Sports Photography Revisited

I know, I know... I've been slacking. I guess I've just been so caught up doing things around the house, I've kinda put the photography aside. I discovered the world of bargain shopping and coupon clipping, so let's just say my "Holly Housewife" gene has been in overdrive over the past couple weeks.

Well, last week was one of my brother's last home games as a Killian volleyball player; so Lenin and I both made the trek down to Kendall to watch. This game was particularly special because during the pre-game warm-ups there was a ceremony for the three seniors that will be gone after this year. We had the whole family there cheering him on!

I took the opportunity to try my hand at sports photography once more. Since I wasn't being commissioned as the team photographer this time around, I concentrated more on shooting my brother throughout the game. He did great once again and Killian won!

I'm a sucker for team huddle photos. Maybe it's because I have spent a lot of my childhood and young adult life in them because of soccer.

A photo with the future superstar...

Sports Photography

Thursday night I tried my hand at sports photography, in this case high school volleyball. My dad had invited me to make the trek down to Coral Reef High School to watch my younger brother play. He is the star for Miami Killian's varsity volleyball team (Sorry, I have to brag some. I'm very proud of him as if he were my son). During my lunch break at work, I brushed up on sports photography tips. The books I have and online forums all suggested I use the highest ISO setting possible, fast shutter speed, and the largest aperture. It was also mentioned that the white balance setting be put at tungsten or fluorescent since indoor gyms tend to give photos a green hue. Unfortunately, at this time, I'm only working with a point and shoot camera with limited settings. But I figured I would give it my best shot.

I came across some challenges during the course of the game. I was informed by my brother's coach that I couldn't use flash photography since the referees would complain that it was a distraction. Anyone who has been in a high school gym knows that the lighting isn't the best, so this had me a little worried. To compensate for the fact that I could not use flash, I had to reduce my shutter speed to 1/100. This provided me with somewhat decent lighting in my shots, but also hindered my ability to get those fast action shots without any blur. A member of the DPS forums suggested that I use a shutter speed of 1/500 and an ISO setting of 2000+ for indoor volleyball, which is clearly something my camera is not capable of. I can achieve a shutter speed as fast as 1/1000, but the highest ISO setting possible on my camera is only 400.

I think my first experiment with sports photography turned out okay. Maybe I'll have better luck with an outdoor sport. Here are some of my favorite shots from Thursday's game. Oh, and Killian ended up winning. My brother (#13) had 27 kills and 11 of the team's 14 digs, what a stud!

These photos, and others not included in this post, are going to be offered for purchase to the players' parents as a team fundraiser. So I guess I not only got my first crack at sports photography, I also got my first commissioned job!

Soccer is in my blood

Soccer was always such a huge part of my life. It helps define who I am. See Exhibit A:

Photo courtesy of Loly Pix Photography

It really is. If there exists a soccer gene, I inherited it from my father. I probably started kicking the ball around the age of 4, maybe even before then but I'm basing this on a picture I have seen of me and my brother running around with a ball. I played on my first team, Domino's Pizza, when I was 5. As a child I experimented with many other activities like cheerleading (eek!), softball, fake ice skating on the slippery kitchen floor...but soccer was always a constant. I have to thank my dad for passing on his love and passion for the game. All of those games and tournament trips really made my childhood special and I hope I can give that to my children one day. (Thanks Dad!) Maybe my kids won't like soccer, but I at least hope they have sports in their lives.

With my recent slacking and the time change throwing me off, I completely forgot the deadline for the weekly DPS, which this week was "Self Portrait." I didn't get to post my submission in time, but I still participated. The assignment explained that the self portrait did not have to necessarily be a full length self portrait or even a shot revealing your face. I chose to incorporate the soccer theme for this assignment. Yeah, I may not play soccer as often as I used to (that's what happens when you become a working adult) and I may only catch a game on TV here and there, but it will always be a part of me.

My Self Portrait

A few other shots I took at a park in Miami Lakes that Lenin and I sometimes kick the ball around at; who knows, maybe with this crummy time change we may get back into it.