On The Road
January, 2005
Happy New Year and welcome to On
The Road for January 2005. Last month brought some interesting
opportunities my way before all the Christmas craziness began.
I still cover a few NFL games each year and when Miami came to
Denver on December 12th I was very excited to be there. I also
did multiple commercial shoots for an up and coming apparel company.
Let's have a look.......
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Image #1 As is my custom and
often my desire I find myself departing from the typical game
action and looking for images that are different, artistic
and expressive. After capturing an image of Bronco's running
back Reuben Droughns fumbling I was pleased to see Tatum Bell
get his chance to prove himself. Here is Tatum on route to
his first 100 yard game as a pro. While I captured several
frames of him at 1/1250th sec, I like this panned image the
best as it is full of speed and color. Nikon D2H, ISO200,
Nikon 200mm-400mm G VR lens, TC14E 1.4 Teleconverter, at f45,
Shutter 1/15th sec. Lexar 2G Flash Card, WB 5900K. I am 30
yards behind the line of scrimmage so I can pan with the runner
from the moment of the hand-off till he hits the Miami defensive
line...about 3 -5 frames worth. No other photographer is near
me as I am far away from the play. It is as if I am the only
one on the sideline, a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. |
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Image #2 Most photographers are leaving
the field or looking at the back of their cameras for select
images when players head to the locker room. I prefer to
try something...learn something...get closer than a 400mm
lens away from my subjects. So...out comes my Nikon 12mm
- 24mm lens, and 2 Nikon SB 800's. One SB800 is set as the
Master ( TTL mode with Diffuser Dome pointing towards the
other SB800 ) on my Nikon D2H. The second SB800 is held
in my left hand high and as far from the camera as I can
stretch. I used a Polarizer filter on the 12-24 and pre
set it to polarize the sky. My D2H is set on Aperture Priority
with EV -0.7 to darken the background and really deepen
the sky and clouds ( AP exposure was 1/80th at f13 ), ISO200,
WB 5600K, and Rear Curtain Sinc. The SB800 in my left hand
has the diffuser dome on and is set on TTL, Group A, with
a flash output of +2. Looks as if I used a studio softbox
lighting arrangement on the field. The 1/80th shutter speed
allows some motion to Miami Dolphin's Tight End, Ed Perry
while I capture crisp facial and jersey details frozen by
the SB800. A Lexar 2G Flash Card was used. The TTL worked
perfectly as players walked towards me on their way into
the locker room.
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Image #3 Wrestlers captured in a similar
way as the previous image of Ed Perry. The apparel company
was looking for a dramatic/intense look to some of the images.
A slow shutter speed allows some ambient light of the gym
to mix into the exposure along with Rear Curtain Sinc on the
D2H. This allowed some motion to occur with the athletes while
the Elinchrom 1200RX Sport Strobes from Bogen freeze the action
during the 1/4 sec shutter speed. One Elinchrom 1200RX strobe
was positioned in each of the four corners of the wrestling
mat on a Bogen Lightstand about 12 feet high. Each 1200RX
was triggered by wireless Pocket Wizzard MULTI MAX Transceivers
so I could move freely around the wrestlers and in this case,
up a 6ft ladder. Small 7inch reflectors with 20 degree Grids
were used on each 1200RX. Nikon D2H, Rear Curtain Sinc, ISO200,
Nikon 12-24mm, 1/4 sec at f14, WB6300K, Four Elinchrom 1200RX
Sport Strobes at 1/2 power, Five Pocket Wizzard MULTIMAX Transceivers
( one for each strobe and one on the camera hotshoe to trigger
the system wirelessly, and a Lexar 2G Flash Card. |
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Image #4 The same effect and settings
as the previous image were used for this vertical image
of the wrestlers. This time I have removed the ladder and
positioned myself within 12 - 24 inches of the athletes
and followed them around the center of the mat almost as
if I was a referee during the match. All Camera settings,
1200RX settings and equipment is the same. The exposure
setting of ISO200, 1/4 sec at f14 is 3/4 of a stop under
a perfect ambient light exposure for the gym. I do not use
a light meter any more but have learned to judge my exposures
using the flashing highlights custom setting from the LCD
screen on the D2H. I take a test shot and look at the image.
If there are flashing highlights I will correct the exposure
and make a test shot again. For this image I want to expose
for the highlight ( no flashing highlights on the LCD screen
). This 3/4 stop under ambient light exposure helps give
the Rear Curtain Sinc motion a more saturated look. Remember,
it is the strobe that freezes the action in this case. I
kept the athletes in the center of the mat so the exposure
would remain consistent.
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Image #5 A more traditional look was achieved
with the same positioning of the Elinchrom 1200RX as images
#3 and #4. This time I used a Nikon 200mm - 400mm G VR lens
and a faster shutter speed with the Nikon D2H of 1/250 sec
at f6.3 with ISO200. This exposure eliminates the ambient
light so there is no motion effect. The longer lens and smaller
aperture helps soften the wrestler in the foreground to create
a more dramatic feeling to the scene. We used plenty of oil
and water spray to give the athletes that competitive look.
I have several images that are tighter in on the wrestlers
face, but, I like this one because of the bold colors of the
wrestling mat in the bottom right hand corner. |
Thank you for visiting this issue
of On The Road. There are more than 2,500 photographers that come
to learn from these articles each and every month. Each month
will be devoted to techniques and situations that face all of
us photographers within our profession. I have heard it said that
"photography is 10% capturing images and 90% problem solving."
So with this quote in mind come join me each month both here On
The Road and at Workshop at the Ranch.
