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Just thought I'd write a little entry, documenting my weekend in shooting. I didn't have as much opportunity to shoot over the weekend, mainly because of web design, but I get out and shoot a lacrosse game. We had a VCU Alumni Lacrosse game, had a good turn out. I only got the first half, our alumni team fell behind, so I jumped in and played the second half, had a lot of fun doing it, first time i've played a game of lacrosse since summer. While I was shooting, I did start to work on different aspects, such as shooting manual exposure, usually I set my camera to Aperture Priority and shoot away, but I've been wanting to practice shooting more in manual, so I can have a lot more control over my images. It gets weird at times, cuz you have to go back and forth on the shutter speed in order to prevent from over/underexposure. Takes getting used to, while you're panning back and forth, following the game, you also have to be turning knobs, and making sure you're turning them in the right direction, its a lot to think about simultaneously. Eventually it will just become second nature, so I won't have to worry about it, just need a start working it more and more, until I shoot full manual for all my sporting events. I do feel like I got some good photos for the lacrosse game, honestly just haven't had the time to look through them all. Its been kinda hectic with all the school work I've been working on: had a paper due, website i've been trying to crank out, editing photos, the list keeps going. But I should be okay now, getting more and more done, so I won't have to worry about it so much later.
Forgot to mention, I should be traveling with the VCU lacrosse team. They alway like to have pictures from their games. I still have to figure out their schedule for fall ball, I don't even think they know yet, supposed they were gonna play in a tournament with a lot of really good teams, we were just gonna be a fall break this weekend, so we can't make it. Would have been a great time to shoot some photos, teams like UVA, Duke, Roanoke, Lynchburg, all top-notch teams. Either way, while traveling with the lacrosse team, I should be able to get some documentary, photos as well, like stopping at diners before the game, showing up at the field bright and early for games. Being able to photograph them in that manner seperate from playing on the field, it'll show a whole other side of the team, and more diversity in my photography. Because I played on the team for 2 years, I am real familiar with the team also, which I feel will help break down the barrier between the guys and the camera, some people find it uncomfortable. I do know a few guys on the team eat that kinda shit up though.
Looking through the Pictures of the Year
website, I found another interesting photographer by the name of Donald Miralle. There are multiple things that came out through his work that instantly hit me. Color in his images just really pop, he really has a great eye for balance within the composition. Balance as in color is what i'm getting at right now. I feel its important within an image to have those splashes of color that draw the viewers eye. It may be easier these days, as sports uniforms are getting more colorful and crazy, but there are so many places from a sporting event you can grab color from, whether its the crowd, the gatorade cooler on the sidelines of the football game, the light-show before the big game. Color just surrounds us, and I feel its the job of the photographer to take this world filled with chaos and color, and organizing them within a composition so that its balanced, and orchestrated. Where the color appears and the focus can say a lot about how the photo will be seen. You may not want bright colors in the background of a f2.8 photograph, the color may be distracting. The photographer really does compose the world around them, from the angle they're shooting, the lens, lighting situations, so many aspects affect the outcome of the final image.
More into the actual photographer, I wanted to discuss one of his images specifically. Because I couldn't find a name, I'll just call it "USC Receiver 82", there is so many qualities that make this a great photograph. First and foremost, the lighting makes this image. Really the situation of this lighting is great timing and an accident simultaneously. The player is leaping into the air to catch a ball thrown into the end zone. At the same time, theres a beam of sunlight peaking through the clouds, which you really can't plan for, when you're following a sporting event. I would almost say the photo was destiny, where it was supposed to be taken. Its almost an act of divinity, the photograph embodies the emotion of sports, at the same time, the light passing through the class could signify a deity. The photo resembles a Simon Bruty photo from one of my previous posts, which showed the tennis player playing amongst the light. The light also plays a role to soften the background, where the audience awaits the play, sitting in the shade, as the USC player basks in the sunlight, while making an athletic move. This is one of those images that, to me, becomes one of those notorious photographs of its time, like Muhammah Ali standing above his knocked out opponent. Its timeless, it shows the emotion, action, and the tradition of sports.
