One shot from the bball game

[livin4lax09]

this was kind of a rush shoot, so the color balance was a bit off, but still got a few shots I was happy with, and they'll be converted to b&w anyways. Here's one of them. ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/200 EV0

[MonkeyWrench]

Nice shot Brent. Two Questions. When I shoot at 1600 my shots are a lot grainer and I have horrible luck with gym lighting. Whats your secret? While their not exactly sporty it would be nice to get good pics of my granddaughters baton recitals. LOL. Always enjoy looking at your work. Sports photography has to be one of the toughest and you do it well. Will we be seeing an NCAA pics?

[livin4lax09]

hey monkey, thanks for the comments. These are actually a bit grainier than I am used to having, just because I messed up on my settings a bit. The trick to controlling noise is nailing the exposure. A lot of the time when you are shooting at high ISOs, you are dealing with slower shutter speeds because you have less light. so it is a tendency to boost your shutter speed, but this causes the pictures to be underexposed. Noise shows up the most in dark area of an image, so when you take those photos into photoshop and boost the exposure, the noise will still be there. So the technique is to either hit the exposure dead on or over by about 1/3 ev. with doing that, you will see a lot less noise. many people have said they would rather shoot ISO 3200 + 1/3 than ISO 1600 - 2/3, and it's true. Thanks for the kind words as well. As far as NCAA goes, you won't be seeing any more lacrosse championships. I had a nasty period with my ex-boss who was in charge of sending me, so I won't be going this year. To tell you the truth, I'm not that sorry. Saves money, and when you aren't getting paid much for it, it's kind of just the entertainment I go for. After 3 years in a row I'm ready to stay at home for a year. But look for UNH NCAA sports photos this spring, as I will be out and about! spring is my favorite time to shoot, especially because of lacrosse. and have I got something in store....

[MonkeyWrench]

Thanks for the data Brent. My camera only goes up to ISO 1600 but I'll give it try next time. Both my boys are in track so I have some outside opportunities coming up. When we dropped of our son at computer camp last year they were also sponsoring a sports camp featuring lacrosse. A bunch of kids were suited up and heading out the door when we arrived. Soccer is now big in our area but wasn’t that way not to many years ago. Do you think lacrosse will be in all the schools soon?

[livin4lax09]

what camera do you have? You may be able to enable the expanded ISO using a custom function. I know there are also firmware hacks out there to allow it, because when i used to have my digital rebel I installed a hacked version of the firmware and boosted my ISO. it was horribly grainy, but still worked. Looking forward to seeing those track shots and remember to look for new angles! track's one of those sports that it's very hard to get impressive shots because they're always doing the same thing. So you have to go for the different angles. I'm going to see if I can get approved to mount a camera to one of the high jump posts so I can nab shots of highjumpers from above the bar. We'll see how it goes. I won't be at all surprised if lacrosse gets big in your area within the next few years. It is the fastest growing team sport in america, funny how it is america's first sport and only now is becoming very big. 4 years ago most people would say "what's lacrosse?" I have stopped playing since I got into college and didn't really feel the same about the university team as I did about my HS varsity team, but i still enjoy pick-up games and help to coach my HS team. I do hope lacrosse comes to your area, as it is a super-fun sport, albeit a little brutal at times. But if you can't handle all the pain, you can always be a defender and dish out the injuries instead!

[Homer]

Nice shot Brent, I like the tight crop and composition of it.

Jim

[MonkeyWrench]

Brent,
I have a Canon Digital Rebel XT. My youngest ran track last year and your right about how tough it is to get an impressive shot. I tend to be far away which makes it even more difficult. I don't want to make the kids nervous or be too intrusive. Now about mounting a camera on a High Jump Pole? Check the poles before you mount a camera, in my day they were weighted but free standing. Not being the best jumper I bent my share of cross bars and toppled a few poles LOL. My oldest is doing discuss and shot. I am hoping to get some interesting shots/angles there. Last year I did not have a digital so it was all 35mm. I am hoping this years pictures come out better. If so I will post a few pics.

PS. Thanks for the advice.

[JETA]

you will see a lot less noise. many people have said they would rather shoot ISO 3200 + 1/3 than ISO 1600 - 2/3, and it's true. .

One of the reasons I love reading here.

Brent, would I be better off with my night football shooting at 3200 iso? I have purposely stayed away from it because of the graininess ASSUMING that was the right thing to do.:blush2:

[JETA]

P.S.! Great Shot!

[dhyravy]

Great shot Brent! I just did the KY state girls BB tournament last week at the WKU arena. This one is from the game between our local HS and the team from the 4th region. I'm using 2 hotshoe flashes triggered with RF remotes on super clamps/hotshoe adapters at the top corners of the arena. (about 35 rows up) ISO 800, f2.8, 1/320.