A Couple of Amusing Gymnastics Captures

kdog

Going through shots from a recent gym meet, I came across two funny shots I thought I'd share. I shot the whole team, but coincidentally my daughter is in both of these shots.

The feet sticking up are my daughter's.

(No, they weren't really touching, she's way in front of the beam.)

My daughter again. The backgrounds in this gym sucked, but provided this funny moment.


I hope you found these as funny as we did.

Cheers,
-joel

austinado16

Ha! Those are funny.

What camera and lens(s) are you using? You're photos are bright, crisp, and doing a great job of stopping motion.

I'm going to be at the State Meet in Redwood City on Sunday shooting a couple athletes. It'll be my first "real" shooting with the new 7D and I'm hoping to use the 135/f2 I just added to the quiver. I've shot at this location before and wasn't feeling the love. During that meet, they had the Bars facing away from the audience. Nothing like watching (and trying to shoot) bars from behind the athletes.

kdog

austinado16 wrote: »

Ha! Those are funny.

What camera and lens(s) are you using? You're photos are bright, crisp, and doing a great job of stopping motion.

Thanks! Canon 7D, 70-200 F2.8 IS L MKII @F2.8, ISO6400. The first shot was 1/100s, and the vault was 1/400th.

I'm going to be at the State Meet in Redwood City on Sunday shooting a couple athletes. It'll be my first "real" shooting with the new 7D and I'm hoping to use the 135/f2 I just added to the quiver.

Nice. My daughter just missed state this year, she flubbed on the bars.

Congrats on the new lens! I don't have that one and wish I did. That extra stop should make a big difference. I think the biggest thing I learned in shooting gymnastics the last two seasons is to keep my speed up, hence ISO6400. Better to have a little grain than blurry shots.

I've shot at this location before and wasn't feeling the love. During that meet, they had the Bars facing away from the audience. Nothing like watching (and trying to shoot) bars from behind the athletes.

They do that shit all the time. Morons! We pay a bloody fortune for this sport and they pull that crap. :bluduh

Have fun at the meet and thanks for checking in.

austinado16

Call out to bay area gymnastics photos. The Level 4 state meet being held in Redwood City "fired" the scheduled professional photo because he wasn't certified through USAG. So, there are a lot of unhappy parents, looking to get their kids photographed this weekend.

This meet can be well shot from the sidelines, except for bars which may be facing butts toward the audience again. I just picked up more parents, last minute, this morning.

Kdog, bars is super tough and the nemesis of most gymnasts. There's a huge issue with timing, strength, and courage, and bars really doesn't happen without all 3. This is 7 years....or maybe 8 now, and our daughter still can barely do the required bar routine. She's in L7 now.

Keep up the great work with the photos and don't be shy about posting them. We need more gymnastics shots here on the grin.

kdog

Sounds like you have an interesting gig going. I could learn a thing or two from you.

Looking to see your shots from the meet as well.

austinado16

As Sgt. Scholtz would say on "Hogan's Heros," "I know nuthink......nuuuthink."

In all seriousness your shots look like you now what you're doing, so great job!

Challenging shoot today. Very pleased with the 7D and the new lens. Once I get some processing done, I'll start a new thread and show a few pics. Battery life is "forever" like it was with my 40 and 50D's. A 16GB card only held about 635 RAW images, so I need to spend up on a larger card and make the 16 a packup.

MDalby

I am going to shoot gymnastics for my niece in the coming year. I haven't shot gymnastics before. Do they let you on the floor to shoot or do you have to shoot from the seats?

kdog

Unless they do things differently in Colorado, you'll be shooting from a crowded spectator area with a hundred other parents. You'll often have coaches and other gymnasts passing between you and the event, ruining shots. Sometime angles are so bad on some events that I don't bother shooting them. Bad lighting and no flash of course. In general, it's usually pretty frustrating. But the shots you do get of these young athletes makes it all worth it.

austinado16

No, you are not allowed on the floor unless you have a current USAG certificate, and even then, they probably won't let you. Only the event registered photog is allowed on the floor.

No flash, or focusing beams allowed, so make certain that you know how to turn those off and keep them off at all times.

It's all about manual mode, and running at 1/320th or higher, and then setting the ISO accordingly.

Good luck and have fun!