There was another image of his that I specifically liked, the frame is taken underwater, I'm assuming Miralle is underwater, but at the same time, it could possibly be a remote camera, if you can use a remote camera underwater, that I have no idea. The frame is filled with a blue hue that resembles the water you'd see in a photo of the Caribbean. An olympic diver cuts through the water like a hot knife through butter. I know, what an unoriginal metaphor, but whatever. The trail of oxygen (i guess thats what it is), follows behind the diver. The image gives the diver a special presence, as if they have supernatural powers. It just amazes me how you can give different perceptions of an object or person, simple by shooting different situations. Obviously shooting people diving into the water has been done before, but the framing and timing of the photograph gives this genre of photograph a completely different feel. You almost forget the person is a swimming, and begin to believe the flying. The texture of the water, lighting, hue, is all present within the sky, given the situation, so its really not so far to imagine, besides that fact we can't fly. Looking through Donald Miralle's photography just makes me think, there are so many photographs out there to take than what we typically see in sports, so much more going on. Really, its just about the journey, continuous searching of "that photograph", much like the surfer is always looking for that wave of his life. As a photographer, I just need to keep searching and shooting, it will all fall into place.
For my second artist lecture for the month of September, I actually had a guest speaker in my Design Rebels class. James Victore is the owner of an independent studio out in New York City, James Victore Inc. His work deals with issues present within social culture such as: racism, gays, basically any issue dilemna in society he shares a personal concern for. He was really a well spoken, outgoing guy, really easy to talk to but had a lot of ideas he wanted to express. Because it wasn't technically an artist lecture, it was on a more down to earth level. It was more like a class discussion, but we got to just conversate, ask him questions about his work, the industry, anything that came to mind basically. His work is really cool too, he does a lot of illustration heavy design work. His latest work, entitled "dirty dishes" arose from his past, when as a 20some year old, would steal plates from resturantes and bars, only to scribble catch phrases and illustrations with a thick permanent marker. His work also ranges from surfboards, posters, whatever you can think of. I feel his personality really comes through in his artwork, which is one thing he stressed when talking to us in class. "Don't settle", "how can i get paid to be myself?". These are examples of quotes he mentioned in class, which make perfect sense, why conform to someone else's beliefs and disregard your own? Just makes NO SENSE! But I feel i'm already doing what I want, sports photography seems to be a perfect match for me, just need to work my way into the field. Victore had a really strong sense of sarcasm and humor, when viewing his work, you'll see what I mean. Overall, he was an extremely cool guy, very informative and motivating. I'm glad he came in for the short talk he had with our class, really made a lot of questions arise into the conversation, and whenever you're thinking, especially with a visiting professional artist, you know its going well. If you'd like to check out his work, go to the website below:
James Victore
This weekend I got the opportunity to work for Scott Brown, doing some assisting while he shot a few sporting events over the weekend. We went to the U of R football game and the VCU vs. UNC soccer game at Sports Backers. Assisting was a great experience for me, I got to spend my Saturday out in the sun, on the sidelines for my favorite sport. I learned a great deal as well, just being able to have a friendly guy like Scott, made it easier to ask questions, and just talk back and forth during the game. It was really new working with Canon digital bodies, I haven't had a lot of experience with them, but it was good, I definitely feel you need to be well-rounded, know your way around different makes of cameras, not to mention I'd like to make the switch over to Canon in the future.
Most of the things I learned were about the style of shooting. Shooting sports is different from client to client, some people might ask for more portraiture, for a media guide for example, other might want more of action shots, like big catches, running plays, etc. It really has to do with what the images are going to be used for, which I've considered, but because Scott was shooting for a certain job, he'd tell me what he was shooting for and why, so it makes you think about the play-by-play a little more.
