NFL Football - some results

DJ-S1

Thanks to all the great tips I received, I got a few pretty decent shots at the Patriots - Bucs game today. (Pats dominated 28-0, if you are interested:D )

Please critique these so I can improve should I ever luck into tickets again!

Tom Brady cranks it up from a nicely-formed pocket



Colvin tries to strip the ball from Cadillac Williams



Dillon sheds a tackle...



...and prepares to lower the boom on a defensive back



I just got in so I haven't worked up many of them yet, but I thought I'd share a few to thank you all for the help. What do you think? :ear

Eric&Susan

I think you did darn good

I like the action in the first one and of Dillion lowering his head.

I have Brady on my fantasy team and almost didn't start him today but thankfully I did. It's good to see the Pats back in form in time for the playoffs

Eric

DJ-S1

Thanks Eric - it was a good time and they played very well. Got most of their injured guys back for a few weeks now so that helps a lot.

wxwax

Nice job! "Dillon sheds a tackle" is the best, I reckon. The player is nicely isolated from the surroundings and is in a good action pose. When shooting from the stands, it's impossible to get the narrow depth of field you need to isolate a player from his background.

yoyostock

Those look great! This weekend, I'll be in similar shoes as DJ last weekend. My Redskins are playing the Giants in order to keep our playoff hopes alive. I scored some great seats 16 rows up from the field at the 50 yard-line. I'd like to borrow a lens and take it with me to try and get some shots (Just checked; FedEx Field is OK with bringing the camera and no restrictions on lenses).DJ, I think you said you used a 70-200 f/4L for your Pats game, is that right? Does anyone have an opinion about using the 70-200 f/4 versus the f/2.8? The weather is expected to be partly sunny and it's going to be a day game. Anyone think there will be a significant difference between using either of those two lenses?

JimM

yoyostock wrote:

Those look great! This weekend, I'll be in similar shoes as DJ last weekend. My Redskins are playing the Giants in order to keep our playoff hopes alive. I scored some great seats 16 rows up from the field at the 50 yard-line. I'd like to borrow a lens and take it with me to try and get some shots (Just checked; FedEx Field is OK with bringing the camera and no restrictions on lenses).DJ, I think you said you used a 70-200 f/4L for your Pats game, is that right? Does anyone have an opinion about using the 70-200 f/4 versus the f/2.8? The weather is expected to be partly sunny and it's going to be a day game. Anyone think there will be a significant difference between using either of those two lenses?

For a day game, f/4 should be fine. I think I would try to score a longer lens if you shooting from the stands though. Try to grab a 300mm, or even a 70-300mm. Good luck!

DJ-S1

Yeah, f/4 was okay - I shot mostly at ISO800 and speeds were around 1/500. I agree that if I had a choice between f/2.8 and 300mm, I'd take 300mm. Just have fun, I sure did! And don't forget to post the results.

yoyostock

Thanks! It's my first effort at shooting some sports shots, so this should be pretty fun. I'll certainly post something after the weekend. Well, my local shop has the 70-300mm (f/4.5-5.6) DO lens. How would that work? It's either that or the 70-200mm f/2.8 they have.

DJ-S1

What body are you shooting with?

yoyostock

20D.

DJ-S1 wrote:

What body are you shooting with?

DoctorIt

Nice results DJ.

Chase

70-200 f2.8 with a teleconverter.

DJ-S1

I was shooting a 20D as well. I had to crop the heck out of them to show pretty good action. So I guess I would lean to the 300mm and try ISO1600. But I don't think the 200mm 2.8 would be a bad choice, you just have to crop a lot.

Just make sure whatever you do that you keep your shutter speed up there, at least 1/500, but faster than that is better. Good luck!

Murphy66

Good shooting, I am so jealous!

I've been a Pats fans since Jim Plunket's days. It's great to see them playing well again and your excellent shots.

I have the 70-200 f4 and the 1.4 extender. I have noticed that the USM is much slower with the extender on, just FYI.

Go shoot some more of the best team in football!

yoyostock

Thanks, DJ! I ended up swapping the 200mm with the 300mm. I'll post the results after the weekend. Here's to some good pics and a win!

DJ-S1

Murphy66 wrote:

Good shooting, I am so jealous!

I've been a Pats fans since Jim Plunket's days. It's great to see them playing well again and your excellent shots.

I have the 70-200 f4 and the 1.4 extender. I have noticed that the USM is much slower with the extender on, just FYI.

Go shoot some more of the best team in football!

Thanks Murph - they are getting dangerous again, just in time to make a run I hope!

DJ-S1

yoyostock wrote:

Thanks, DJ! I ended up swapping the 200mm with the 300mm. I'll post the results after the weekend. Here's to some good pics and a win!

Good luck! I'm torn on the Skins-Giants. I was a Redskins fan when I was a kid (we lived in VA at the time) But I’ve been a Patriot’s fan for over 25 years now. My wife is a lifelong Giants fan, so I wouldn’t mind seeing them win a bit, too. Here’s to a well-played game and a lot of fun taking photos!

brawler1970

nice shot!!!
:

hey, you are ready for some playboy shots now!!!! nice photos!!!

"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time."
- Vince Lombardi


www.benchclearingbrawl.com

DJ-S1 wrote:

Thanks to all the great tips I received, I got a few pretty decent shots at the Patriots - Bucs game today. (Pats dominated 28-0, if you are interested:D )

Please critique these so I can improve should I ever luck into tickets again!

Tom Brady cranks it up from a nicely-formed pocket



Colvin tries to strip the ball from Cadillac Williams



Dillon sheds a tackle...



...and prepares to lower the boom on a defensive back



I just got in so I haven't worked up many of them yet, but I thought I'd share a few to thank you all for the help. What do you think?

yoyostock

brawler1970 wrote:

:

hey, you are ready for some playboy shots now!!!! nice photos!!!

Huh? Did you mean playoffs?

Well, the Skins/Giants game on Christmas Eve game was fantastic!!! Santana Moss (who people were calling Santa Moss or Santana Clause) lit it up in the first half with 3 TDs. Add Chris Cooley's TD (both of whom were starting on my fantasy team) and I was a happy camper.

Given it was my first time trying to shoot sports, I got some decent shots, or so I think. I'll have them up on the Smug this weekend and post some here as well. You're right, the 300mm did pay off for certain shots, but on many others, I found myself shooting at 200mm in order to get more of the overall action in. Another thing I felt difficult at first was getting to the play before the play. This is where knowledge of the sport one is shooting comes in handy. After I found myself missing some great receptions and tackles, I began predicting where plays would occur that allowed me to get ready ahead of time.