Red Wings 2012

[Yugoboy]

Benefits from (one of) my summer job(s). (I’ll try to keep this updated… I’ll probably fail.)

Opening Day

Game 2

I’m working again tomorrow (before one of my other jobs in the evening… busy busy busy)

Thanx staplermofo for the image help. Stupid hotmail…

[Yugoboy]

I used my 55-200 and just walked right up to the front row, crouched down (to minimize people’s complaints) and shot away. The super close-up shot is the guy on deck. When I shot that one, I cropped out the weight on the bat in-camera so it looked like he was batting. Fortunately, it’s been sunny enough that I could use high shutter speeds.

BTW – Starting in May, every Friday game (and some Saturdays) is followed by fireworks. Does anybody remember which thread it was where somebody posted suggestions for how to shoot them successfully? TIA

[Farktographer]

Great high-speed captures. It’s an awesome opportunity to be able to do that.

The closest I could find for some possible tips and hits are here: http://www.farktography.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2949 But I know a lot of us have shot fireworks before so if you have any questions in particular feel free. I have a handful on my flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilpadrino03/6322750345/ if you want some exif data to go on, but I certainly didn’t plan my shots as well as some of the other photographers here so the best bet would probably be that earlier forum.

[Barracuda]

Great shots, hoping to make it to a ball game soon myself.

[Yugoboy]

Home Game 4

It was cloudy and WAY cold today. I tossed a few shots out of consideration because the stands were EMPTY. My hands are still warming up and I’ve been home for an hour.

I did a tiny bit more post-processing… just playing with saturation here…
(it’s also intentionally sized… I processed it at 1366×768… my desktop. If you want it, let me know)

I’m going to be working as much as I can (even at minimum wage, it’s money, and we need it)… if this gets to be tedious, let me know, will ya?

[ennuipoet]

I used my 55-200 and just walked right up to the front row, crouched down (to minimize people’s complaints) and shot away. The super close-up shot is the guy on deck. When I shot that one, I cropped out the weight on the bat in-camera so it looked like he was batting. Fortunately, it’s been sunny enough that I could use high shutter speeds.

BTW – Starting in May, every Friday game (and some Saturdays) is followed by fireworks. Does anybody remember which thread it was where somebody posted suggestions for how to shoot them successfully? TIA

Shoot at f8 through f11, ISO 100-200, pull your exposure about 1/2 to full stop below the meter, your exposure time for optimal effect is around 3-4 seconds. I like to shoot on a short tele depending on my vantage point, these were all 24-70 (on an APSC):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuipoet/sets/72157626997124677/

While these were all 70-200,

[Yugoboy]

I’m likely (given enough chances) to try all 3 of my current lenses, but the biggest difference between your shots and what I’m shooting is the fact that you appear to have been hundreds of yards away, if not more than a mile away from the fireworks. Frontier Field is only 400something feet deep at center. I’ll be shooting from maybe 100 yards away from the launching pads. Likely I’ll be needing the wide angle to get context, as well as to have more field of view and not have to guess at where they’re going to explode.

But, you’ve given me a starting point. My manual lens allows me to make the f-stop “stick” unlike the digitals (which are obviously controlled by the camera), so the 28-70 may be my best bet in this instance, once I get the settings figured out.

[Farktographer]

I’m likely (given enough chances) to try all 3 of my current lenses, but the biggest difference between your shots and what I’m shooting is the fact that you appear to have been hundreds of yards away, if not more than a mile away from the fireworks. Frontier Field is only 400something feet deep at center. I’ll be shooting from maybe 100 yards away from the launching pads. Likely I’ll be needing the wide angle to get context, as well as to have more field of view and not have to guess at where they’re going to explode.

But, you’ve given me a starting point. My manual lens allows me to make the f-stop “stick” unlike the digitals (which are obviously controlled by the camera), so the 28-70 may be my best bet in this instance, once I get the settings figured out.

