kirt1

If you have the entire ball, I would show the entire ball. Other than that, I like the crop (forget the rest of the bat in my book).

I was trying to keep the little patch of dust that shows where the ball bounced, but agree that the blue patch (LFer) is kind of distracting.

Shortstop looked to be in perfect position to make a play, but as

balls sometimes do, this one took a bad hop and smacked her right in

the chest. Thoughts always appreciated.

It was actually an extremely awkward catch, but for this moment at

least, it looked rather graceful.

Wilson,

 

I do think that sports photography in general is something people see a lot of, so I guess that could be part of us being "de-sensitized" to a good sports shot; we do tend to see great ones on a regular basis. I also suppose that to some it follows that since we see a lot of them, it must not be that hard to make them.

 

In the sports pages, most photos are of the famous athlete, not the kid who may struggle to make a college team. Many of my favorite sports shots are of "big athletes" having "big moments" during a "big game."

 

So maybe I won't ever take a great one.

 

Even if we like sports photos in general, perhaps we like them more if we like the sport. My small sample of posted photos makes me think that photos of baseball are valued somewhat higher than those of girls playing fastpitch softball. That is the nature of things at this point in history, I suppose, and may always be. Still, as I tell my daughter, there has never been a better time or place to be a female athlete. Anyway, I digress...

 

It is great to get words of encouragement from you, Wilson, as I truly admire your gift for turning a moment from a sporting event into a work of art. Though I don't know if I can aspire to make the kind of photos you do, they do inspire me in so many ways.

I think sometimes folks don't realize how perfect your timing has to be to catch a ball on a bat like that. Personally, I love the tight crop. I always like it better if somehow you can see the hitter's face, but that doesn't always work out.

Pitcher fielded a bunt toward the 3rd base line and fired to 1st for

the out.

With a late swing on an inside pitch, this hitter popped up to the

2nd baseman. Opinions and suggestions always appreciated.

Kelly, if you click on the "Details" tab you will find the settings and equipment I used for this shot. It is cropped fairly aggresively. Let me know if you have other questions.

Heckuva nice moment, in fact.

 

I assume the pitcher in the background is the source of the pick-off play. Without all of him, I don't think he adds to the photo, but if you have a little extra room on the right that you cropped off, maybe he would add.

 

Cluttered background is kind of distracting. You didn't put any info about your equipment or setting in, but if you didn't use your lens wide open, I think that would have helped.

 

Maybe tilted slightly to the left too?

 

I'm going to guess safe. :-)

 

Hope the suggestions are helpful.

Pitch was a little high, but she ripped it into left-center. Any

thoughts?

One of those pop-ups with a lot of spin, and a good breeze blowing

too, it made this SS's job tough. She dropped it.

Hey, if this is your first attempt, that's pretty good stuff.

 

As an alternate crop, how about right at the waist of the players? I like the fact that they both have their right legs up, but that also makes me want to see their feet.

 

Since your subjects are so short, you might try shooting from even lower.

 

This guy was the "closer," and he threw pretty hard. Suggestions

and comments always appreciated.

There's really two ways to get the ball more in focus. Well, other than altering the photo...

 

1. Shoot the shot with the ball closer to the pitcher. That would work except I thought it was interesting that he was looking at his own pitch, and the ones I have with the ball closer to him don't show that as clearly.

 

2. Go for greater DOF, which would bring the background into better focus too, which may or may not have been a problem. Honestly, I didn't think about it at the time, and didn't realize as I chimped the shots that he was watching his own pitches.

 

This was actually my first time shooting HS baseball (and almost any baseball for that matter, though softball is my thing).

 

As for the ratings, well, a set of 3/3s always seems to follow every sports shot I put up. I mostly shoot sports photos to please the parents of the subjects, so if there's originality in my shots, and I'm not arguing about the ratings per se, it has to do with capturing the personality of the individuals in their expressions, etc. That may not even be original in the eyes of the critiquers, and that's okay.

 

What I will note is that if you look at Asthetics/Originality ratings, they generally are within 1 point of each other for most everyone's shots.

 

Seems like whenever I post in response to a critique that the comments pretty much end. Hope not, I like the discussion.

 

Kirt

Thought it was interesting that this pitcher would track his own

pitches in. Don't know how common it is, but I hadn't seen it

before.

Does the out of focus fielder in the foreground (3rd base, I

believe) ruin this shot?

I appreciate all the thoughts and compliments. To answer some questions...

 

The photo has not been published (other than here). I was, in fact, hired by the subject's (victim's?) father to get some shots of him in action.

 

What I will say is that whatever prints Dad decides to order, I will most certainly add this shot to the collection (on me). I think it's one of those moments that his son is likely to appreciate more in the future than he will today (in fact, he's probably pretty sore today).

 

Don't know if any of you have seen it, but I have an "impending impact" softball shot on photo.net as well. That one was taken just an instant before it hit.

 

Kirt

Not only did this poor guy get nailed right in the middle of the

back on this pitch, but what do you think happened his next time

up? Yup, and in the same spot, the shot was just a little early on

that one.

The look on his face, the ball just on the fingertips, the fans in the background adding depth as well as drama... Outstanding!

 

Kirt

Eventually I'm going to get this kid making a spectacular catch.

Until that day, I'll have to keep posting her spectacular attempts.

A little overblown on the white shirt. Any other thoughts?

Okay, I'm all for honest and open ratings. Heck, I'm not claiming I deserve anything better than a three. However, no matter what I post it sure seems like a three shows up quickly.

 

I guess what I'd hope is that if you want to toss up a three, I'd love to know more about what you didn't like. I'm here to learn, really. I could find a place where I could just hang out with fellow sports enthusiasts, but I want the kind of perspectives that the talented folks who post here can give.

 

And if it isn't a coincidence, and I ticked somebody off with a rating back when I was just figuring out how to use the site, I'm sorry. If you didn't like one of my critiques, well, I do my best to offer suggestions in a constructive way, and hope to never offend, but if I have, again, I'm sorry.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Kirt

Hi Michael,

 

Looks to me like the focus is fine. At f/5.6, you should have some DOF, and it looks to me like the focus point is somewhere between the front shoulder and the face, but all should be acceptably sharp.

 

Don't think camera shake is a likely softener at the shutter speed you listed, but if you don't have a monopod, consider one for softball.

 

More likely, having owned a 70-300 Nikkor before, I suspect your lens is just a tad soft, and though I haven't owned a D50, maybe there's some noise reduction going on that is softening it as well since you shot at ISO 800.

 

I like the photo, and love the sport! I also like the angle. I shoot a lot of youth softball and don't get that kind of look. Were you shooting through a fence or net?

 

Keep shooting!

Panning with the runner going to 1st. Tough to find the compromise

between shutter speed that blurs the background and getting

something halfway sharp since heads and helmets seem to move around

a lot. Ideas?

I'm never sure whether to use my left or right hand for any task, and I guess it carries over into written expression. :-)