NFL: Texans vs Steelers - 10.02.11

[groovehouse]

A few weeks ago, I posted about my first NFL shooting experience. This past Sunday, 10/2 was my second game, it was the Texans fourth game of the season and their second home game.

I shot my first game for our local alt weekly, but recently picked up shooting the Texans for a local radio conglomerate. If all goes as planned, I should be shooting the rest of home games for this season.

During my first shoot I used three camera bodies, 5D, 5DMII and my Rebel XTi along with my 70-200, 24-70 and my 15mm fisheye. Since that first game, I have acquired a 300 f/4 and feel I have made a very good decision. I also opted to bring my 50mm which I left on my Rebel XTi and swapped out with my 15mm on occasion.

The new lens is a Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM. While a 400, 500 or 600 would be even more awesome, none of those are remotely in my budget. While I could rent one, the expense would come out of my pocket and I feel I'm doing fine with my current set up.

I was worried that the 300's f/4 limitation was going to be an issue, but I see it only being an issue and probably not really a big issue if I had to shoot a night game, which I won't for the rest of the season at home. The rest of our home games are all at noon, broad daylight. While our stadium has a retractable roof, the top is translucent and natural light combined with stadium lighting is ample.

Throughout the day, on my 70-200 which is f/2.8, I noticed that I never dropped below f/4.0 and sometimes shot up to f/5.6, therefore, the 300 at a constant f/4.0 was just perfect. I was impressed with the sharp shots I got from this lens and would recommend it to anyone who was shooting sports in broad daylight. I cannot yet attest to its usefulness at a night game.

For my published photos of this game, check out the 61 image gallery on the radio's website.

Below is a sampling of my work:

1.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5658b by groovehouse, on Flickr

2.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - XTi_9978b by groovehouse, on Flickr

3.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5D_5700b by groovehouse, on Flickr

4.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5860b by groovehouse, on Flickr

5.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5804b by groovehouse, on Flickr

6.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5790b by groovehouse, on Flickr

7.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5923b by groovehouse, on Flickr

8.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5919b by groovehouse, on Flickr

9.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5786b by groovehouse, on Flickr

10.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5DII_5819b by groovehouse, on Flickr

11.

Texans vs Steelers - Houston, TX - 10.02.11 - 5D_5828b by groovehouse, on Flickr

[Old Timer]

Very nice, looks like your settling right into this NFL thing. I found that my 300 f4 Nikkor worked well in a D1 stadium don't think you will have any problems if you need to use it in a pro environment. It defiantly takes a 300mm f2.8 for the high school fields I'm shooting on however.

[Roger79]

Just Curious, who do you know that enabled you to get down on the field???
NFL person or Stadium person ???

Either way, you 'Lucky Dog' you....

[groovehouse]

Very nice, looks like your settling right into this NFL thing. I found that my 300 f4 Nikkor worked well in a D1 stadium don't think you will have any problems if you need to use it in a pro environment. It defiantly takes a 300mm f2.8 for the high school fields I'm shooting on however.

Thanks Old Timer! I agree with needing a 2.8 for high school fields, the lighting is always more fickle.

Just Curious, who do you know that enabled you to get down on the field??? NFL person or Stadium person ???

It's not who you know, it's who you work for.

I was hired by my client, a local radio conglomerate (as stated in my post above,) to get game day shots including action shots. My client is responsible for my access and media credentials. Since I am credentialed, I gain access to shooting on the field. In a nutshell, it's my job to do this.

:thumbsup: