kirt1

As the old saying from Seneca (according to thinkexist.com) goes, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

You chose an interesting angle, were probably at least attempting to time the ball and your preparation met an opportunity. in all good sports action photos, the play has to happen and you have to be ready to catch it.

Nice!

From Saturday night playoff action. Comments and discussion very much

appreciated.

No way!

I find myself dying to see the look that the girl who is falling backward (#12?) has on her face. Fear? Anger? :-) Good stuff. I like sports photos that make me think.

Great moment, good focus, maybe slightly too much DOF, but seeing the fans standing adds something as well. My nits are:

1. Can't see either player's face. I still think it's a nice shot, but with one or the others' face, it would be a better one, IMHO.

2. It's a degree or so off (rotate slightly counter-clock-wise to fix).

A fastpitch softball pitcher as her arm comes down before release.

Critiques, comments or ratings all welcomed.

It was not necessarily a textbook catch, but it was still a nice one.

Feedback and discussion appreciated.

I agree, Juha, in that I'm positive that this cheerleader can no doubt smile and really pose with the best of them. They practice hard and when they are performing, they give maximum effort. I think I was motivated to post this shot because not only was she way up in the air (that is the top row of the bleachers you see) but her face gives just a slight hint of how much effort it takes to do these things.

Thanks for adding to the discussion. I wonder if her mom would like the shot if she was smiling like it was all effortless? I'm not sure it would be a "better" picture in my eyes.

After the jump, she falls back-first to the ground, trusting that her teammates will catch her.

He's not really very fast, but in this picture, with the tips of his

ears blowing back, he probably thinks he is!

They chucked this girl up pretty high!

I don't really do much photographing of the cheer squads, but if

someone, especially a parent, has thoughts about what they like to see

in cheer photos, I'd be quite interested.

Looks to be just a tiny bit back-focused, but not objectionably so. So, was it a foul, a charge, or a no-call? I like that it's a little ambiguous; makes me think.

Softball catchers are actually somewhat difficult to photograph well

in action because they tend to reflexively close their eyes when the

batter swings or even as they catch the ball. Not this girl, she

makes it easy!

Comments, critiques or ideas appreciated.

The look on the other boy's face is absolutely priceless. A great moment.

I like the light too, but even though I love basketball goals in general, the way it sticks out of the official's head sort of bugs me. I think an ideal angle might have been more head-on, as the gap between them, despite the shallow DOF, sort of messes up the composition. I suppose also that Alec is the one that is slightly out of focus, and that also seems a little out of place.

Overall, though, those are nits. There's no way in my book that this rates in the threes! Another photo to be proud of, Carrie.

More softball from the Worth Cup. Enjoy discussion, constructive

criticism, long walks at sunset... wait, forget that last part. :-)

One thing I've noticed is that for the most part a softball photo gets

rated (on average) a point lower than a baseball (or, really, any male

sport photo I've posted). Is there something to this? Am I just

unable to judge my own photos of girls sports (and softball in

particular) or something? Is it just my own perception that is messed

up (I haven't really done the full statistics on my photos, just have

an impression).

Seriously, I'm not trying to bait anybody into a discussion so I can

call them sexist, but I'm starting to wonder.

Thanks for looking, and please comment about the above or any other

aspect of this or any of my photos.

Softball action from the Worth Cup. It's the last big club tournament

in California before high-school season starts.

Your gym isn't much different than the one I shoot in... Hence I learned to strobe, ha ha!

With all the light coming from above it's going to be a challenge to find the right balance between the highlights that get direct light and the shadows. I think you're probably always going to lose a few highlights on the white uniforms, so I would expose with that in mind and it will help you recover detail in the shadows when you need to.

I like the shot, but #42 in the background needs a different pair of socks!

Being upset at not being #1 is what no doubt drives your nephew to be good in the first place.

I like the emotion; you can tell he takes it all very seriously. The white balance looks to be a little on the red side, but that's easily fixable.

It's one of those photos that I don't know if he would like to see it right now, but I think it will be important to him in the future. It's great that you captured it for him.

Nice timing. I like the angle too.

Looks like the little guy is going to come up with this one, but at first look because of the players in the background it looks like the big guy is holding him up.

Of course, being me, I have to suggest that the horizon is a little off. I'm picky about that...

For JV games I don't identify the players. Please take a moment to

comment if you can.

I hate it when one team has really white unis and the other team has very dark ones.

Looks like the light underneath the goal isn't as good as it is a few feet back. Might be a chance to use a little lower ISO speed if you shoot at a different angle.

White balance in these is really tricky, but sometimes the 'ol "auto-levels" works well. Is that what you did?

Some thoughts. I'll keep posting basketball if you will. :-)

Another shot from the San Diego CIF Finals. This one is lit by a

mixture of daylight and the stadium lights.