Most of the technical things I picked up on over the shoots were how to better use manual exposure, rather than aperture priority. I use manual, but in relation to the sun, sometimes its hard to determine when to stop up, stop down. Location was another thing that helped me out, I had the basic idea of where I should shoot, but being able to compare my notes with his, even give some suggestions, really worked out well. It especially helped at Sports Backers, because I shoot there constantly too, so I was able to learn the hot spots, when to use what mm lens, all these things were important. Now I just need to find someone with a digital body, preferably Nikon, with a wide angle lens, that I can borrow, so I don't have to switch lenses back and forth.
Another important thing I learned was when to use different exposure meterings, which you can really tell a difference when comparing, as Scott did while we were shooting. Typically you can stick with the matrix metering, but if you're working with a great deal of sunshine, such as having the sun over the players back, it creates drastic contrast between highlights and shadows, in this case, using center-weighted metering would be a good option.
I also learned you can dial in the kelvin white balance for digital cameras, which I am usually pretty good about adjusting white balance, but I didn't know you could fine tune to the temperature degree. This is also a great reason why you should stick to shooting RAW, if you have the hard-drive space and need the quality. They take up a great deal of space, typically about 100 or so images to a 2GB memory care, but you get absolutely no compression, the draw back to JPGs. You can also adjust your white balance to whatever, and if its a little off, you can adjust the temperature in post-production without the concern for color shifts, such as muddy greens or other colors. If I was shooting for a client, this is definitely the way I'd go, but seeing my shooting at this moment is for practice and the learning process, i'm not as concerned with the compression, just the amount of photos that I can take at a given event.
I recently discovered a sports photographer by the name of Steve Christo, who shoots for the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. I am really drawn to his work, so much attention to the framing, background, lots of detail that really keeps me intrigued about his photographs. Lately, I've been doing a lot of research, mostly surfing websites such as POYi and the Best of Photojournalism, in search of new photographers to inspire me. I find the more photographers I study, theres always a new style or perspective you learn about, which really helps when I go to shoot an event, it keeps the ideas flowing throughout the day. Christo is extremely talented, and decorated, as he's won 3 awards for POYi awards of excellence in sports photography. It always seems to be true, if you study the best, you know how high the bar is set, and where you need to be in order to get to the top. With any realm of art, you need to be in the top of your game, and constantly out there pushing the envelope. At this point in my sports photography career, i'm still new to the game, but i'm making connections, shooting more events, and most importantly, becoming more and more motivated to being the best, I really feel that I've found my niche, the perfect marriage of my love for sports and art. I couldn't be happier.
Christo's work completely embodies all the aspects I'm striving to have within my photography. He really has a great eye for compositions, decisive moment, and color. These three aspects I find especially important. Composition is a talent, I have always found myself to have a good eye with photography, and art in general. The problem comes when getting composition while shooting a sports moment, the action is moving so fast, how do you shoot a key moment, and get a great framing at the same time? Its a real challenge, but its exciting. Decisive moment is all about timing, experience, and confidence. Being familiar with the specific sport you're shooting really helps a lot with this aspect, if you know the quarterback is going to hand off the ball to the running back, it makes your job a lot easier. Color is probably my most favorite aspect in art. I really feel that color is what grabs a viewers' attention when filling through a magazine or newspaper. I've always been attractived to vibrant colors such as orange, blue, etc. Being able to fill your frame with colors and contrast between background and foreground is something I always try to contain in my images. I find that shooting in certain areas, this notion is a little harder to bring into my images. Richmond is kind of a smoggy, dirty place, and most of the sporting venues here are surrounded by construction sites or main roads, which means my background is typically filled with cars and fences, which I don't particularly like. But, I gotta start at the bottom, work my way up, its about problem solving, the more I shoot, the more I will be able to solve issues such as these. I've already found that shooting at the top of the bleachers at Sports Backers helps a lot in isolating the urban environment from the frame. You get more grass and less junk, which ultimately makes for a better image, and less distracting, softer background.
