Wildcats win to tie for CCAA lead

[Bob32]

A week ago Friday the Chico State basketball team looked great as they decisively defeated Cal Poly Pomona to move into a first place tie for the lead in the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association). Chico was already leading 43-26 at halftime and ended up with a 20 point margin of victory at 75-55.

All shots were taken with D700 + 80-200 f/2.8 with exposure manually set at 1/500, f/2.8, and ISO 8,000.

Comments are welcome.

Bob

Photo #1: 7'0" player #44 continues to wow the home crowd with his slam dunks.

Photo #3: I'm not a big fan of cheerleaders, but if they look this good and don't hog the baseline I have no objections.

[shalyn]

I don't know how people able to take so nice pics, I always miss the right time to shoot any live event, match or so on. For good photography, you must shoot photo at right time and place, only then it makes the difference.

[Bob32]

Shalyn,

Thanks for commenting. The sports section of the local newspaper is the source for most of the information telling me where and when local sports events will take place.

Bob

[Old Timer]

That first shot is sweet. Nice catch.

[Bob32]

Thanks, Larry. The more shots like #1 I can manage to capture the more I'll like it!

Bob

[deviljets7]

Picture #1 is sweet.

I own a d700 too, but I'm always hesitant to go much further than 4000 on the iso. After seeing some of these in 8000, I might be a little more open to taking the risk if I come upon the right (or wrong) dungeon of a gym.

[Bob32]

After starting out with a D200 where the practical ISO limit was 1600 I relished being able to shoot at ISO 6,400 with my D700. For a long time I hesitated to go above ISO 6,400. However, in some of the old dimgyms ISO 6,400 didn't quite fill the bill. Therefore, I started experimenting with higher ISOs and found that I could get acceptable results all the way up to ISO 12,800. I still prefer not going above 6,400, but I don't hesitate going higher if the situation calls for it.

A good noise reduction program helps when using the higher ISO values. I use Noise Ninja which works well. It's important to nail the exposure to minimize noise. Under-exposure is to be avoided.

Fortunately a number of the local gyms have upgraded their lighting systems in recent years, so I don't have to resort to elevated ISOs as much as I used to. In case you're wondering I haven't tried shooting games at ISO 25,600. I don't want to push my luck too far! I'm reserving ISO 25,600 for extreme emergencies!

Bob

[jacobovs]

Nice catch on #1 and #2. The last one would have been Fantastic! but for the noise. Have you tried to shoot with a shorter lens when you are that close to the net. I shoot pro basketball with the 70-200 f2.8 and for up close with the 24-70 f2.8. I find that, on the closer shots, I get better horizontal action.

[Bob32]

Shal,

That last shot was not as sharply focused as I would have liked. I liked the image, so I sharpened it as best I could although I would have preferred it to be sharper. I don't see any significant noise in the image itself, so what you're perceiving as a noisy subject may actually be due to the shortfall in sharpness.

Normally I work the baseline with a 50 mm. prime or a 24-85 zoom when shooting basketball games. However, Chico State allows only media types behind the baseline, so I was confined to a corner location with the 80-200 in shooting this game.

Almost all of my basketball images are shot vertically oriented, although I'll occasionally shoot some horizontals for variety. Dribbling shots lend themselves well to capture as horizontal images although I usually don't have time to switch quickly from vertical camera orientation to horizontal. Therefore, my dribbling shots are usually shot vertical and cropped as horizontals.

How do you manage a pass to shoot Golden State Warriors games? Are you a pro photog or do you know people in high places? or both?

I recall seeing the Warriors play way back in the 1960s when the great Rick Barry was with the team. Although frequently involved in controversy, he was one of the best players in the history of basketball.

Bob

[jacobovs]

Shal,

That last shot was not as sharply focused as I would have liked. I liked the image, so I sharpened it as best I could although I would have preferred it to be sharper. I don't see any significant noise in the image itself, so what you're perceiving as a noisy subject may actually be due to the shortfall in sharpness.

Normally I work the baseline with a 50 mm. prime or a 24-85 zoom when shooting basketball games. However, Chico State allows only media types behind the baseline, so I was confined to a corner location with the 80-200 in shooting this game.

Almost all of my basketball images are shot vertically oriented, although I'll occasionally shoot some horizontals for variety. Dribbling shots lend themselves well to capture as horizontal images although I usually don't have time to switch quickly from vertical camera orientation to horizontal. Therefore, my dribbling shots are usually shot vertical and cropped as horizontals.

How do you manage a pass to shoot Golden State Warriors games? Are you a pro photog or do you know people in high places? or both?

I recall seeing the Warriors play way back in the 1960s when the great Rick Barry was with the team. Although frequently involved in controversy, he was one of the best players in the history of basketball.

Bob

A little of both.