steve_vh

<p>Not my best image from the night (exposure, sharpness & shutterspeed are all wrong), but I really like the look on the guys face! :)</p><div></div>

<p>Xmas Tree</p><div></div>

<p>A lynx shot at the New Forest Otter, Owl & Wildlife Park in Southampton, UK</p><div></div>

<p>Grays Of Westminster have a D70 body for £175 and a 50 1.8 for £79 on their used equipment list on their website if you're in the London area?</p>

<p>Mitchell Park, Durban, South Africa</p><div></div>

<p>My daughter enjoying her first marshmallow with some chocolate... messy!</p><div></div>

<p>Durban Botanic Gardens (South Africa)</p><div></div>

<p>Durban Botanic Gardens (South Africa)</p><div></div>

<p>My daughter</p><div></div>

<p>Hey everyone, thanks for your assistance.<br>

I live in South Africa, and both the website and fighter are South African.</p>

<p>I am going to email the site in the mean time about the image.</p>

<p>I recently sold a print of an image to a fighter from an event I had photographed.<br>

Then, by chance I was asked to "like" a page on Facebook so I went to check it out. On the page was a thumbnail 150x150 of the exact image I sold (it must have been scanned). So I followed the link to the external website and there it was again.<br>

Now I'm not sure if I'm being pathetic about worrying about such a small image (they might have a larger one on their server??).<br>

What would you do?</p>

<p>Seriously I would be more worried about personal security... you're a prime target if you're gonna walk the streets with your camera and a moderate size lens fitted. People here (I live in SA) get mugged for a cellphone...</p>

<p>Knock Out</p><div></div>

<p>K1 Fight</p><div></div>

<p>D5000, f6.3, 1/60sec</p><div></div>

<p>D5000, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 55-200mm @68mm (cropped), f5</p><div></div>

<p>Hi everyone<br>

D5000, ISO200, 55-200mm @200, F5.6, 1/400sec</p>

<div></div>

<p>I have made a cd of the pics that I liked from the last event, and I have been giving them to the trainers of the fighters and some of the fighters that I know. I have also been organising to photograph training sessions at the different gyms. I have done one so far and am trying to get to another next week so we'll see what happens. I have already had a request from a few guys for small pics for facebook, they want to show themselves off hitting a punching bag... :)</p>

<p>No, I'm not currently shooting for a media publication. I'm hoping to get some sports work in the not too distant future though. I have contacted the promoters (we only have one major promoter in SA, FightForce) for the next MMA event in December to request a press pass. I'm holding thumbs!</p>

<p>Nice shot of the president Dave! That's a genuine smile.<br>

BTW... did you say yes to the boudoire photography session... ;-)</p>

<p>Yeah, my pic is a bit dark... straight out the camera. :)</p>

<p>I had a look at mmaprints.com, there are some excellent pics there! Thanks, I'll definitely be going through the site when I get time. I noticed not all the pics have model releases on them. Do you get the fighters permission to sell these, and do you have to also get permission from the organisers/promoters?</p>

<p>We've got another tournament coming up in December so hopefully I'll be able to sit next to the cage again. I'm thinking of contacting the promoters before the event to enquire about officially taking photos, not sure what their response is going to be though?</p>

 

<p>Hey Brandt, thanks for the tips. I might try a 50mm f1.4 prime (manual) at the next training session. I'm sure the manual focus will be a challenge with MMA... :) How long have you been shooting MMA/Martial Arts?</p>

<p>Thanks Dave, I'll try my luck next time there is an event and ask if I can use a ladder. The last event I went to had an official photographer, but I just asked if I could sit closer to take photos. I was super surprised that I was allowed to sit next to the cage to photograph... its amazing where a camera can get you! They were recording for TV so they had guys on the ladders already.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9977533-lg.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Another thought I was having... this is w.r.t the technique you use to shoot MMA. Do you spray and pray (let the fps do most of the work), or do you try and anticipate the action? Actually I suppose this goes for most sports.</p>

<p>Would it be worthwhile to buy a used D2H ($640) instead of a new D90 for sports photography?</p>

<p>Thanks Bernard, yes I do use Nikon. I'll look around for that lens, but its probably going to be manual focus as I have a D5000 (damn! wish I had bought a D90).</p>

<p>BTW, you have some excellent photos on your site!</p>

<p>@Joseph: Thanks for the advice on shooting raw, I'll try it on a few shots next time and see if it makes a difference. Its going to fill my card up really quick! The copyright is something I've been unsure about... There doesn't seem to be a right way to do this? I am worried that someone will just crop the picture if the copyright isn't in the middle... it does spoil the pic though! Any advice?</p>

<p>@Roberta, thanks for your comment.</p>

<p>@Jeff: Thanks for the advice, maybe I should rent a lens. What ISO and shutter speed do you normally use for MMA events when they have bright lights, e.g. UFC?</p>

<p>@Markus: I live in South Africa and we cannot get the Tamron lens locally (at least I haven't found it), however they do sell the Sigma 18-50 2.8. I'm a bit worried to get a 28-75 as the fighters get really close up when you're next to the cage, but it might be worth exploring. Thanks I'll check these out.</p>

<p>Recently I have been photographing MMA events and training, and as is the case for most beginners my lens is too slow (18-55mm VR kit lens).</p>

<p>I have been upping the ISO to 1600 to enable faster shutter speeds (at least 1/250sec), however most of the time in training situations I have to use the built in flash which limits me to 1/200.</p>

<p>I am on a serious budget, so I was wondering if I purchased the 35mm f1.8 DX lens would it be worthwhile, as I cannot afford a 17-55 f2.8 zoom (not even a used one) right now? Are there any other techniques I could use to enable me to keep using the 18-55 zoom lens with higher shutter speeds?</p>