Rivalry Week - Noon Showdown At Clemson's Memorial Stadium...
posted by Gameshots, 11/27/2008 08:42:00 PM
Coach Spurrier on Day One of August Practice
Not long ago we were shooting hot August practices at Bluff Road trying to put names, numbers and faces together and getting to know the 2008 Gamecocks. Now, so quickly, the weather is much cooler and the final regular season game approaches this Saturday with the showdown at high noon in Death Valley.
There is considerable planning and preparation for every game. Each game is important but the last game is often the biggest of the year, even if it weren't a rivalry game. Although this is true for the coaches and players, I was thinking of the last game, from the photographer's perspective.
One of the things that makes photography so interesting are the challenges of capturing the images of the day regardless of the time-of-day, the lighting (or lack thereof), and the weather. This Saturday's Noon kickoff game was working out beautifully with a forecast calling for no rain and partly cloudy skies (40% - 60% cloud coverage), well... that was as of LATE Wednesday. But Thanksgiving morning came along with much more rain possibilities in the weather forecast (depending on where one looks and when it was last updated) but suffice it to say by Thursday all of the forecasts were calling for 50-70% chance of rain during the game timeframe.
Often photographer's prefer some clouds to cloudless sunny skies as the clouds reduce the contrast and harsh shadows allowing one to better see the athlete's face within the shadow of the helmet. Dealing with challenges, and overcoming them is fun but it's even better to not have to worry about the challenges and just enjoy taking the pictures. It is much like when the defense knows that it is a passing down they can just concentrate on getting to the quarterback or stopping the pass, well the photographer, in this case, can just concentrate on getting the best image and not have to deal with all of the obstacles.
Dealing with rain...
Shot from the end zone, at night, during the rain.
The last game, at Gainesville, Florida, began with considerable rain during pre-game and warm-ups and then occasional rain off and on during the majority of the game. A learning lesson can often be an experiment that turns out well (or, at least, better than you had hoped). The Florida game provided a learning experience for me that I want to share with you. Now it appears that I will be able to work this aspect into ' my game' this Saturday. Although our cameras and lenses are supposed to be able to handle the rain, I do not know of a photographer that will shoot in the rain without protecting the equipment with some type of 'raingear'.
One sees all kinds. Nice expensive 'rainsuits' that may cost two or three hundred dollars cover some cameras and lenses but likewise you will also see a variety of plastic bags, freezer bags, tape and rubber bands holding something together on the camera. At Florida I tried something new, that worked well for me, and I plan to try to improve on it for my next rain event ( this Saturday?).
What I will do is wrap the camera and the lenses, individually, with something like clear Saran Wrap. Clear, in order to see through easily and while this is protecting the equipment from the elements it is very lightweight and non-bulky. The reason I mention wrapping the equipment separately is that you are then better able to change lenses (changing lenses is often NOT a good option when the cover is taped or velcro'd together as one piece). Whatever you decide to do about the 'rain cover', I suggest that you rehearse it prior to the event to see if it will work and meet your needs.
Back to the planning and preparation for the last game...
This is not only the last game of the regular football season but a rivalry game. Although there is still a bowl game to look forward to, remember that there are special memorable moments in this game that should be captured. That key block, that goal line stand, that pass to the corner of the end zone or the fumble recovery or interception. Everything is magnified in importance on the last regular season game and it's a rivalry match-up. We are not guaranteed the future and this could be the last college game that a particular player participates in and how special would it be to capture the emotion and action in a special photo.
What's new?
November 7th, right before the Kentucky Wesleyan basketball game that night and the Arkansas football on Saturday, I got a new lens. The lens is the new Canon 200mm F/2L EF IS USM lens and it is as good as advertised. The photographers reading this may wonder what makes this lens so special. Briefly, it is made for low light (f/2 is much faster than an f/2.8 lens) and being a Prime lens (non-zoom) the sharpness of the image is without compare. The lens is popular with two groups of photographers, the sports action photographers and wedding or portrait photographers for obvious reasons. It is beyond compare when creating a good bokeh (the out of focus area in the background).
200mm used at the D. J. Swearinger Press Conference at Greenwood High School
I've found it to be excellent when using it at basketball games but it has been a pleasant surprise when shooting press conferences (such as the Swearinger and Quarles Presser at Greenwood High School on Monday) and for daylight football games (no-brainer that it would be great for night football). The advantages manifest themselves in all of the key areas of camera settings as I am able to shoot without maxing out the F-stop setting with a lower (maybe an 800) ISO and 1/640th of a second for basketball. Or I would also have the ability to change some settings and greatly increase my depth-of-field (amount of image that is in sharp focus).
Using the wide angle zoom lens under the basket.
Using the 200mm at a basketball game - picture is cropped.
For basketball games I like to team the new 200mm lens (for normal shots) with a wide-angle zoom lens for close-up shots under the basket action (see picture above). For football, if a day game, I would mount the 200mm lens on the Canon 1D, Mark 3 body for a shot equivalent to 240mm and use the 300mm lens with an extender on a Canon 40D body giving an equivalent magnification of a 672mm lens. With that degree of magnification for football, I would use either a normal wide-angle or a super wide-angle lens for the up close shots (Captains at mid-field, stadium and crowd shots, post-game celebrations and interviews).
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
End of the Regular Season is upon us...