Had a good day shooting at the women's soccer games today (Sports Backers Stadium). A few new habits I'm getting into really helped: looking over sports photos that I like (for the sports I will be shooting), helps get the creative juices flowing and gives me an idea for the types of angles, and shots I need to be taking. For the first game, I shot the game from the top row of the stands, it gave me a higher point-of-view, allowing me to cut out the distracting background that surrounds Sports Backers. It make it a lot easier for me to get photos withouts that contained soft backgrounds, that wouldn't conflict with the action. I shot with a lot more burst fires, which I hadn't been doing as much in the past, this led to a lot more opportunities for good shots. I was also really patient with my shooting, I didn't snap off shots I knew wouldn't turn out, I relied more on my timing on the decisive moment, I wanted for shots to develop and did my best to wait for the athletes to be facing the camera, allowing for better photographs. Studying photos from sports photographers I respect has definitely made a difference in my work, so has just going out and doing it. I definitely feel more confident with my shooting, especially for soccer. Field hockey is still a little weird at times, the game planes change a lot quicker, more like lacrosse, which leads to you having to rely on your familiarity with the game, predicting the next move. I can do this with lacrosse, but I have trouble with field hockey, this will be cleared up with more shooting though, I've only had one opportunity to shoot a game so far, where I've already shot 4 or 5 soccer games. I am a lot more confident, and less bashful with my shooting, sometimes I would feel awkward, almost embarrassed to shoot. Now I don't even hesitate to break out my camera and start snapping away, I feel right at home with sports, which leads me to believe I have a promising future in the field. I just have such a great time sitting on the sideline, taking in the atmosphere, the sounds of the crowd cheering. Everything about sporting events I just love, and being able to be so close and intimate with the game, I feel right at home on the sideline of sporting events. Can't wait until my next game, I may bring my camera up to Cary St. before my class tomorrow, shoot some field hockey practice, maybe pick-up soccer, I think there might even be some tennis going around. I'll just walk around, see what I can find, snap away. For now, its lights out, time for a little bit more reading, and some shut eye.
I wanted to talk about a specific photo that I can across. Even though tennis isn't one of my favorite sports, I've actually been turned to it more lately. This is a photograph taken by Simon Bruty that I really enjoyed. To me, this photo really symbolizes the essence of singles tennis. The use of lighting in the later afternoon gives a sense of loneliness, with the shadow stretched, diagonally across the frame, accompanied by only the referee and his opponent. I really feel like the lighting absolutely made this image. Getting the right exposure could have been a little challenging, maybe trial and error, but the overall gives a good feel of balance in the image. There are two color temperatures within the photo, most of the turf is blanketed by the bright afternoon light, but the majority of the figure hides in the shade, except for the orange highlights through the hair. The lines and geometry were really strong throughout the frame, I always like adding a sense of perspective and some interest with the bright white lines jumping out from the shadowed, green turf. The bright colors give a high contrast between the figure and the background, allowing the viewer to concentrate on the athlete, rather than getting lost in the background.
Its a little too soon to think about tennis season here at VCU, but I'm already getting ideas for shooting how I could shoot the sport. I really like the ideas used by Bruty, I've always liked to include a sense of location and geometry. Using perspective could be an effective way to bringing out interesting aspects of the game. This could also be applied to other sports, obviously. At VCU (Cary St. field), its typically a little more difficult to use the lines of the game in the photo, because the field is so cluttered with everything else. I plan to use more perspective when shooting at Sports Backers in the future, I'm just not sure I'll have the equipment to do so during the UNC game, the game starts at 7PM, which holds problems because of the low light. I'm praying the lights on that field are sufficient for photographing during the late afternoon to evening, I didn't have so much luck at Cary St. field, but theres no way of telling until you go out and do it. I'm pretty anxious to go out and shoot another game. Been kind of antsy about it, just haven't had the resources to go to game other than VCU sports at the moment. Want to make it out to some Richmond Braves games, maybe even Univ. of Richmond sports, just dont have the transportation at the moment. Maybe I could come out for field hockey practices during the daytime? Maybe shooting intramural sports, or pickup soccer games. All these are good points to bring up during my next meeting (tomorrow). I'm going to leave off at that.
