kirt1

2nd baseman is concentrating on the incoming throw from LF. Maybe a

less ideal angle than a couple of the other plays I have at 2nd, but I

still found it interesting and hope you do too. Critiques, comments,

ratings and discussion welcomed.

Thanks for the comments, David. Yes, I love my 300mm lens. You can do a lot with a 70-200(ish) lens as well. I have an older 400mm f/2.8 (AF-I for you Nikon fans) lens also, but it's so big that I just don't get it out as much.

As for the parents, well, let's just say I'm not ready to quit my day job, but those who do buy seem very appreciative.

Kirt

Just an instant after impact, this turned out to be a textbook

sacrifice bunt. Note the hint of dust coming off the bat.

Suggestions, comments, and critiques always appreciated.

Okay, so you cut off her feet. It happens. Center of the frame instead of something more like the famous "rule of thirds." Happens too, especially when you don't have time to hit the little puck on the back of the camera to change focus points.

So, I cropped away at it. It's not a 4x6 kind of crop, but something like this can still yield a 4x6 or 5x7 with good quality, even cropped as aggressively as I did.

I've heard that in cropping, what you don't want to do is crop right at a joint (like the ankle in this one) or it looks funny. Anyway, just some thoughts. Hope they help.

Tough to save the highlights but a steal of 2nd. SS is taking the

throw, and 2nd base is in position for an overthrow.

Not really that close a play until you consider it was in "8 and

under" play. All comments, critiques, and discussion welcomed.

David,

Hope this is the first of many for you! If you aren't already doing this, learn to keep both eyes open. With practice you can track the pitcher/ball with one eye and keep everything framed with the other. Doesn't guarantee bat on ball shots, but it sure helps.

PS: If you like softball shots, I've got a lot of them in my gallery.

PPS: I grew up in the Sedgwick/Valley Center area.

As always, Wilson, an awesome shot. Well-framed, well-timed.

Cheers!

Kirt

2nd baseman snared a hot bouncer, then ran down the runner coming from

first. This was taken just as she "locked on." I liked her

expression. Your thoughts, comments, and critiques appreciated.

For this shot I used a Fuji S2, but for the sports shots I've posted here I've also more recently used a D70 and now have a D2x.

But it's not "frames per second" that nets you this shot. With pitches going anywhere from 50-65mph, you just have to time it right. The S2 had a pretty nasty shutter lag, so it was harder with that one than with the D70, and the D2x is even better.

I also keep both eyes open when shooting, which, in photos like this one, lets me track the pitch as it comes in.

Kirt

Hi Eliza,

Thanks for taking the time post your kind words. Though I agree that photographically the mask is a hindrance, I've seen more than a few teeth (noses, etc.) saved by them. The main governing body of softball in the USA, the ASA, requires them for all players. I don't believe they are required (at least yet) in college.

Thanks again!

Kirt

In softball, a "drag bunt" is where the hitter starts in the back of

the batter's box and runs forward during the pitch to try to get to

1st base faster. Obviously it makes it harder to make contact with

the ball, but it also makes it harder to frame and time it for the

photographer. Thanks for looking, and all comments/critiques

appreciated.

Just an instant after contact. Check out the left arm. This line-

drive was hit right at the 2nd-baseman, who made the play. Thanks

for looking, and please comment about this photo or anything else in

my portfolio.

It's good that it's an 8U in the sense that the balls are only thrown harder as the kids get older (and generally the balls get harder, as 8Us around here use RIF balls).

I think some of the most dramatic shots in softball/baseball are these "impending impact" kind of shots. Sure, the 'ol "bat on ball" is nice, but the expressions on peoples' faces in these situations are truly priceless, IMHO.

They are also pretty hard moments to capture. The ball is normally put in play many more times in a game than the batter is hit by the pitch. And, if you're trying to frame tightly, the unpredictability of the hitter in that situation makes it a tough shot.

Given that you have missed part of her right leg, I'd say (especially for p.n) to just crop more tightly around the top left quadrant of the shot.

But the timing is awesome on this one. Good job!

Kirt

This high strike was hit hard and low for an RBI double. It's not

often that you get just the right sun angle to really light up the

player's faces, so I was happy to get this shot at the point of

impact. Comments and suggestions always appreciated.

A beautiful throw from the catcher and a nice tag from SS. Let me

know what you think.

Clutter is a fact of life for kids' sports, but I'm guessing your lens has a maximum aperture bigger than f/7.1 (i.e. a smaller aperture number).

It's a nice expression he has, cropped well.

Center-fielder made a great, leaping catch on a dead-run to rob the

hitter of an extra-base hit. Lost some of the highlights. Anything

else of note?

Loren,

Agree with the previous comment. It's a little slice of Americana. Maybe if you had the ball in the frame the background would be distracting, but here it is what makes the shot interesting.

Looks like the horizon is tilted to the right. One way to deal with this (as it's hard to always hold your camera perfectly straight) if you use Photoshop is to use the little ruler tool. Draw a line down something that should be perfectly vertical in the shot (like the pole behind his head), then go to the arbitrary rotation feature and the numbers will be filled in for you. Recrop and everything is perfectly vertical.

This is pretty much full-frame. I should probably try the same shot with something smaller than my 300. I was concentrating on her head, so in that regard I got most of what I wanted.

Surprisingly, now that I'm known as the team photographer, I don't get as much time to experiment as you'd think. Whenever a big play happens I get a chorus of "Did you get that?" :-)

Graphic display of why tall people play 1st base. She made the

catch and came down on the bag in time for the out. Discussion and

thoughts appreciated.

Was looking into the dugout before a game and found two players from

opposing teams talking when a boy walked up. The expression on the

out-of-focus girl might be interesting enough to be a distraction,

but I liked the colors and the framing of the subject. As always,

interested in your thoughts.

Marty,

First-off, thanks for the comments. The player's dad gives private hitting lessons. Maybe I should give you his email? :-)

Sometimes it's tough to make a judgement about a swing from a single still of it. Her lower hand will (did) end up rolling over, it'll just happen sometime after the point of contact.

Also, for those who might wonder, "softballs," or at least the ones used at this level of competitive play, are certainly not soft. The flattening of the ball means she was swinging hard.

Just short of the sweet spot on the bat, this ball was stroked into

right-center field. Wish I had her eyes, but my vantage point for

this game was pretty high. Thoughts, criticisms and comments

appreciated.