Fight Night
seastack
Registered Users Posts: 716 Major grins
Got a free front row ticket so I went to my first cage fight (Mixed Martial Arts). It was interesting. I didn't realize how popular it's become, and profitable. Forgot how difficult it is to manually focus a DSLR in low (or any) light, cussed a lot, got blood on my shoes, caught a few at 1.4 on the 50mm.
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My favorite being #2 with the girl with her sign blurred out and not important to the shot and the perfect focus on the solitary fighter and his odd stance.
I think you did a fine job documenting this event which I know couldn't have been easy.
#3 and the last shot are so barbaric!
Glad you added something a little different to the forum. It would be fantastic if you could get in with the group and take shots of them "backstage" sort of speak, it would round out your series beautifully.
Also I'm sure shooting some of the MMA fans would be pretty interesting.
Nicely done.
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Out of these four, #1 is my favorite at first glance, but I think with a tighter, more dramatic crop for #3, you could have a real hero shot there.
Thanks for posting!
The B&W treatment was the only choice for these and really brings out the mood. I'll echo Liz's comments as well in that I find #2 the most appealing, the one that brings me back. I really like how the spotlight camera high/left comes down on the fence diagonally forcing you to see the fighter as the primary focal point, then the round-count girl.
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but the OP has diminished the incredible violence these images can deliver.
I think this is good work
Congratulations, wonderful image
#4 is very interesting too.
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I felt a bit like an alien visiting the planet (and I always try to feel like that when taking pictures). For me, there were a lot of good lessons and reminders in doing this - the use of negative space, the power of the straight 50mm lens, the ease of working with one camera/one lens, what can be done/seen by sitting in one place (the right place), and perhaps most importantly a reminder of the opportunity inherent in the concept of living "a photographer's life" as best expressed in David Hurn and Bill Jay's book, On Being a Photographer.
Lizzard_NYC, yep, I've thought about hooking up with a gym where these guys train to get into the crowd and working the behind the scenes. These guys (and there are women fighters too) train hard. I agree, it could be good. At the same time I'm a little hesitant because the whole fight essay has become something of a cliche, although that's more boxing. There are a few photographer's out there who have focused on MMA in a documentary style but not many. I know one and don't really want to step on his toes but we talked and he's cool about it. I'm thinking about it. There's a weirdness I find intriguing - some of the show and marketing of pro wrestling mixed with the intense training of a real sport. That makes for real opportunity. Plus, it's a cultural phenomenon in Canada and the U.S. now. Big, big business with MMA exceeding boxing and wrestling in pay per view sales now and popularity with the younger crowd.
Nice of them to have spots set up on the corner posts
At the risk of repeating what's already been said I think you've successfully captured the menace of the event without being too graphic, which is no mean feat in such a brutal sport.
It's also great to to see a well connected series of shots. Well done.
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
Gr Joop (JPC)
I do think last one in color.
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#1 is a great shot of a chain linked fence. . .you completely missed the focus, plus that particular shot of the fighters doesn't look like it would be a very dynamic image anyway.
#2 I didn't like at first glance, but it quickly grew on me. I might have framed it a little differently (for instance the guy in the left part of the frame doesn't add anything), but it's something a little different, so overall well done.
#3 I would have cropped in tighter, but otherwise a very good shot.
#4 I think I see what you were going for, but the shot itself doesn't do much for me. There's just no emotion there.
#5 Your focus is on the fence instead of the people again, but fortunately the fighters are close to the fence and it's otherwise a pretty strong photo, so the technical mistakes aren't nearly as distracting.
I would say that these were taken in the spiriti of the Magnum tradition so they may be a little more fine artsy than a traditional sports type of coverage (think Paulo Pellegrin Olympics coverage of divers) ... at least that was the intent. The first frame was intentionally focused that way. I thought it made a good opener, was a different image than perhaps most would have made, and emphasized the "cage fight" aspect of the scene at the outset. I would agree that the last frame is the weakest. I wouldn't have included it unless it made a good closer, and the blood dripping down the guy's back was, uhm, an added interest.
documentary/artsy vs. sports photography
The very reason it likely wasn't put into the sports forum.
islandcrow--you gave good input and C&C--however I think it was more dedicated to getting a good sports photo.
#1 I wouldn't touch--yes the main action is out of focus, but I like how you see it from the eye of the viewer. This is how the viewer sees the action mostly. I like the two heads (not the fighters heads but the viewers heads) are in the shot, the main fight in the middle, all the chain link and the blurred fight--I really like that shot as is.
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Just my opinion....
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Nicely said. And following that thread, I guess you could say it's the curtain at a spectacle, literally the fourth wall exposed.