little league
lizzard_nyc
Registered Users Posts: 4,056 Major grins
I am no longer coaching my kid's team, they have outgrown me by far.
Now I get to shoot photos (through the chain link).
I will be documenting the whole travel season and his first time as catcher. This was all from the first game,and I hope to get a little of the rest of the 12 games or so. Thanks for looking.
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4. Yes, I too commit this sin--I got his attention for this shot--typical mom moment for me--could not be helped.
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Now I get to shoot photos (through the chain link).
I will be documenting the whole travel season and his first time as catcher. This was all from the first game,and I hope to get a little of the rest of the 12 games or so. Thanks for looking.
1.
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3.
4. Yes, I too commit this sin--I got his attention for this shot--typical mom moment for me--could not be helped.
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6.
Liz A.
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Comments
I love these and think you have the makings of a great series here especially if you're able to document the majority of the season. For future games I'd like to see some of the emotions associated with winning and losing.
I'm unsure about the colour processing. I think it works for some one-off shots but I'm not sure whether it would work for a series
Look forward to seeing some more as the season progresses.
The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking. - Brook Atkinson- 1951
I'm glad I stopped in here today. I'll be looking for more.
Lauren
Lauren Blackwell
www.redleashphoto.com
Thank you Scott,
I will definately be shooting some more of the emotion (hopefully anyway) but you know the limits a chainlink can impose on you, not to mention all the parents gathered around the fence to root for, or yell at their kids lol. and the best spot for me to shoot is usually crowded by coaches blocking my shots! I'm hoping that "away" games will present easier shooting possibilities.
This game I had to take my little girl to the restroom in the final inning and completely missed the winning hit and celebration--I was so mad, but parenting comes first
I usually get a little bit of hell for my color processing--I toned it down a smidge, but not enough
For the future shots I will likely use some regular color shots and more b &w.
More shots coming in the next few weeks. Thank you.
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Thank you Lauren.
I've spent the last few years in the field and I love it. I want to give the parents and coaches the shots at the end of the season, so I will be weeding some out and adding more in--hopefully more w/ more emotion, but this game everone kept their cool.
The last shot, I so wanted it to work--but it looks posed! grrr.
FWIW--my very favorite shot and any player and parent of a player should get it, #3, the dreaded line-up. Last year Jacob was at the bottom, this year he's worked his way up to 5-6 position, but I still see when the line up gets put up how the kids flock to it to see where they are or rank really, it's heart breaking for me and I love their little fingers on it as they read it.
I am excited about this series and its potential. Thanks guys.
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For whatever it's worth, Liz - First, I'd speak with the coaches, parents, whoever is making decisions, and try to get full access to document the season - you belong on the business side of the chain link. Tell them you'll do a blurb book that tells the story of the season. Then I'd decide whether you're going to do this project in color, or black and white - NOT in Lizcolor. There are strong arguments for both color and black and white, but when all is said and done, I think black and white wins - if for no other reasons than these: First, the often garish color will not draw viewers away from the kids, who are, after all, the real subjects; and second, between artificial lighting, wildly varied times of day, shaded/unshaded fields, etc., I think you'll go nuts working on color correction.
But as I said - for what it's worth.
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
"Liz Color"
I will be doing the set in black and white, but there are a couple of sunset shots I have already that look nice in color. I will see how to tackle the shots at the end of the season when I weed out the good from the mediocre.
As for talking to the coach, there are a lot of politics in little league and "rules" etc. and misunderstandings. I will still take photos but I will not ask to be in the dugout--Idon't know that they really see the value of the photography and probably wouldn't "get it" until years down the road. So I am looking at this as a challenge, shooting through the links--also, some of the away games have no fencing seperating the parents from the kids and it's a mix and mosh and I am able to shoot better then.
I want to do this, and I hope I can pull it off:)
thanks B.D. I will continue to post to this particular thread throughout the season.
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So sad that kids sports, which used to be about learning sportsmanship as much as anything else, have turned into parents working out their weird issues. Sigh.....Good luck Liz. I know you'll do a good job with this one way or the other.
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
The coach in number 1 looks really competitive. Seeing his left fist in his right palm screams intensity to me, and the Under Armor shirt & Gatorade Towel just add to it knowing what the brands stand for. To contrast that, the look on his face says "coaching" more than "yelling" to me. The undivided attention of everyone around him adds to the shot for me, as well.
For some reason, I also like number 4. The look on your son's face is priceless.
Number 3 may have looked better in B&W (you are still the B&W process goddess IMO). I find the red helmet distracting. Going with B&W would probably remove that distraction. As an aside, and this has nothing to do with your work, but I'd love to have seen the look on the boy's face as he found his name on the lineup. Again, there's nothing you could have done about the other boy's head being right there. So I'll give you a pass on the latter ;-).
My take on "Liz Color..." Are you doing the shots for you or to sell? If they're for your enjoyment, by all means, process them the way you like it. If you're going for the sell, then do what you think would sell best. Besides, you never know; Liz Color may turn into the big thing in 5 years. ::shrug:: Maybe pepper in that color processing throughout the project. Not as the predominant kind of processing, but as a one-off it could be cool. Love the term for it, BD!
To document "parents working out their weird issues" I would have to write a book about it:) There is so much to tell. It seems to bring out the best and worst in parents. Last year I shed a few tears over it I'm a little ashamed to say--it just gets very emotional, specially when you perceive your child as getting unfair treatment and I want to protect him. But it's part of growing up and not everything goes their way.
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Boy did you nail the coach! and the whole little league experience. I'm very happy to hear that you also like the sport as I think it adds a little something if you are familiar w/ little league baseball.
