kirt1

Had to add more football on Superbowl Sunday. It's not often I get to

shoot football during the day, so comments, suggestions, and critiques

would be much appreciated.

Actually, I think a 50mm is a pretty good choice for shooting the action close to the net. I tend to use an 85 or my 70-200, but that's mostly to cover more of the court. Nothing wrong at all with making the most of what you have, and if you're shooting ambient, which you look to be doing, fast is good.

As far as this shot goes, I think I'd like to see more to the right, maybe more centered between the shooter and the defender. But overall your timing is good, the exposure looks dead-on, and you have captured some of the effort and emotion of the game.

From the CIF San Diego Section D3 Finals. Please let me know what you

think.

I love basketball season. Thanks in advance for your comments and

suggestions.

Finally getting around to putting up a few football photos from this

season. Thanks for looking and please comment.

Finally getting around to putting up a few football photos from this

season. Thanks for looking and please comment.

I agree with Glen about leading in too much. I think it's okay to ask about specific things, but if you start with what you like about your photo, I think you limit what you will get as far as feedback (and sports photos on photo.net don't always generate a lot of good feedback anyway, in my experience).

It's a nice image. Still, to me, it is missing something, which I'll describe as "energy and passion." To me that most often comes from seeing faces of players. Whether it be the grimace of the player being tackled or the determination of a tackler, that is what would make this nice image one with real impact. Imagine the ball carrier with his head toward us, and an expression of pain, determination, or excitement on his face.

Technically it looks to be executed very well. Focus is dead-on, exposure is also on (a few lost highlights in the white jersey is no big deal to me). Good sports photos have a lot to do with being able to execute shots consistently well, so when those moments with passion and energy appear, you'll get them.

Or, if you're like me, you'll get it just before and/or just after the best moment! :-)

I went for a more vertical crop and got this. Maybe need a little more space behind her, but it's a thought.

Here's another shot from the San Diego CIF's "K" Classic. Appreciate

any critiques and comments. Thanks!

John, it was taken in "portrait" orientation. I was sitting ten feet off the baseline, about where the 3pt line intersects.

And the light was quite artificial, Shaun, but after shooting in the same gym six or seven times this season, in the final game I think I finally got the lights set up just right!

I'm a big believer in getting the horizon straight. Problem with that is you sometimes lose elements and you're probably going to lose all or part of the ball in this one. Find what should be a vertical line close to the center of the frame and make that vertical.

If you make yourself do it when you are editing, I've found it makes you more conscious of it when you're holding the camera.

Hope this was helpful!

Hi Shaun, very nice shot. Minor thoughts only. One is that the horizon looks a little crooked (make the foul pole 90 degrees and you've got it, but it's not far off at all). Second might be an opportunity to use a bigger aperture and thus get a little less DOF, but your background is so clean that's really a nit.

Excellent work!

Here in San Diego it's time for baseball. This is from a local

kickoff showcase. Comments and critiques appreciated. Thanks for

looking.

A little more hoop action from this month. Always love comments and

critiques.

It's the start of high school baseball season here in San Diego. This

guy "took one for the team."

Hi John,

All the posters in this folder are ones that I've created for people. My photos and the magic of Photoshop.

I think one thing that is hard to convey online is what something looks like after it's printed big. This is intended for a 20x30" print. So some of the ones that look more "cluttered" look less so when printed at size. The other one you refer to is one that is made to show the whole team (actually a gift for the coach).

A little hoop action. For me, this kind of moment is harder to catch

than most shots. Got the button pushed at what I think is a pretty

good time. Would appreciate your thoughts.

What I wish this shot conveyed was the fact that this wasn't during

warm-up... Well, I suppose his expression might convey that. :-)

All comments and suggestions appreciated. Thanks for looking.

A nice drive through the lane for two during a varsity game between

Escondido and Hollywood high-schools. Try looking at it on the

"larger" setting. This was taken during a 14-hour, 8-game shoot.

Luckily I managed to get the shot and get out of the way.

Let me know what you think.