home opener

lizzard_nyc

My son played his first game of the regular season yesterday.
FYI--I will likely document the summer travel ball season once again, but not the regular season as they have now locked the area (with fence, chain and lock) where me and severeal other parents used to stand to watch the game away from the crowd and to get some shots of the kids interacting.
I have little chance this year of getting great shots--I'm hoping the travel season will be better.
So bummed.

1.


2.



3.



4. AFter the win



5.
and this is what I"m up against if I want any action shots--double chain link fences!

Qarik

#3 clap clap!

TonyCooper

My two grandsons are playing their first year of baseball in
the Rookie Babe Ruth league. The fields are completely
surrounded by chain link fence. Frustrating.

TheWorldInSMILEYSEyes907

the pictures are beautiful. that darn chain link fence.

lensmole

Too bad about the fence thing. I like #3, nice B &W, the ball in the air makes the shot happen IMO very casual .

damonff

The chain link effect in #2 is pretty cool. I agree that #3 is great.

Richard

Hmmm...while I agree with Damon that you can use the fence from time to time, I don't think you want to shoot a whole season that way. If you have a small P&S, you might be able to poke the lens through the fence. Or perhaps a cell phone right next to it. Still, it's a bummer.

redleash

Liz, I am sure you will come up with some good shots like you did last year. You just have to get more creative. Maybe get some telephoto shots from the bleachers of the action on the field? More shots of the kids coming and going from the field? Would the league let you in the dugout for one game to document the team? Maybe it's totally off limits. I agree with everyone that there are times you can use the fence as part of the scene, like you did in a couple of last year's shots. I hope you can succeed with this project--I LOVED it last year!!

Lauren

lizzard_nyc

Qarik wrote: »

#3 clap clap!

Thanks Qarik!

lizzard_nyc

TonyCooper wrote: »

My two grandsons are playing their first year of baseball in
the Rookie Babe Ruth league. The fields are completely
surrounded by chain link fence. Frustrating.

Tony it is quite possible to get really awesome shots through a fence, I promise. I had an entire summer series last summer (don't know if you saw it, it's the work I'm most proud of) and I shot many of them through a fence, the trick is to find a good spot, my spot is no longer available:(

I can get past one fence, but one fence infront of another is a whole other matter!

Good luck documenting your grandkids. You gotta find a way.

EDIT--also the chainlinks where I was for this game bubbled out, that did not help.
Here are some examples of good shooting through a fence.

lizzard_nyc

TheWorldInSMILEYSEyes907 wrote: »

the pictures are beautiful. that darn chain link fence.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

lizzard_nyc

lensmole wrote: »

Too bad about the fence thing. I like #3, nice B &W, the ball in the air makes the shot happen IMO very casual .

Thank you--I loved that little touch myself.

He had a tournament a few weeks back w/ his travel team--consisting of 3 games and I took this shot--again ball in the air and it's my favorite baseball one from this year.

lizzard_nyc

damonff wrote: »

The chain link effect in #2 is pretty cool. I agree that #3 is great.

Thank you Damon--You gotta work with what you got no?
I will be more into it during tournament or travel time.

lizzard_nyc

Richard wrote: »

Hmmm...while I agree with Damon that you can use the fence from time to time, I don't think you want to shoot a whole season that way. If you have a small P&S, you might be able to poke the lens through the fence. Or perhaps a cell phone right next to it. Still, it's a bummer.

no point and shoot and my cell lens is shot.
I will have to crop better or keep trying w/ my zoom lens.

Thanks though Richard.

lizzard_nyc

redleash wrote: »

Liz, I am sure you will come up with some good shots like you did last year. You just have to get more creative. Maybe get some telephoto shots from the bleachers of the action on the field? More shots of the kids coming and going from the field? Would the league let you in the dugout for one game to document the team? Maybe it's totally off limits. I agree with everyone that there are times you can use the fence as part of the scene, like you did in a couple of last year's shots. I hope you can succeed with this project--I LOVED it last year!!

Lauren

Hi there Lauren,
Glad you looked at these, I know you are such a little league fan.

I will find a way--I will try using the tele w/ the chainlink. I posted some action shots below. I just have to find the right spot on the fence where it will work in these fields--I hope.

BTW Lauren--The perfect "line-up" shot still eludes me:)

redleash

Oh Liz, I am quite sure you will get the perfect lineup shot! Meanwhile, I will keep watching for all the other good ones you'll be showing us.

lizzard_nyc

update

Jacob took a popfly to the face last evening, it tipped his glove and plowed into his mouth.
He came home from practice holding a bloody rag to his face and when he took it off my knees went weak.
Only into week one of the official season.

