From the Ballpark

[Lava Lamp]

I attended a minor league baseball game and shot these with a D70 and 85, 75-300, or 180 lens with a 1.4X teleconverter on the 180mm some of the time. The ISO was 800 or 1600 and the apertures were usually wide open or stopped down one click. I tried to keep the shutter speed at 1/500 or faster.

[Lava Lamp]

This pitcher had a rough night - he loaded the bases on three consecutive walks at one point. That might explain the grimace on his face.

[Lava Lamp]

This was shot through a net behind home plate, which produces the grid pattern you see. I found with a litle practice, I could get the ball in the frame some of the time. 1/500 of a second wasn't fast enought to freeze the ball and bat, though.

[Lava Lamp]

This batter took a pitch to the head and was down for a few moments. When he got up, he took a dazed walk to first base, escorted by the umpire and opposing pitcher, who seemed truly concerned...

[Lava Lamp]

The San Diego Chicken made an appearance. This photo is from a skit where all the players throw water balloons at him. The shutter speed here was 1/400, which wasn't enough for fastballs, but froze the water balloons.

[Outdoorsman]

I went to a college journalism convention last year in San Fransico. I of course went to a workshop on digital photography, with a San Francisco Chronicle staff photog leading it. He scoffed when one attendee made a remark about catching the bat/ball contact, saying the 10-FPS capability of the EOS 1V HS was the key to getting the moment on film. The photog shut him right down. He said he spent a very long time (on and off-duty) working on Barry Bonds' swing to get it consistently just right for the crucial moment when he hit the record-breaking home run. He did not rely on letting the camera run and hoping he got it right; he actually took the shot himself, based on careful practice and timing. Your shot here really emphasizes this- the real photogs out there actually do the work of getting it right, not relying on the gadget to take the shot for us. Awesome work, Lava Lamp! I'm totally jealous!

[Chunk]

The San Diego Chicken made an appearance. This photo is from a skit where all the players throw water balloons at him. The shutter speed here was 1/400, which wasn't enough for fastballs, but froze the water balloons.

These are some great shots. The timing on "The Hit" is terrific. Some good arms on that team when they can't even hit the chicken.

How did the shots with the 180/1.4 compare to the zoom?