A suggestion: if you’re able to, set up the takes like ennui suggested after the game’s done one evening just to see how the grounds are exposed sans fireworks. This’ll give you an idea of where to set up and what you want in your images before the fireworks start going up. It’s best if there’s a way they can get the lighting the same way they will for the fireworks and if you know where they’ll be launching.

That’s the one thing I regretted not doing with my fireworks shots – we had no clue where they’d be launching from, so I had no chance to set up a “scenic” area to capture the grounds. That’s why all mine were only of the fireworks – I much more favour ennui’s take with giving them context.

Then again, you’ll get the chance to shoot them over and over again, so maybe it’s not as much an issue if the first few batches don’t turn out just right.

[ravnostic]

These are awesome shots. Guess I’ll skip the next “Sports” theme–and agree with ennui; use a medium f/stop for the lens, 2-3x it’s widest, low ISO; a chance to pre-compose would be great if you can get it.

[ennuipoet]

I’m likely (given enough chances) to try all 3 of my current lenses, but the biggest difference between your shots and what I’m shooting is the fact that you appear to have been hundreds of yards away, if not more than a mile away from the fireworks. Frontier Field is only 400something feet deep at center. I’ll be shooting from maybe 100 yards away from the launching pads. Likely I’ll be needing the wide angle to get context, as well as to have more field of view and not have to guess at where they’re going to explode.

But, you’ve given me a starting point. My manual lens allows me to make the f-stop “stick” unlike the digitals (which are obviously controlled by the camera), so the 28-70 may be my best bet in this instance, once I get the settings figured out.

I would love the chance to be right up on the Fireworks when they detonate! To be able to shoot the lift off to the explosion would be awesome!

Like Farktographer said, if you can meter before the show it will help. The context works with some shots, but the beauty is in the fire. I was lucky on the first set to be about half a mile from the barges where the launch was happening, so I could get a lot of foreground detail. The long shots over the SoL are nice, but I find them less appealing than the close shots of the first set.

Oh, and one more thing: either use a remote release or a wireless trigger, I also suggest using Mirror Lock Up if you camera has it. Even the explosion can cause a vibration visible in the final shot, so use every precaution for maximum steadiness.

[Yugoboy]

My First Night Game
I had to up the ISO to like 800, and I still had to ratchet down the shutter speed to the low hundreds.

My Second Night Game
Some of these shutter speeds are in the double digits…

Before today’s game (“My Second Night Game”), I went in early so I could get some shots of the empty stadium. I’ll be doing this at other times in other ways as well.

[Yugoboy]

Scranton-Wilkes-Barre is renovating their stadium this year, so the SWB Yankees are the Empire State Yankees for this, playing a solid half of their home games at our stadium (I don’t know where the other half is). The first 4 “home” games for the Yankees were against the Wings, resulting in the Red Wings wearing road greys against the “home” Yanks.

Shots from the 4 game “home” stand were all night games. This has been challenging, as I’ve had to jack up the ISO, and I still can’t shoot fast enough to make me happy. Fortunately, this isn’t a Farktography contest, so software can mask some sins.

[bender16v]

I like all the photos, keep them coming!

[Yugoboy]

It was COLD today (36 degrees F). Yesterday’s game was rained out. They were reported to be doing a double-header, but due to forecasted snow (which as of 11 pm hasn’t hit yet) they returned to a single game. Due to the day game element, I got some good high speed shots (check out the ball in the air on the first shot). Did I mention it was cold? Look for people in the stands in winter coats… (I tweaked the color balance in favor of blues and greens to hint at the cool temps.)

I like this shot, because bloody well everybody but the runner’s looking at the towering pop fly (well, I guess the ump’s watching the shortstop to be sure he catches it cleanly). It was caught, and his efforts were futile, but I still like the shot for being a little different than others I’ve taken &/or posted.

[Yugoboy]

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs v. Red Wings April 25

Yankees v. Red Wings May 2

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