I did manage a shot but I was so shaken that I missed most of his face. After the p.m. pediatrics emergency visit, I got another shot but it's just too gruesome to post here. We are headed to the dentist in a bit for the lose tooth.

He did ask if I though he' be allowed to pitch tomorrow .

Patti

I'm going against the grain (as usual) and picking #1 as my fave of a great set, Liz. It captures the excitement of getting to the game and to me, is ageless. I also love the high key treatment. It gives it almost a dreamy quality. Well done.

Ouch! Poor little fella. So, have you bought him a full face helmut to wear to pitch??? My daughter fell at 2yrs. We thought she'd knocked it out and scoured the grass looking for it. Come to find out she'd rammed her front teeth back up into her palate. It came back down eventually. She now has a Colgate smile.

redleash

Sorry to hear about Jacob--I hope he is on the mend quickly. I guess if he asked you about pitching right away then it must not hurt much. probably hurt you more.

RSL

First, my four sons grew up. Then my eight grandsons and six granddaughters grew up, and now my great-grandson and four great-granddaughters are starting to grow up. And when they grow up they become adults, and, as wonderful as they still are as adults, you miss watching them play the way Liz caught hers. Watching little kids play lifts your heart in a way nothing else can.

Liz, a technical suggestion: Long ago I set up my cameras so that they don't try to jump focus when I press the shutter button. By default most modern cameras focus when you press the shutter button half-way, so once you've focussed, if you let the button back up the camera's going to jump focus when you press it again. In front of a chain-link fence that means it's always going to jump to the fence. If it's possible, and I'm sure it's not possible with many point-and-shoots, switch autofocus to a different button. On my D3 it's the AF-ON button. On my E-P1 it's the AEL-AFL button. If you've always focussed with a half-press on the shutter button it takes a while to get used to focussing as a separate operation, though you still can press both buttons at once if you're tracking something like a flying bird. But the advantage is that then you can manually focus ahead of time, through the fence, on home plate when you see that somebody's going to run in, then just lift the camera and shoot. The camera won't jump focus back to the fence.

You probably know all that, but I've found that some pretty experienced photographers haven't thought about it.

lizzard_nyc

Patti wrote: »

I'm going against the grain (as usual) and picking #1 as my fave of a great set, Liz. It captures the excitement of getting to the game and to me, is ageless. I also love the high key treatment. It gives it almost a dreamy quality. Well done.

Ouch! Poor little fella. So, have you bought him a full face helmut to wear to pitch??? My daughter fell at 2yrs. We thought she'd knocked it out and scoured the grass looking for it. Come to find out she'd rammed her front teeth back up into her palate. It came back down eventually. She now has a Colgate smile.

Thanks Patti--I fretted over the processing on #1, but was confident with the emotion of the shot.

lol, no full helmet to pitch. He's normally a catcher in travel ball, and second baseman/pitcher in regular season, I dont' yet know what I'm going to do. I may have to get a mask with a guard for his face for batting (though I really don't want to do that), but at the very least a mouth guard. I will consult w/the oral sugeon more when the wires come out from his front teeth.

I hope my kid has the same results as yours!!

lizzard_nyc

RSL wrote: »

First, my four sons grew up. Then my eight grandsons and six granddaughters grew up, and now my great-grandson and four great-granddaughters are starting to grow up. And when they grow up they become adults, and, as wonderful as they still are as adults, you miss watching them play the way Liz caught hers. Watching little kids play lifts your heart in a way nothing else can.

Liz, a technical suggestion: Long ago I set up my cameras so that they don't try to jump focus when I press the shutter button. By default most modern cameras focus when you press the shutter button half-way, so once you've focussed, if you let the button back up the camera's going to jump focus when you press it again. In front of a chain-link fence that means it's always going to jump to the fence. If it's possible, and I'm sure it's not possible with many point-and-shoots, switch autofocus to a different button. On my D3 it's the AF-ON button. On my E-P1 it's the AEL-AFL button. If you've always focussed with a half-press on the shutter button it takes a while to get used to focussing as a separate operation, though you still can press both buttons at once if you're tracking something like a flying bird. But the advantage is that then you can manually focus ahead of time, through the fence, on home plate when you see that somebody's going to run in, then just lift the camera and shoot. The camera won't jump focus back to the fence.

You probably know all that, but I've found that some pretty experienced photographers haven't thought about it.

Hey Russ,
I loved your emotional response to the shots and what it conjured up for you. I have to thank photography in that it allows me to document the moment and appreciate it--far more than I ever did prior to being a photographer. I see all these "precious" moments as they happen and I'm pretty thankful, I also see it going back at warp speed year after year.


I appreciate the tip re: focusing--I will look further into it--I need all the help I can get for thru the fence shooting.