Photo project: Hillsdale High School football

Caught a great football game Friday at a stadium with absolutely horrendous and spotty lights. Made for some great interplay of light and shadow, though. Here are some snaps from Hillsdale at Chippewa in Doylestown (created with Exposure):



CAPTURED: HILLSDALE FALCONS by Joe Pelletier on Exposure

Daily Snap: Close quarters

Gear: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 70-200 f/2.8L
Settings: f/4, 1/1000th of a second, ISO 1000, 200mm

The story: Ohio high school girls soccer tournament action. Six p.m. start, which was about an hour before sunset. Managed to get a good half-hour shooting at f/4 at a decent ISO, which was nice. I've taken to shooting at f/4 when I can ... get that little extra bit of depth of field.

Why I like this one: OK. Honestly, I don't love this shot. I like it ... somewhat. Good action. But it's missing something. I keep wishing I was 20 feet further to my left, shooting right into the action. There's something lateral here that I don't quite like. And I couldn't figure out the crop. And it's not as tack-sharp as I want it to be.

Processed a couple more. They all came during a cloudy sunset hour, which I always like in an edgy black-and-white tone. Dig it? (And yes, that No. 2 was all over the field).

Daily Snap: Swatted!

Gear: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 70-200 2.8L
Settings: f/2.8, 1/1600th of a second, ISO 200, 90mm

The story: At long last, a football game during the day! Division II, Saginaw Valley State University at Ashland University. Shot mostly with the Nikon D300S / 300mm 2.8 setup (which I now firmly believe has a back-focusing problem that flubbed the focus on most of my photos), and the 5DIII in close quarters.

Why I like this shot: GREAT ACTION. This is my first real sharp shot of good football action, ever. End zone. Ball being swatted. Receiver's hands grasping hair. Scene is set pretty well, and both players are hanging above the action, in the sky.

There's usually an internal battle for sports photogs about finding good action and making a good photograph. This photo leans on the good action side of things, but I'm OK with that. I can dig it.

Daily Snap: Dig this

Gear: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 70-200 2.8L
Settings: f/2.8, 1/1000th of a second, ISO 5000, 200mm

The story: High school volleyball match. My usual process is to shoot first set from the floor, second from an elevated spot, then go with the flow after that. Wherever the volleyball spirits take me. Anywho, this was in the first set, where I try to shoot as tight as I can. Honestly, who cares about a full-body shot of someone bumping or setting? I sure don't. So I always shoot for face, hands and ball. Maybe throw the focus point off center. Maybe shoot vertical.

Why I like this one: Eyes, duh! Leading line to ball, complemented nicely by a leading line from her left arm. There's also a nice dynamism. And despite the fact that the background is a little cluttered, it's clean behind her face. And orange is the school colors, so I don't mind that.

Random additional thought. I haven't nailed down WB yet in these gyms. I've been meaning to figure out a dead-on WB with gray card on proper exposure, but I never have time before these things start. This was a RAW file, then I did a spot WB in LR off the Nike swoosh on her headband.

Random additional thought. Little cropping off the left here, but this is basically full-frame at 200mm (I was maybe 10 feet away). Notice the DOF ... her hands are out of focus, but eyes are dead sharp. Also notice the speed of the game ... at 1/1000th of a second, that ball still has motion blur.

Daily Snap: Eyes, John Cohen, Cider

Gear: Nikon D300S; Nikon 16-35mm f/2.8
Settings: f/2.8, 1/40th of a second, ISO 320

The story: Local cider festival which showcased a hydraulic cider press that dates back to the 1890s. Serious machinery that applies about 100,000 pounds of force to masses of unwitting apples. The typical trappings of a down-home ciderfest were all there: folks serving cider, various vendors, hay rides. But I was interested in this press, and I wanted a great shot, so I kept telling myself that there is no eye.

OK, OK. I'll clarify.

John Cohen is a musician, photographer and jack of all trades who might be most famously know for photographs like this one. He published a book in 2002 titled "There is No Eye," referring to his photographic style. His photographs were vibrant, blurry, hectic, boring, engaging, disengaging and everything in between. Make sense? No? I know, it's hard. Try this from Greil Marcus:

"You can look at John Cohen's book and see through very familiar eyes: the New York City eyes of Helen Levitt and Walker Evans, Evans' country eyes, the highway eyes of Robert Frank, even Margaret Bourke-White's doubting eyes in Holiness churches….John Cohen's argument is that the picture exists outside of the photographer's intentions, or even his desires….Up against these eyeless pictures, those of Evans, Frank, Levitt, and Bourke-White can seem almost propagandistic. That is, they make arguments; you are aware that the photographer wants to tell you something, to convince you of something, to accept a certain point of view. Here there is no point of view. There is something else; I don't know what to call it, so I won't try."

Anyway. Sometimes I fear I overthink my photography. Trying to engage the subject, tell the story, build a narrative composition, find a background, find the light. Use it all correctly. It's stressful, man! So at this event, I made a point to go all John Cohen. Get in there. And engage. And see what happens. And don't worry too much about the camera ... because there is no eye.

And all of a sudden, I come across Harold here checking the hydraulics. I had just come from outside, and I knew this was a fleeting moment, so I just dropped the shutter speed until i had a fair exposure. Fired.

You know, I probably wouldn't have gotten this shot if I was thinking about faces and places and settings and light. But there wasn't an eye that day. There was just a barn, a man, and a big machine.

Cool, right?

Why I like it: I won't ramble too long. I love the motion blur of the cider press. I like the spectrum of light and dark, and I don't find the blown-out window too distracting. I like his shirt pattern harmonizing with the barn's interior. And I like the look on his face. 

P.S. Had some of the cider. Magical.

Daily Snaps: Lights, camera & good action

(Sorry I've been on and off recently. I've been working on that whole sleeping thing.)

Gear: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 70-200 2.8L
Settings: f/2.8, 1/500th of a second, ISO 6400, 200mm

The story: Friday night football, per usual. My long lense setup (Nikon D300S; Nikon 300 f/2.8 IS) struggles in low light, so I usually find myself bouncing around the sidelines during the second half with my 70-200. That usually means being short on mm's for most shots, but it does make me more mobile. With high school football, I'll usually make myself small, inconspicuous and walk with the chain gang for half a quarter or so. (PRO TIP: Get to know the chain gang and refs. Talk with 'em before game, between quarters. Be friendly. I haven't had anyone ask me to move off the sidelines, even when I've been shoulder to shoulder with referees). I've found that being 20 or 25 yards ahead of a good rushing team will equal good RB photos like the one above.

Why I like this shot: OK, I always shoot from a knee at the very least. Occasionally I'll go prostrate, because I'm not spending $69.95 on a right-angle viewfinder. Kneeling is something that stuck out from that Damian Strohmeyer lecture at B&H that I'll watch every once in a while. It's something to make your shots different from the guy shooting right next to you. Anyway, I got bonus points from kneeling in that the head of the Hillsdale running back here is at the same level as some of the lights in the background. BOKEH! And he's off the ground. And great expression.

Plus, how magical is the 5DIII? I'm pushing the limits at ISO 6400, 1/500th of a second, and it's still super sharp.