My First Football Pics Worth Sharing...

bobcool

I know, I know, not another high school football post!

Being a football fanatic myself and the fact that my nephew is the starting quarterback for his junior varsity team, I had to try my hand at shooting football at night. Here was my setup:

D80
70-200 2.8 VR lens (rented)
monopod (rented)

First things first -I have a newfound respect for you sportshooters out there in handling the monopod. I've never used one and it sometimes seemed less stable than handholding because I would waver up and down when trying to pan. My hat is off to you!

I wore shorts because I knew it would be hot on the field, so that was a good decision. But, the high school has long-bladed artificial turfgrass (like the Dallas Cowboys stadium), so I was constantly switching knees when kneeling to keep the blades of grass from making a permanent impression in my knee...:D

Now to the pictures. I'd like some C & C, and I expect some "needs cropping" feedback, but if I cropped any more the noise would really show. These pics look okay when sized smaller for the web, but when you view them full size you can plainly see the noise - even after a run through Noise Ninja, which I purchased today. Does anyone else encounter this?

Here are a few shots that I think turned out pretty good - entire gallery is here.

-1-


-2-


-3-


-4-




-5-


Thanks for looking!

dbaker1221

they are good captures.. .. I would only suggest to straighten out your horizon when cropping them..it makes it a little more pleasing to the viewer.

well done

bobcool

Thanks Dave - good catch, I noticed that too when taking a closer look. However, the field is actually higher in the middle than the sidelines to allow rain runoff since there's no soil to soak up the rain. Even if the horizon is actually that angled, do you suggest straightening it up anyway, regardless?

wmstumme

Nice Work Bob!

My favority is the last one--the wide receiver looking up. Nice timing of your shot.

The crown of the field really can cause problems. I would adjust the angle to whatever is most visible in the shot. You may be shooting perfectly even compared to the horizon--but if you can't see the horizon in your shot and the ground is at a slight angle, I'd adjust to the ground.

PS, in the pictures you posted, I really don't see much noise--but I also don't think you need to crop tooooo much more...

Will

snaptie2002

When the ground is uneven I look for something vertical as a reference point. Like the hand rail post between the coaches in #1 or the corrigation in the aluminum siding on the building in #4 or the windows in #5.

I would not correct horizons due to the slope of the field because then the background becomes tilted. Since the field is pretty much level lengthwise it should only be an issue when shooting from the endzone or maybe shooting toward the endzone from the sidelines.

Thanks,
Marty