Thanks so much for the Laforet link. Amazing shots, and I see why you (or anyone.........now me) would want to try and learn the approach for sports shots. The examples are motivating.
As I study the work of various photographers that I admire, I realize that it isn't so much as the perfect gear or perfect location, but it has to do with the person clicking the shutter and getting over the fear of trying new things. The Laforet photos were the first to teach me to see beyond "tight-tight" and I think that I'm better off for it. Now, I study the work of Miralle, Beck, Mar, Bruty, Bergman, etc and try to understand their thought process behind their shots.
And please keep posting and sharing your photos on dgrin -- i think it's one of the best forums for learning and sharing. I know that I wouldn't be the photographer that I am today without the my dgrin family. The people here taught me how to shoot.
Great capture! I can feel the pain of the goalie in that frame! I took a look of your galleries! Well done! Good framing, white balance, exposure, etc. And that's not easy to do with hockey, or with the other sports that you shoot!
For starters, I sometimes wonder if I am making the colors a bit too vibrant when touching up in photoshop.
The colors look fine to me on my calibrated monitor. In general, I find either hockey photos (and snow sports and basketball) lacking pop. And then there are those who compensate in post process for improperly exposed photos and make more of a mess than anything else by pushing saturation, noise reduction and sharpening. From what I can see, you don't have any of these issues, and it boils down to personal preference. How do you like them?
Aktse, in my post last evening I forgot to say that I really admire your "fish-y" shot. My widest lens is a 24, and I would love to have the fisheye for some occasional shots. I like your attitude in capturing shots (walk as close as you can get, until stopped by staff, then snap and retreat)..... although I guess that wears a bit thin after awhile. To answer a question you mused about, you are doing fine work from the upper deck, so with a media pass, you could be dangerously good. I also like that you plan your shots well in advance, having an idea about what you would like to capture on a particular night, or over the season. I try to do the same (which can also mean missing some key action.......for example trying for close up stuff with the 24mm on the camera body, when something happens that calls for the 200 mm). In my dreams I would have two cameras available......
Blush. You just gave me the best complement! You seriously made my day! My week! Maybe even my month! Thank you so much for the kind words! It really, really means a lot to me. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo
As for planning shots before hand, I believe that everyone should read this by David Hobby because he explains it the best. Sports photography goes beyond spray and pray shooting. I'm learning that it's about selecting the right moment rather than machine-gunning and hoping. And as Chase Jarvis once said -- "bang the shutter". To me, that means shooting even when I don't have perfect conditions, gear, or location.
You might find this amusing -- i learned the trick about the security guard from this olympic blog
And don't forget -- you can always rent gear. Borrowlenses has the fishy for rent. If ever have tickets to a Saturday game, they will be my first stop stop since I will be picking up a 45mm and a 90mm T&S.
Thanks for the comments. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get many good shots of the flames since I spent warm-ups at the Sharks end and spent two periods playing with a T&S (unsuccessful).
Nice series
These are great shots very well done, I like shooting tight also, but do agree a little bit more space would allow the photo to flow better
Aktse, interesting concept re the tilt shift and sports. Is there a consensus as to which lens is better for sports (i.e. 24mm, 45 or 90?). Also would a full frame work better?
On a related T/S note, have you seen the Feb 2 Commemorative Issue of TIME magazine on newstands now? On pg 34 is a dual-page photo spread of an image from the Obama Inauguration.
I instantly recognized it as a Vincent Laforet Tilt/Shift photo...where Barack is the only person in focus out of about 300,000 people in the frame. He even appears to be waving at the camera (although he's probably not waving at Vincent). It's quite a powerful image and one of the most effective uses of this lens technique I've seen to date.
I tried to find an online version, but no luck so far.
You going to the game tonight? Me too. and Saturdays game = Blackhawk photo ops!
Aktse, interesting concept re the tilt shift and sports. Is there a consensus as to which lens is better for sports (i.e. 24mm, 45 or 90?). Also would a full frame work better?
Sorry -- I can't help you much since I haven't figured it out myself yet and I was shooting on a crop body. The wonderful Ann McRae loaned me her 24mm for a few months and I still can't wrap my head about that lens (landscape or sports).
I don't think there is consensus since most people don't do shoot with a T&S. For the main stream pros, I can only think of a handful -- Laforet, Walter Iooss, Jarvis, and maybe one or two more that I see use it on a regular basis. Also, most people these days simulate the technique with photoshop. I've gotten some push back from people wondering why I'm trying so hard to figure this out in camera when I could spend ten minutes in photoshop...
In this thread, jogle (amazing photographer) posted a few successful T&S sports shots using a 45mm and you can also find some of my failed attempts and lessons learned.
My main problems is that I can't figure out where to put the focal plane because the big HD screen in the middle of the area gets in the way.
1. The focal plane parallel to the ice so the entire ice is in focus, but the display is blurry and that throws everything off. This was shot from the top of the upper bowl.
2. Focal plane vertically parallel to center ice --- but this only sort of works during face off. This was shot from the top of the upper bowl
3. Really narrow strip of focus, vertical, no display, lower bowl
Note: these photos are bulked process, uncropped, etc -- test photos that didn't work.
I think I would have the same problem photography a pro basketball game and was planning on taking to a Golden State Warriors game, but I ran out of time (and they don't allow dSLRs, i think)
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I need help!!!! Where do I put the focal plane? If you have any ideas, let me know!
On a related T/S note, have you seen the Feb 2 Commemorative Issue of TIME magazine on newstands now? On pg 34 is a dual-page photo spread of an image from the Obama Inauguration.
You going to the game tonight? Me too. and Saturdays game = Blackhawk photo ops!
I was going to the game tonight, but my friend got sick :-( We should meet one of these days since you're a local too!
