Friday, October 2, 2009

Friday afternoon at 4pm was the perfect time for a Number 1 vs Number 3 game for the field hockey squad. The only thing that could've made it better was more sun!

Clouds were out in force this afternoon for the game and that prevented any nice halo shots or other brightly-lit photos. However, with clouds you can more easily balance the exposure of the player's uniform and their face. When it's full sun and the player's face is under goggles, helmet, or other protective gear it can be difficult to expose their face without over-exposing the rest of the frame. When the light is diffused by the clouds it's easier.

The game itself was interesting because once again the Terps played a top-5 school. As a result there was a lot of action and a lot of excitement when a goal was scored. It was a lot of fun shooting the match this afternoon.








Friday evening I headed over to Ludwig Field for a top-5 showdown between the Terps and the Tar Heels of North Carolina. Ludwig was packed to it's near-7000 seat capacity and Fox Sports Net was on hand to witness the contest.

The lighting at Ludwig sucks. It's ISO5000 at 1/500th f/2.8 and you're still dark. And you can only shoot from the sideline. Shooting from the baseline produces horrible shadows as their is no lighting in the endzone areas of the stadium. None-the-less that's what you're handed to deal with.

I only took my 400mm lens with me and opted to avoid lugging around a second body with a shorter lens. I like the second body with a wide lens for pre-game and post-game shots but doing that at Ludwig at night doesn't make a lot of sense.

My shots came out pretty well because there was great competition. The quality of the exposure is awful but there isn't much you can do about that...

Monday afternoon the Terps faced the California Bears at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. Game time was set for 3pm and I was crossing my fingers for some good light.

Rather than full sun we got puffy high clouds. This presented some challenges for exposure but it's nothing too unusual. There was a good 2 stops of difference in the light when the sun was behind a cloud vs out shining brightly.

I shot the first half with the Terps backlit with the sun. I really like the halo effect in field hockey due to the water spray off the field. During the second half I changed my position and followed Maryland's shooting to the opposite side of the field. It was a lot easier to focus with the sun over my shoulders. It was also a lot easier to properly expose the shot.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Cheerleader: Maryland Terrapins


Sharp light can be your friend.




