Friday, May 27, 2011

Beagle Dog in the Sun

A beagle dog laying in the morning sunshine. I was sitting on bleachers while waiting to photograph a horse show. The action was slow getting started and not many people were around yet, giving me lots of room to maneuver in front of the dog. Plus, the bleachers were unusually wide, allowing me to lie down on my stomach to get as low as possible. The intent was to separate the dog's head as much as possible from the clutter in the background as well as get close to his eye level. The sun was bright but not yet high enough to cause harsh shadows. This image benefits from the alert expression because his ears are up and his mouth is closed. This is what drew me to attempt this photo and I was fortunate that he stayed alert while I shot a few frames.
100-400 lens at 400mm, 1/1000 at f/5.6, ISO 160.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Lacrosse players in action during a game-3.

This photograph shows the intensity of a lacrosse game with the opposing players in violent contact with each other. The action happens so quickly that it is difficult for me to capture shots like this very often. Player #8 has the ball, although it is hard to see. But his face is very visible and this adds so much to the drama of the image. His body is contorted by the impact of the other player's stick, making this a "peak action" moment. The bleachers in the background are blurred and this helps the players to stand out. Also, it's nice that the bleachers are empty because there is less clutter to distract the viewer.
This image was taken in the late evening with an overcast sky. The lighting was from a combination of floodlights and some remaining light from the sky. ISO 5000, 100-400 lens at 400mm, 1/800 second at f/5.6.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Lacrosse players in action during a game-2.

This is an exciting photograph of high school lacrosse players in action. Player number 3 is carrying the ball and both his feet are off the ground. The player chasing him is airborne, too, but even more dramatically. The action happened so fast I didn't know I had captured this until editing the images later. What fun! The players stand out nicely against the background of grass. Many of my shots had bleachers in the background and those were not nearly so nice because of the clutter.
This image was taken late in the game and it was lit mostly by the floodlights. 70-200 lens at 200mm, 1/640 second at f2.8, ISO 5000.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Lacrosse Player ready to shoot.

Here is a lacrosse player winding up to shoot the ball at the goal. Several factors contributed to this photo being a nice lacrosse image. First, the player is isolated from any other players, which is unusual during the game. Second, the player's uniform contrasts nicely with the background so he stands out very well. Third, his stance indicates great action. Last, the ball is visible.
I have not photographed many lacrosse games and still have difficulty following the ball as it gets passed back and forth. The action is very fast and the distance to subject changes rapidly. I was quite pleased, then, to get a shot like this.
100-400 lens at 380mm, 1/800 second at f5.6, ISO 1000.