And last season's blackhawks game was the first time that I made an effort to shoot at the Shark Tank and the first time that I went to warm-ups. Technically, it was my second time with a dslr at a game, but the first time didn't count since I was so scared to bring in my camera that i forgot my cf cards. oops! (and I had great seats! 10th center, playoffs!)
Have a great time, bring in your camera and take some photos! I can't wait to see what you come up with! I hope this thread gave you some great ideas!
It is, but wow...it's processed differently, and not nearly as effective! Bummer.
The printed version has (A) significantly more visible foreground and twice the width, and (B) a slight radial-like blur effect eminating from Barack - Barack in focus, and everyone else progressively out of focus. Perhaps it was done in Photoshop to mimick a T/S...and not actually taken with a Tilt/Shift. It also has that miniaturization look to it.
Looking at a few key elements between the two versions (positions of people, hands, etc), they were definitely taken at the same time or within milliseconds of each other.
Comments
And please keep posting and sharing your photos on dgrin -- i think it's one of the best forums for learning and sharing. I know that I wouldn't be the photographer that I am today without the my dgrin family. The people here taught me how to shoot.
Great capture! I can feel the pain of the goalie in that frame! I took a look of your galleries! Well done!
The colors look fine to me on my calibrated monitor. In general, I find either hockey photos (and snow sports and basketball) lacking pop. And then there are those who compensate in post process for improperly exposed photos and make more of a mess than anything else by pushing saturation, noise reduction and sharpening. From what I can see, you don't have any of these issues, and it boils down to personal preference. How do you like them?
Blush. You just gave me the best complement! You seriously made my day! My week! Maybe even my month! Thank you so much for the kind words! It really, really means a lot to me. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo. :smo
As for planning shots before hand, I believe that everyone should read this by David Hobby because he explains it the best. Sports photography goes beyond spray and pray shooting. I'm learning that it's about selecting the right moment rather than machine-gunning and hoping. And as Chase Jarvis once said -- "bang the shutter". To me, that means shooting even when I don't have perfect conditions, gear, or location.
You might find this amusing -- i learned the trick about the security guard from this olympic blog
And don't forget -- you can always rent gear. Borrowlenses has the fishy for rent. If ever have tickets to a Saturday game, they will be my first stop stop since I will be picking up a 45mm and a 90mm T&S.
Thanks again for the kind words!!!!
But I did get this:
You're doing pretty well yourself! And you got many, many keepers at the SHarks game!
These are great shots very well done, I like shooting tight also, but do agree a little bit more space would allow the photo to flow better
- Mike
www.splitsecondphotos.com
On a related T/S note, have you seen the Feb 2 Commemorative Issue of TIME magazine on newstands now? On pg 34 is a dual-page photo spread of an image from the Obama Inauguration.
I instantly recognized it as a Vincent Laforet Tilt/Shift photo...where Barack is the only person in focus out of about 300,000 people in the frame. He even appears to be waving at the camera (although he's probably not waving at Vincent). It's quite a powerful image and one of the most effective uses of this lens technique I've seen to date.
I tried to find an online version, but no luck so far.
You going to the game tonight? Me too. and Saturdays game = Blackhawk photo ops!
http://www.facebook.com/cdgImagery (concert photography)
http://www.cdgimagery.com (concert photography)
http://chrisdg.smugmug.com (everything else)
And thank you so much for the helpful feedback and I will working on allowing more space to the photos to improve the flow.
I don't think there is consensus since most people don't do shoot with a T&S. For the main stream pros, I can only think of a handful -- Laforet, Walter Iooss, Jarvis, and maybe one or two more that I see use it on a regular basis. Also, most people these days simulate the technique with photoshop. I've gotten some push back from people wondering why I'm trying so hard to figure this out in camera when I could spend ten minutes in photoshop...
In this thread, jogle (amazing photographer) posted a few successful T&S sports shots using a 45mm and you can also find some of my failed attempts and lessons learned.
My main problems is that I can't figure out where to put the focal plane because the big HD screen in the middle of the area gets in the way.
1. The focal plane parallel to the ice so the entire ice is in focus, but the display is blurry and that throws everything off. This was shot from the top of the upper bowl.
2. Focal plane vertically parallel to center ice --- but this only sort of works during face off. This was shot from the top of the upper bowl
3. Really narrow strip of focus, vertical, no display, lower bowl
Note: these photos are bulked process, uncropped, etc -- test photos that didn't work.
I think I would have the same problem photography a pro basketball game and was planning on taking to a Golden State Warriors game, but I ran out of time (and they don't allow dSLRs, i think)
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I need help!!!! Where do I put the focal plane? If you have any ideas, let me know!
I was going to the game tonight, but my friend got sick :-( We should meet one of these days since you're a local too!
And last season's blackhawks game was the first time that I made an effort to shoot at the Shark Tank and the first time that I went to warm-ups. Technically, it was my second time with a dslr at a game, but the first time didn't count since I was so scared to bring in my camera that i forgot my cf cards. oops! (and I had great seats! 10th center, playoffs!)
Have a great time, bring in your camera and take some photos! I can't wait to see what you come up with! I hope this thread gave you some great ideas!
It is, but wow...it's processed differently, and not nearly as effective! Bummer.
The printed version has (A) significantly more visible foreground and twice the width, and (B) a slight radial-like blur effect eminating from Barack - Barack in focus, and everyone else progressively out of focus. Perhaps it was done in Photoshop to mimick a T/S...and not actually taken with a Tilt/Shift. It also has that miniaturization look to it.
Looking at a few key elements between the two versions (positions of people, hands, etc), they were definitely taken at the same time or within milliseconds of each other.
http://www.facebook.com/cdgImagery (concert photography)
http://www.cdgimagery.com (concert photography)
http://chrisdg.smugmug.com (everything else)