Thanksgiving Day football game

[Steve1840]

Well, here goes.....my first photo post. These were taken back on Thanksgiving Day at a traditional football game between my former highschool (Griswold, in white/green) and our age-old neighboring rivals (Plainfield, black/orange). This was my first time photographing a sporting event other than stockcar racing, and I must say I definitely enjoyed it. I hope you like the photos!

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4)

5)

6)

[Old Timer]

Great first effort! Super capture of the action, the colors are exceptional and the images are sharp and crisp. You should be very pleased. It does help to have good light. How about a little tech data.

[Steve1840]

Thank you for your kind words. Sorry I forgot to post any tech data with these. Here goes.

My setup was the Canon 5D MKII with the Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6L all handheld, no monopod.

Photo #1: 1/800sec, f10, ISO 400; Photo #2: 1/500sec, f8 ISO 200; Photo #3: 1/640sec, f8, ISO 200; Photo #4: 1/800sec, f8, ISO 200; Photo #5: 1/800sec, f9, ISO 400; Photo #6: 1/800sec, f7.1, ISO 200

[Bob32]

Steve,

These shots look good to me although I might go for a tad more exposure and/or lightening of shadows as long as it doesn't result in blowing out the whites on the uniforms. It must have been a cinch to shoot football players moving at a far slower speed than stock cars! It's nice that you were able to shoot a football game in the daylight like they were designed to be played. I'm not a fan of Friday night football.

I wish to heck Nikon produced a 100-400 like what you have. My Nikon 70-300 VR is a little short for best results when shooting football action.

If you decide to move on now to basketball please post some photos taken of the action. Those f/2.8 lenses you are awaiting delivery of would likely aid you in the effort. There is a shortage of basketball shooters on this forum, and you could help fill the void. We might even be able to throw some tips your way.


Bob

[Steve1840]

Steve,

These shots look good to me although I might go for a tad more exposure and/or lightening of shadows as long as it doesn't result in blowing out the whites on the uniforms. It must have been a cinch to shoot football players moving at a far slower speed than stock cars! It's nice that you were able to shoot a football game in the daylight like they were designed to be played. I'm not a fan of Friday night football.

I wish to heck Nikon produced a 100-400 like what you have. My Nikon 70-300 VR is a little short for best results when shooting football action.

If you decide to move on now to basketball please post some photos taken of the action. Those f/2.8 lenses you are awaiting delivery of would likely aid you in the effort. There is a shortage of basketball shooters on this forum, and you could help fill the void. We might even be able to throw some tips your way.


Bob

Thanks Bob. Actually I found this to be a little more challenging than shooting the stock cars and jets that I'm used to. The slower speed of my subjects in the football game was a little better, but their movement was rather unpredictable. At least with the stockcars and jets they are moving in a constant predictable motion.

As good as the 100-400 is, it is not the best. It is rather slow, and the aperture limitations have me putting my camera down a lot when the sun goes down (when shooting at the speedway). I have a few photog friends that shoot Nikon and use the 80-400 and the 200-400, and have not one bad thing to say about them.

I definitely plan on getting in some basketball action when/if I take delivery of the f2.8 lenses. I should get them just in time for the second half of the HS basketball season here. Hopefully I will be shooting a good amount of highschool sports with the new lenses, as I am definitely wanting to broaden my horizons and must say I really enjoyed shooting that game.

[jacobovs]

Nice shots Steve. Where are you shooting from? How are you positioning yourself? Love them all except #5. It looks like it was taken from too high a position. I don't think 5 is a keeper. #'s 1, 2 & 3 are great captures. 6 looks great too. I might try a couple of different crops on #4. It may ( or may not ) look better slightly tighter.

[Steve1840]

Jacob, as far as where I was shooting from....I was shooting from the sidelines during the game. Shot #5 hapened right in front of me (and I was shooting while making sure I got out of the way) and since I had the 100-400mm on my camera, the shot was a tight squeeze. I liked the action going on in the shot and unfortunately due to where it all ended up in the frame the crop made this end up at the bottom of the photo. I still liked it though, and gives it a look like I was right on top of it.

[Grandpaw]

Steve I think you did a very good job catching the acton and the detail and colors are very nice also. Jeff

[jacobovs]

Have you tried shooting from the endzone? You should get more shots that are head on. I stalked your gallery. Your best shot (IMHO) is the last one in the gallery.(#46). I love that shot.

[Steve1840]

Yes, I shot from the end zone a few times during the game. I chose to stick to the sideline as I noticed a lot of the plays were going out to the sides and that I could get a better shot of what was going on. But I will definitely try shots from the end zones more often next season.

The final shot in the gallery is one of my favorites as well. Thanks for the compliment.

[Photo-John]

Actually I found this to be a little more challenging than shooting the stock cars and jets that I'm used to. The slower speed of my subjects in the football game was a little better, but their movement was rather unpredictable. At least with the stockcars and jets they are moving in a constant predictable motion.

Great photos, Steve! I'm impressed - especially since you say this was your first time shooting football. I also shoot more predictable sports - mostly cycling and skiing - and I would agree that unpredictable movement would make this really hard. I suppose that as you shoot more football you'll learn to anticipate the action better and get some technique for staying on the action. But personally, I like having a trail or road so I know where my subject is going

As good as the 100-400 is, it is not the best. It is rather slow, and the aperture limitations have me putting my camera down a lot when the sun goes down (when shooting at the speedway). I have a few photog friends that shoot Nikon and use the 80-400 and the 200-400, and have not one bad thing to say about them.

I agree about the Canon 100-400mm zoom being less than excellent. I rented one to shoot a big mountain bike freeride event this fall and was disappointed by the image quality compared to other Canon L lenses that I've used. A few days later I attended a Sony DSLR press event and got to use their 70-400mm zoom and then I was even less impressed with the Canon lens. The Sony was soooo much better. The Canon 100-400mm zoom has been in their lineup forever, though. It's way overdue for a redesign. Your photos actually look pretty damn good to me, considering you used that lens.

[mattb]

These look really good to me! Crisp, colorful, and full of action. Nice job!

[JETA]

When I saw the word "first" I just had to chime in to say these are fantastic. I think they are sharp and think you did a good job with your exposure. I know I always struggle with the happy medium of shadows versus overexposure in the sun. I would like to see some of the defenders not partially cropped out, but that's probably a personal preference. Again, nice job.