Real soccer!

Ann McRae · May 2, 2005

It was still freezing out, but the game meant something. I am getting the hang of the equipment, not perfect yet, but I sure love the color and contrast straight from the cam (okay I still bump saturation a bit, but thats me!)
A coupla favorites:

and this one should be called the 'red wall'

Its hard for me to believe that my camera sat idle for 6 weeks - early spring here is very uninspiring. But now its soccer season!

ann

mushy · May 3, 2005

Ann McRae wrote:

It was still freezing out, but the game meant something. I am getting the hang of the equipment, not perfect yet, but I sure love the color and contrast straight from the cam (okay I still bump saturation a bit, but thats me!)
A coupla favorites:

Its hard for me to believe that my camera sat idle for 6 weeks - early spring here is very uninspiring. But now its soccer season!

ann

Great action pics Ann, i love how sharp the colours are

ian408 · May 3, 2005

outdoor soccer pix! I like the picture of the keeper's blocked shot.

These offer action which is good. I'd like to see a little shallower DOF
to try and get rid of the fence in the BG.

Cool stuff Ann!

Ian

Ann McRae · May 3, 2005

I would like shallower dof too, but am not sure how to achieve it. I had enough sun to shoot between f4 and f5.6. I varied apeture and iso (100,200,400), but left my shutter at 1/1000. First game, variable cloud, wasn't sure which settings would be best.
That shot is quite a severe crop, and I suspect the dof issue is more to do with distance from subject than anything else.

I am reluctant to go to a wider apture and have my plane of focus too narrow, at least until I am used to all aspects of the lens.

Any tips?

ann

ian408 wrote:

outdoor soccer pix! I like the picture of the keeper's blocked shot.

These offer action which is good. I'd like to see a little shallower DOF
to try and get rid of the fence in the BG.

Cool stuff Ann!

Ian

Ann McRae · May 3, 2005

Thanks, mushy. I love the colors too.

ann

mushy wrote:

Great action pics Ann, i love how sharp the colours are

Ric Grupe · May 3, 2005

I love the expressions...
...on peoples faces when they are totally natural...like these!

Cool shots...

, Ann.

ian408 · May 3, 2005

Ann McRae wrote:

I am reluctant to go to a wider apture and have my plane of focus too narrow, at least until I am used to all aspects of the lens.

Wide open is the only way. But I see your point.

Ian

Nee7x7 · May 3, 2005

Wow, Ann!!!
Those Canadian guys sure play down and dirty! You certainly captured the action here (and it looks quite painful, too,

!). I know what you mean about learning to use the right apertures with the lenses...it sure is a whole new ball game from shooting with our Sony Cams! If you are concerned about blowing the settings on important shots, you might find a target to shoot (maybe a road sign?) and try different aperture settings on it to see how much blur and focus you get with your various lenses.

I've been meaning to do that myself (so maybe I should take my own advice, eh?). Like you, I'm finding the color and contrast with my own "mini 20D" (aka the DRebel XT) to be fantastic! And the lack of noise is really a delight, esp. when editing! My new editing workflow goes pretty much like this...crop if needed, downsize the image for web, apply the unsharp mask and upload to my online gallery!

Congrats on your new camera, Ann...looks like you're off to a great start with it if these soccer photos are any indication!

Cheers!
~Nee

Ann McRae · May 3, 2005

Hi Renee
Well, these two teams have been foes since U11 (now at U16). Always a major battle between them. As well, a sports/soccer shot should contain the following four elements, according to Nill Toulme Face, Ball, Contact, Action.

When I looked at these images I realized that these boys that I have been following for 6 years are becoming men! My son is among the youngest out there - he is still 14. He plays goal - the one getting kicked in the shin by Mr. gold shoes (one of many kicks from the same kid that game).

I am loving the 20d and my lenses to date. The 85mm was easily paid for by team phtos indoor, and I am betting the 70 - 200 will be this season (at least thats what I told hubby to get the go ahead for buying it!!!

).

ann

Steve Cavigliano · May 3, 2005

Very nice Ann ^5 Good action, very nice light and great color

I know what you mean about bumping the saturation. Us old Sony "F" users just loves them rich colors

I agree with Ian's point about a shallower DOF, but like you, I don't know how you can get it

Oh sure, it's easy to do at F2.8 when the subject fills most of the VF. But, at a distance when the subjects only fill a small portion of the VF, it's almost impossible to do

At least, that's what I've found.

I guess you'll just have to don your Nikes and run along behind the players, snappin' as you go.....lol

Seriously Ann, these are very nice. What did the parents think of them?

Steve

Ann McRae · May 4, 2005

Thanks Ric
I love the expressions and the way that the players will move their bodies - often looks more like dance than soccer - often the chicken dance!

ann

Ric Grupe wrote:

...on peoples faces when they are totally natural...like these!

Cool shots... , Ann.

Ann McRae · May 4, 2005

Hi Steve
Yep, I like those saturated reds!
I asked Nill (canon lens forum dpr and FM) - he is one of the finest soccer shooters around IMO, andhe says "always wide open", so I tried that tonight. We'll see what results are like tomorrow.

So far, feedback has been great.
On a related note, one of the parents has asked for a 16 x 20 poster of shots of her son, from the indoor season. That should be fun. Wonder what she will pay??

ann

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Very nice Ann ^5 Good action, very nice light and great color

I know what you mean about bumping the saturation. Us old Sony "F" users just loves them rich colors

I agree with Ian's point about a shallower DOF, but like you, I don't know how you can get it Oh sure, it's easy to do at F2.8 when the subject fills most of the VF. But, at a distance when the subjects only fill a small portion of the VF, it's almost impossible to do At least, that's what I've found.

I guess you'll just have to don your Nikes and run along behind the players, snappin' as you go.....lol

Seriously Ann, these are very nice. What did the parents think of them?

Steve

Real soccer!

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