Coach Spurrier on Day One of August Practice
Not long ago we were shooting hot August practices at Bluff Road trying to put names, numbers and faces together and getting to know the 2008 Gamecocks. Now, so quickly, the weather is much cooler and the final regular season game approaches this Saturday with the showdown at high noon in Death Valley.
There is considerable planning and preparation for every game. Each game is important but the last game is often the biggest of the year, even if it weren't a rivalry game. Although this is true for the coaches and players, I was thinking of the last game, from the photographer's perspective.
One of the things that makes photography so interesting are the challenges of capturing the images of the day regardless of the time-of-day, the lighting (or lack thereof), and the weather. This Saturday's Noon kickoff game was working out beautifully with a forecast calling for no rain and partly cloudy skies (40% - 60% cloud coverage), well... that was as of LATE Wednesday. But Thanksgiving morning came along with much more rain possibilities in the weather forecast (depending on where one looks and when it was last updated) but suffice it to say by Thursday all of the forecasts were calling for 50-70% chance of rain during the game timeframe.
Often photographer's prefer some clouds to cloudless sunny skies as the clouds reduce the contrast and harsh shadows allowing one to better see the athlete's face within the shadow of the helmet. Dealing with challenges, and overcoming them is fun but it's even better to not have to worry about the challenges and just enjoy taking the pictures. It is much like when the defense knows that it is a passing down they can just concentrate on getting to the quarterback or stopping the pass, well the photographer, in this case, can just concentrate on getting the best image and not have to deal with all of the obstacles.
Dealing with rain...
Shot from the end zone, at night, during the rain.
The last game, at Gainesville, Florida, began with considerable rain during pre-game and warm-ups and then occasional rain off and on during the majority of the game. A learning lesson can often be an experiment that turns out well (or, at least, better than you had hoped). The Florida game provided a learning experience for me that I want to share with you. Now it appears that I will be able to work this aspect into ' my game' this Saturday. Although our cameras and lenses are supposed to be able to handle the rain, I do not know of a photographer that will shoot in the rain without protecting the equipment with some type of 'raingear'.
One sees all kinds. Nice expensive 'rainsuits' that may cost two or three hundred dollars cover some cameras and lenses but likewise you will also see a variety of plastic bags, freezer bags, tape and rubber bands holding something together on the camera. At Florida I tried something new, that worked well for me, and I plan to try to improve on it for my next rain event ( this Saturday?).
What I will do is wrap the camera and the lenses, individually, with something like clear Saran Wrap. Clear, in order to see through easily and while this is protecting the equipment from the elements it is very lightweight and non-bulky. The reason I mention wrapping the equipment separately is that you are then better able to change lenses (changing lenses is often NOT a good option when the cover is taped or velcro'd together as one piece). Whatever you decide to do about the 'rain cover', I suggest that you rehearse it prior to the event to see if it will work and meet your needs.
Back to the planning and preparation for the last game...
This is not only the last game of the regular football season but a rivalry game. Although there is still a bowl game to look forward to, remember that there are special memorable moments in this game that should be captured. That key block, that goal line stand, that pass to the corner of the end zone or the fumble recovery or interception. Everything is magnified in importance on the last regular season game and it's a rivalry match-up. We are not guaranteed the future and this could be the last college game that a particular player participates in and how special would it be to capture the emotion and action in a special photo.
What's new?
November 7th, right before the Kentucky Wesleyan basketball game that night and the Arkansas football on Saturday, I got a new lens. The lens is the new Canon 200mm F/2L EF IS USM lens and it is as good as advertised. The photographers reading this may wonder what makes this lens so special. Briefly, it is made for low light (f/2 is much faster than an f/2.8 lens) and being a Prime lens (non-zoom) the sharpness of the image is without compare. The lens is popular with two groups of photographers, the sports action photographers and wedding or portrait photographers for obvious reasons. It is beyond compare when creating a good bokeh (the out of focus area in the background).
200mm used at the D. J. Swearinger Press Conference at Greenwood High School
I've found it to be excellent when using it at basketball games but it has been a pleasant surprise when shooting press conferences (such as the Swearinger and Quarles Presser at Greenwood High School on Monday) and for daylight football games (no-brainer that it would be great for night football). The advantages manifest themselves in all of the key areas of camera settings as I am able to shoot without maxing out the F-stop setting with a lower (maybe an 800) ISO and 1/640th of a second for basketball. Or I would also have the ability to change some settings and greatly increase my depth-of-field (amount of image that is in sharp focus).
Using the wide angle zoom lens under the basket.
Using the 200mm at a basketball game - picture is cropped.
For basketball games I like to team the new 200mm lens (for normal shots) with a wide-angle zoom lens for close-up shots under the basket action (see picture above). For football, if a day game, I would mount the 200mm lens on the Canon 1D, Mark 3 body for a shot equivalent to 240mm and use the 300mm lens with an extender on a Canon 40D body giving an equivalent magnification of a 672mm lens. With that degree of magnification for football, I would use either a normal wide-angle or a super wide-angle lens for the up close shots (Captains at mid-field, stadium and crowd shots, post-game celebrations and interviews).
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Paul Collins. Paul has been a GamecockCentral photographer since 2005, with a focus on Gamecock football, men's basketball and baseball. He may be reached by email at paul(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.