

I went about my business as usual, trying to capture the action and tell the game story with my camera. I knew I had some decent shots, and maybe even a pretty good one, by halftime. I  transmitted several photos to my editor, then went home to create a photo gallery and sent that in, too. Typically, one photo runs in the newspaper the following day.

Well, later that night I saw two of my photos were published. The next morning I realized a third one was published in the next day’s paper. One more was published on Monday, and a fifth photo was published in Tuesday’s paper!

So how did five photographs from one Friday night football game get published? Well, the first two were of a touchdown with the running back dragging would-be tacklers into the endzone. These were pretty good shots telling the essence of the game with a touchdown being scored; not a bad start. The third photo was a group shot of five athletes being inducted into the Pocono Mountain East Hall of Fame, which was celebrated at halftime. Knowing this was going to happen, paying attention enough to capture some group shots, and capturing all five names helped to get this photo published. The fourth photo surprised me when I saw it in the newspaper, but it was in the “Fifth Quarter Notes,” a wrap-up of the weekend football action, so that made sense. It was actually one of my favorites because it showed a defensive back intercepting a pass in front of a receiver, both of whom were in the air at the time with the ball just being caught. Finally, the fifth photo from Friday night’s game was printed in today’s newspaper in a feature written about Stroudsburg’s running back, Gerald Douglas. I knew this was possibly going to happen because the writer asked if I captured any good photos of Douglas at the game. Fortunately, I did capture a few decent photos and one fit the bill for this article today.

You never know what might happen. I photographed Friday night’s game just like many other ones before, but this time five of my photos were deemed worthy for print in the Pocono Record! I was surprised by this but obviously pleased. Now I have an additional goal on my photo list: get six or more photos published from one shoot!

In the meantime, I will continue honing my photo skills and try to perfect my craft. The moment I rest on my laurels or feel satisfied with my results will be the day I fail. Nope; I have to keep getting better and I have to keep moving closer to meeting my many photographic goals. Each game provides plenty of opportunities to capture the exciting action and tell the game story! I am already looking forward to the next game!

 

The Coin Toss

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Before a high school football game, the referee flips a coin to determine who will first receive the ball to start the game. This happens just after the Friday night warmups in my area, so the gathering at midfield just before kickoff is merely ceremonial. The actual coin toss occurs even before the pre-game activities, including the marching band’s performance.

Inspired by Peter Read Miller’s book, On Sports Photography, (which really is a great sports photography book) I wanted to make an attempt at photographing the coin toss last Friday night. You’ve got to check out his coin toss photo in his book captured at the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium!

As most of you know, lighting at these high school games is not typically very good nor very bright. However, this is not an action shot, so I thought I might get something decent even with the thin lighting.

The coin toss began with a few words from the referee and then the shaking of the hands of both teams. It is more like an amoeba conglomeration of people and I had to keep an eye on a videographer, too. This is the shot I ended up with during Friday night’s coin toss.

It is okay at best; certainly not stellar. The one good thing is the coin is in the with that dark blue sky and the referee is looking up at it. The main problem is the lack of any other faces being visible in the shot. The one almost face is obscured by the other official. I am thinking I should use a wider angle lens the next time and certainly get into a better position to capture the faces of the players. I am learning!

 

New: Sports Galleries Now Online

I am getting there with this new blog format. I’ve wanted to make some of these changes for some time now, and, finally, it is coming together. The newest feature I just added is some online photo galleries of my recent shoots.

The idea here is to share a few more of the photographs captured at the sporting events I am shooting. Think of it as sort of a sports photography/photojournalist approach. I always say that every game has a story to tell and one of my primary tasks is to capture and tell that unique story with my camera. Many times this is the big play of a game, but I find there are some sub-stories on the sidelines, at halftime, and even before a game, too!

These photo galleries also give me the opportunity to share some of the photos, which will never make it in print. There are some great photogenic faces, expressions, and moments that are more than worthy of sharing with others.

I hope you enjoy viewing these galleries at least half as much as I enjoy sharing them with you. There are great moments at all these events and, to me at least, there is nothing more exciting than the atmosphere of a sporting event!

These new photo galleries can be viewed by navigating to the last tab to the right near the top of my main blog page. You will then see a drop-down list of the available galleries posted so far. More will be forthcoming soon.

I also dropped the most recent gallery into this blog post, which you can view below:

Two Sports Photographs Published

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

 

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Rain fell in Swiftwater as the Stroudsburg Marching Band played the pre-game ceremony. Once kickoff ensued, the action was fast and furious. Stroudsburg struck first, but Pocono Mountain East answered back in record time. The game was tied 7-7 late into the second quarter, but Pocono Mountain East was driving and knocking on the door.

The Cardinals punched it into the end zone with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Stroudsburg received the kickoff but could not drive the ball before the half ended. The second half was a different game for Stroudsburg.

Rushing and throwing seemed to come a bit more naturally, but an early muffed punt resulted in a turnover and a quick touchdown. Stroudsburg scored another follow-up touchdown to make it 28-14.

The Cardinals made it interesting by scoring a touchdown very late in the game but their on-sides kick was recovered by the Mounties who hung on to win 28-21. These two photographs of #21 Gerald Douglas crossing the goal line with the go-ahead touchdown are online at the Pocono Record. You can view the article here.

Cropping

Pleasant Valley v. LehightonThis photograph of running back, Austyn Borre, was taken at a Friday night football game when the Bears traveled to Lehighton to take on the Indians. He is obviously running with the ball and his eyes are focused upfield. However, there is at least one distracting element in this photo–yep, the referee. His body is cut off weirdly and having him in the photograph really doesn’t add any good quality.

Cropping is a method of taking a photographing and removing unnecessary and distracting items in a photograph simply by downsizing or cutting the size of the photo. It is a tool used by many newspaper and magazine editors, and it is a tool you need to learn as well.

Cropping can be done in a variety of ways, but I prefer to maintain the proportions of the original image almost 100% of the time. Strange results can be produced when original proportions are not maintained.

Some argue that cropping should never be done no matter what. Well, this might be a good goal–to get it right in-camera, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, some distracting and competing elements are captured along with the main subject. Cropping can be very helpful when used wisely.

Pleasant Valley v. Lehighton

The crop in this photograph removed the referee. I still do not like the two bright yellow vests appearing on both sides of this running back. They are distracting to me as well, but look at what happens when we crop even further while maintaining the same proportion.

Pleasant Valley v. LehightonNotice I switched the crop to a vertical format instead of landscape. This much tighter crop was needed to avoid cutting off limbs at improper places. The rule of thumb here is to never cut off a persons limb at a joint, like an elbow, write, shoulder, knee, or hip.

As you can see in these three images, cropping can have helpful and even sometimes dramatic effects. Used wisely, cropping can be your friend to make a good photograph even better. Learn how to crop and learn how to crop wisely!

 

 

Pre-Game Portrait

Allen v. Pocono Mountain WestAmir Blair sings his school’s Alma Mater in pre-game ceremonies this past Friday night as Pocono Mountain West hosted Allen in High School football.

The pre-game activities build to a crescendo as both teams prepare to do battle on the gridiron. Bands play fight songs, fans gather into the bleachers, and the players get wound up for battle! There is nothing quite like this pre-game experience!