Adios, Dave
December,
2008 (click here)
Memory Lane
November,
2008 (click here
Gone Fishing
October,
2008 (click here)
National Geographic Adventure Photography Workshop
September,
2008 (click here)
Olympians, Weather and Workshops
August,
2008 (click here)
Camp Life
July,
2008 (click here)
Lightpainting the Southwest
June,
2008
The Kentucky Derby
May,
2008 (click here)
A Southwest Tour
April,
2008 (click here)
The Endless Winter
March,
2008 (click here)
PMA Show in Las Vegas!
February,
2008 (click here)
At the Ballet
January,
2008 (click here)
One Week of Work
December,
2007 (click here)
A Look Back at 2007
November,
2007 (click here)
Traveling
with the New Nikon D3
October,
2007 (click here)
High Country Journey
September,
2007 (click here)
Walking
On The Road
August,
2007 (click here)
Speedway
Thunder from PA
July, 2007
(click here)
"Arlington National
Cemetery"
June, 2007
(click here)
"Kentucky Derby Day"
May, 2007
(click here)
"Mexico Trek"
April,
2007 (click here)
"Egypt Trek"
March,
2007 (click here)
Transit Mix
"Images From the Air"
February,
2007 (click here)
Ice Climbing in Ouray
January,
2007 (click here)
2007 Year in Review
December,
2006 (click here)
People of Willoq, Peru
November,
2006 (click here)
Lexington, Kentucky TREK
October,
2006 (click here)
Training for the Mr USA Title
September,
2006 (click here)
"The International Golf Tournament"
August,
2006 (click here)
"Tour of Champions Documentary"
July,
2006 (click here)
"Northern California, the FBI and Clint
Eastwood ..."
June,
2006 (click here)
"The 2006 Kentucky Derby"
May,
2006 (click here)
"Off the Road Picture Sales"
April,
2006 (click here)
Ladies Olympic Figure Skating
March,
2006 (click here)
Torino Italy and the 2006 Winter Olympic Games
February,
2006 (click here)
"Hey Dave, are you going to the Winter Olympics in Torino
and What Equipment Do You Take?"
January,
2006 (click here)
The Holiday Tea with Tchaikovsky
presented by Colorado's Classical Youth Ballet
December,
2005 (click here)
Landscapes at Pebble Beach:
a look back at 2005
November,
2005 (click here)
Lightpainting Landscapes
NFL Football
October,
2005 (click here)
3 Day Photography Workshop
Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
September,
2005 (click here)
Michelle Kwan
August,
2005 (click here)
International Gymnastics Camp
July,
2005 (click here)
the Men's US Open Golf Championships
June,
2005 (click here)
The Kentucky Derby
May,
2005 (click here)
Nevada Photojournalism Day
April,
2005 (click here)
John Bolin's "The Thorn"
March,
2005 (click here)
Indoor Track and Field
UC Irvine's Paul Spittle and
the Sports Shooter Academy
with Nikon's new DX2
February,
2005 (click here)
Broncos Football:
Denver vs Indianapolis
the US Figure Skating Nationals
Portland, Oregon
College Basketball:
Colorado State vs Air Force
January,
2005 (click here)
Broncos Football:
Broncos VS. Dolphins
Assignment work:
Wrestling
December,
2004 (click here)
A look back at 2004
November,
2004 (click here)
Rich Clarkson's Photography at the Summit Workshop &
Moose Peterson's Digital Landscape Workshop Series
October,
2004 (click here)
Whitewater Kayaking
Gymnastics and more
September,
2004 (click here)
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games
Athens, Greece
August,
2004 (click here)
A look back at some wonderful Olympic moments
July,
2004 (click here)
USAFA Graduation flyover
US Olympic Training Center - Swimming and Gymnastics
June,
2004 (click here)
Last Month the Masters, this month The Kentucky Derby......I
love my job
May,
2004 (click here)
Masters at Augusta National
April,
2004 (click here)
The American Cup Gymnastics
NIKON COLLEGE WORKSHOP
March,
2004 (click here)
Indoor Track and Field
Women's Freestyle Wresting
Rhythmic Gymnastics Nationals
The Glass Flower Ceiling at the Belagio Hotel in Las Vegas
February,
2004 (click here)
College Basketball
Women's Waterpolo
Olympic swimmers on their way to Athens
January,
2004 (click here)
NFL Football
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals
A look back at The Greenbay Professionals
December,
2003
Monday Night Football the Sports Shooter Workshop and Luau in
LA
November,
2003
Photography at the Summit workshop
October,
2003
Portraits to workshops to stock image sales
September,
2003
Lightpainting in Banf
The World Gymnastics Championships
August,
2003
International Gymnastics Camp
July,
2003
Thunderbirds
Gymnastics
The Sports Photography Workshop with Rich Clarkson
Velodrome Cycling, More
June, 2003
The 129th running of the Kentucky Derby
White water kayakers
The Champions on Ice tour
May,
2003 (click here)
PBR Rodeo
Chris Shivers and Little Yellow Jacket ride for $1 Million
April,
2003 (click here)
Nikon's featured speaker at PMA in Las Vegas
American Cup Gymnastics
USAFA Women's Basketball
USAFA Swimming
USAFA Boxing
NCAA Fencing Championships
March,
2003 (click here)
USOC's Titan Games
February,
2003 (click here)
Air Force Basketball
Pro Football Pre-Superball Stock Sales
Swimmers train at the Swim Flume at the USOC
Much more!
January,
2003 (click here)
Diving at the Air Force Academy
Denver Broncos VS. The Arizona Cardinals
Olympic Hopefuls Lenny Krayzelberg and Tom Molchow practice
at the USOC