Shot #4, my son had just taken off his catcher's helmet and his hair was sticking up, that's why I took the shot, as a mother I love the way he looks.
I am working on getting the "line up" shot just right. That's my goal for this summer, in addition to more emotion and better processing.
More coming soon.
BTW, not selling any of these shots to the parents and coaches. It's something I want to share.
B.D. had the idea of the blurb book, but I remember when the forum first started, they put a blurb book together which Rutt (who I miss) worked on forever to get the black and whites to print right--I don't have that in me, not tech savy in that way. So I will just share my shots.
Thanks for the interest all.
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B.D. posted a series of his friend's "last day" and said how shooting helped him as he kind of gets unattached a little from the situation. This is the same on a much smaller scale. As a parent I get wrapped up in the game and when my son hurts so do I, but when I shoot, I find myself trying to capture it and it's easier for me. There are other shots of other players "losing it" but they were not good enough shots--still working on capturing the emotion.
The field here is better for shooting--no fences seperate the players from the parents.
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8. Not documenting in the "street" sense,but this shot is of one of our pitchers at an away game underneath the Throgsneck Bridge. Reading Robert Moses bio now and well, I felt like I had to add this one. It's a Queens shot.
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10.trying to do a better job capturing "emotion"
11. the kids clap as the line up is being called, that's my son as he's starting to realize he has been moved down the batting order
12. SOOC. Not the best story telling and not a shot that grabs you, but I like the light here for a color shot--it's a quintessential "summer baseball shot" to me.
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Keep these coming...
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
Lauren
Lauren Blackwell
www.redleashphoto.com
It's a total learning process for sure. I think you are onto a good thing here!
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Picadilly, NB, Canada
#5 is a good capture. I don't know that I would have seen the real emotion on your son's face without your caption. It's thisclose to capturing what I think you were trying to get. Without your caption, I think what I see is "hopeful." With your caption, I see "n..n...no.." Also, is the boy behind your son crying?
Thanks MItchell.
You'd love this team then--they do a whole lot of them.
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Thank you Lauren,
It's exactly what I want--the nuances-you nailed it.
I think parents think that I may be taking "sports illustrated" type of shots, boy won't they be disappointed
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So today's post will mostly be about the coaches.
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and this one just because I like it.
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I'm about to go through my entire post and number all of them in order.
Thanks all
Three regular season games left and then the playoffs.
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oops I missed yours.
I will be recropping #4 (now renumbered #10) tighter and eliminating the parents to his right. You are definately right about that one.
BTW that line up shot eludes me still!
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Lauren
Lauren Blackwell
www.redleashphoto.com
I'm really digging this series. :-)
The coach in #13 seems to be almost belittling the boy in front of him. "Use your head, kid!" But his face does not reflect that. Pulls me in wondering what the coach is really saying. 14 pulls me in, but in a really odd, repulsed way. The expression on the coach's face makes me think that he's trying to intimidate his player. The fact that the player is leaned against the fence only adds to that. It's a great shot and makes me want to have a 'conversation' with that coach about intimidating children. Very well done. I also really like #16. The 5 boys sitting there and the one on deck, patiently waiting...that really tells a story, I think.
Liz, I can't thank you enough for sharing!
Thank you Lauren.
Shooting through the fence is very challenging indeed but it makes it worth it when I'm able to nail despite the obstacle or maybe because of the obstacle.
Thank you for your continued interest.
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Thank you!
I have to say I'm loving documenting the season, my biggest obstacle is going to be narrowing down to I'm not sure how many images. I want to make sure I include all the kids which is also tough as I realize I seem to have my favorites. Some kids are such characters that I naturally gravitate towards them.
Ok I have to tell you the story of the coach on #14 because I'm debating using that one because it does come off like he's intimidating. Quick background, it's a father/assistant coach and his son one of the pitchers. Sometimes the pitcher will have a meltdown and I think this was the coach's way of averting a possible meltdown. The kid was doing great but he needed to be saved for the next game (keep the pitchcount down) and his dad was letting him know "look the headcoach may pull you next inning, don't take it personal, he just wants to save you for the next game". He's trying to make eyecontact w/ his son. I still find it kind of a powerful shot because I know the dynamics. I also know that this set of photos/album will get passed around for many to see, so I'm debating pulling this one and your reaction tells me I might be right.
Thanks again for the continued support. I will leave you with two new ones from the last game. Today's game was cancelled, the other team forfeited--darn it!
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18. Not street really but it says summer ball to me and this is what I think of when I think of summer games.
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I've read the posts/comments and propose a different approach with mine. As a whole, I think the entire series is awesome. I see no need to dissect each image when taken as a whole. Your own personal culling process, to me, is telling me an entire summer's story of a team - your team and I feel as though I've got a ticket to every game you post. So in my simplistic analysis of the series, I've got a smile on my face.
You can be awkward and you can be slow
That's why I'm here in right field
Just watching the dandelions grow
...I don't know the inning, I've forgotten the score.
The whole team is yelling and I don't know what for.
Then suddenly everyone's looking at me
My mind has been wandering; what could it be?
They point at the sky and I look up above
And a baseball falls into my glove! ...."
Song by Willy Welch, sung by Peter, Paul & Mary
BTW, enjoying the series and your travails... Like #s 9, 11 & 16. Leave #13 in -- kid will need some evidence later for his therapist...:cry
Scott,
I read your comment when you first posted it and it stuck with me.
The fact that you had a smile on your face was just a priceless reaction. I feel so good about this project, I have from day one, but the comments I'm getting as well as your reaction, well, I'm pretty proud of it. Thank you.
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thanks for the song quote
Outfield is a bummer, I know I would fall asleep out there.
Thank you.
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