What I Learned About Sports Photography

I photographed a basketball game at St. Mary's College of Maryland for a Sports Photography Competition and learned some interesting things from my experience.  I realized very quickly that even with bright lights pointing down from the ceiling, photographing a fast game in a fairly dark room is challenging.  I really really wanted a f1.4 lens to get extra light for good photos, but my bank account didn't support it.  I had to be really quick to get good photos.  The pro I met used 4 flashes triggered by his camera that were temporarily mounted on the walls and pointed at the ceiling.  He was very nice to me and gave me some pointers.  Based on his advice, I photographed more than just the game.  I included the coaches expressions when their team scored (or didn't score!).  I took photos of the fans jumping up and down.  I caught the players on the benches as they reacted to the game and the cheerleaders had wonderful smiles.  The team had huddles and there was lots of interactions at the beginning and end of the game.

I didn't do well in the competition because the main subjects in my photos didn't face into the frame or the background was too busy.  The expressions on the players faces are very important for a really good sports photo.  I thought the compositions were okay. They were a little soft as well because I needed a brighter lens.  It was a good learning experience.  The 3 photos I competed were all game photos.  I will include a few extras that I didn't compete: players watching on the sidelines and the coach.

Time Lapse Photography is Really Fascinating

I am halfway through a Photoshop course from the New York Institute of Photography (NYIP).  I saw a very interesting blog message they had last week.  Ever wonder how photographers take those speeded up videos from still pictures of flowers rapidly blooming, clouds rolling rapidly across the sky or seedlings growing into plants in seconds?  NYIP had a short little video on how photographers can make a time lapse that was fascinating.  I couldn't resist sharing in with others.

Here is a link to the New York Institute blog page with a video by Zach Wise. 

If you want to view some more videos of sample time lapses, here are a few interesting examples from Wired Science.

Funny Dog Photos: Learning How to take Humorous Pet Photography

The St. Mary’s County Camera Club had a themed competition of humorous photos last week. Humorous photos are challenging. You can either hope to get lucky when something you see strikes you as humorous or you need to create something funny. I decided to get more pet photography practice and learn about photographing humor at the same time. I enjoyed my photo attempts because I am very interested in humorous photos.


Some pictures are funny if something doesn’t quite make sense or fit in with the rest of the photo, there is an unexpected element. Human activities, clothing, silly hats, funny teeth or children’s toys look funny because we don’t normally associate them with pets. I’ve also seen photos that are funny because something unfamiliar happens, like a photo of a dog floating in the air with balloons attached to his body or dogs waterskiing.

I photographed a Westie “playing” the piano, reading a book and driving a car. My first place photo was a Westie at the piano. The original photo was mildly funny, but the addition of the piece of music called “Unleashed Melody” added an extra funny element. The dog reading a book received an honorable mention. The pictures were all challenging, because the dog was in a wiggly mood.

To see some wonderful humorous dog photos visit photos by Eliot Erwitt or William Wegman. I give my thanks to Andrew Darlow for his pet photo advice.

Horse photography practice

I scheduled a practice horse photography session with my friend and her horse Bodie. I don’t think she had many horse photos, so it was something new for both of us. It took LOTS of patience. I had read that horses look better if you stand back 15 to 20 feet, place the horse at a 45 degree angle to the sun and evenly space the horse’s legs. She walked the horse in circles to get into the right position, which eventually worked, but there were some fairly deep shadows on the horses face. I used a big red bow so she could use the photo for a Christmas card next year. Bodie was quite skittish, so it was challenging. The day was windy, making the bow flap about. It took a while for Bodie to get used to the noise from the bow. I think next time I photograph a horse, I will ask more about the horses temperament, since I don’t want to scare the horse. I would have skipped the bow. I’m sure every animal is very different. I really liked the close up shots, especially the photo with my friend hugging her horse.

Red Shouldered Hawk: Taking advantage of the unexpected

I took a friend's advice and visited St. Mary's College of Maryland one morning in search of a great blue heron.  Blue herons are fairly common in St. Mary's County, but they are fairly skittish and fly away the instant I bring out my camera.  I didn't see any herons, but I have learned to look around to see if I see anything else interesting to photograph.  I photographed a few red winged black birds clinging to the tall grass and some tall fluffy grass fronds, but I wasn't particularly impressed with the angles and backgrounds.  The birds were too small even with my 300 mm lens.  As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a large bird in the top of a nearby tree.  I slowly walked toward it, trying not to scare it away.  I didn't know what type of hawk it was until I got home.  Red shouldered hawks apparently like deciduous forests and mainly eat small mammals.  I identified it by its red underparts and brown body.
A little patience can lead to unexpected results!

More Pet Photography Showing their Personality

I photographed 3 dogs recently.  One of the dogs had a cute little move when we got her attention, she lifted up her paw.  I managed to get this little move in my pictures.  I thought it was adorable.  She had very expressive eyes too.  Part of the goal in photographing pets, is to show their personality.  I visit pets in their homes (or a nearby park), so they will be comfortable and more likely to be themselves.

Craft Fair at Patuxent River Naval Air Station

For locals: We will be participating in the Arts and Crafts Festival at the Drill Hall at Pax River NAS at the St. Mary's County Camera Club booth. (near Lexington Park MD) We will be selling photo merchandise like mouse pads, and coasters, etc. Sat 12/4/2010 10 AM 5 hrs Free Admission. Shuttle bus for non base patrons is available behind the Frank Knox Building. It's a great way to get fun gifts for the holidays.