I'm telling you: the way these guys are playing, it makes me sick to my stomach...
Image by Ed Yourdon
NY Jets vs. Buffalo, Oct 2009 - 26
(more details later, as time permits)
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In mid-October, I attended my second professional football game, with a photographer's press pass that let me get down on the field to photograph players, referees, cheerleaders, other photographers, fans in the stand, and anyone else who looked interesting. (My first such game was a pre-season contest between the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, which you can see by clicking here.)
I learned some lessons from photographing the Jets-Eagles game, and I showed up this time better prepared, and with some new equipment. It was great having the Nikon D700 with the capability of shooting at ISO 6400; but the 2X extender that turned my 70-300mm FX lens into a 140-600 lens seemed incapable of focusing automatically; I finally gave up and removed it. Overall, probably the best improvement came from the monopod that I dragged along on the trip; it greatly improved the stability of long shots with a telephoto. Ironically, it may also have created the illusion that I was a professional photographer, for the "real" professional photographers (who had studiously ignored me during the previous game) actually chatted with me a couple of times. I didn't have any of the bazooka-sized monster-telephoto lenses they had, but maybe they thought I wasn't a completely unprepared hobbyist...
Anyway, I shot the first half of the game with the D700 and the 70-300mm zoom lens by itself; and I shot the second half of the game with my older D300, whose half-frame body turned the 70-300mm zoom into a 105-450mm zoom. The stadium was sufficiently well lit that I could shoot at a reasonably high speed (typically 1/640 second) without having to go above ISO 3200 most of the time.
But technical details aside, this game was very much like the last one: I was down on the field, surrounded by 76,000 roaring fans who made conversation virtually impossible. I'm accustomed to watching most sports on television these days, with magical close-up shots provided by TV cameras like the very ones I saw strategically placed around tonight's football game; and when I'm befuddled by something complex or unexpected in whatever I'm watching, I know I can always depend on multiple instant replays (from various angles) and the incisive commentary from a TV sports anchor who knows far more about the players, the rules, and the details than I ever will.
Down on the field, all I could do was try my best to follow the action, and shoot anything that looked interesting. It usually (though not always) started with a snap to the quarterback -- but it was sometimes on the other side of the field, or down at the other end of the field. Like the other photographers, I scurried back and forth from one end of the field to the other to be as close to the action as possible ... but in many cases, all I ended up with was a picture of a tangle of bodies, and no clear idea of what had just happened.
After watching the Flickr statistics associated with my previous Jets-Eagles set, I was amused to see that the most popular photos were those of the cheerleaders ... so I included about 5 photos of the cheerleaders in this set. (And for whatever it's worth, I certainly did not envy them in their skimpy uniforms, while they did their best to cope with the 45-degree weather, and the chilly wind that whipped across the field.) I also found the fans interesting and occasionally picturesque, so you'll find about 10 fan-related pictures in this set.
Since I was on the field through the generosity and permission of the New York Jets, I naturally rooted for them to win. But they played pretty sloppily, and their rookie quarterback (Mark Sanchez, whose #6 jersey appears prominently in some of the photos) was intercepted five times. The regulation game finished in a 13-13 tie, so the game went into overtime ... and I'm such a dummy about football that I didn't even realize that it was a sudden death overtime. But when the Buffalo Bills kicked a three point field goal with 2:44 remaining in the overtime period, and all of the players immediately walked off the field, I quickly figured out what was happening...
Anyway, I took a little over 1,200 images and whittled it down to 60 "keepers" that I think you'll enjoy looking at. Another 200 had to be deleted immediately because they were out of focus, or because a referee decided to run in front of my camera just as I was pushing the shutter button ... but I've still got roughly 940 images of jumbled piles of football players that will probably continue to sit on my computer until I run out of space on my hard disk. C'est la vie...
The Great Room at Hearst Yet another Book Contest!
Image by Stuck in Customs
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
The Great Room at Hearst
Yet another Book Contest!
Michael over at PetaPixel (he is a good Tweeter – I rewet a lot of his stuff @PetaPixel) is running a contest to give away the book. Head over there to see how to enter! :)
Continue Discovering New Photographers and Artists!
Be sure to look at the Smugmug Portfolio Contest to see some of the nice entries there. I think you will see some stuff that appeals to you… and it will be a good way to discover some new photographers!
The Great Room at Hearst
I was able to get up through a somewhat secret door into the upper area of this room. It was a little sketchy up there with a sharp dropoff, so I had to keep my wits about me!
The greatest challenge at Hearst is getting set up, composing, and executing all the shots before the next wave of tourists come through. I was usually able to get this done, and there was always a gentle pressure to shoot fast and then move on! One time, however, I just could not finish in time.
They strode in and began randomly shooting away. I think it is so interesting (and somewhat depressing) to watch how tourists take pictures. Really, they are just “documenting” and “collecting”. Why? This is an interesting question! These people are not dumb or vapid… They are not doing it because everyone else is doing it. But I do think people like to softly record their lives. They do the best they can, and I guess that is okay. I do get flummoxed that people don’t go out of their way to take “better” pictures. They seem satisfied with lackluster, predictable, “scientific-documentary” shots that are just not interesting. Not that every photo has to be a work of art, but why not try a little? Why not do a few things here and there to improve your personal photography. It’s not that hard to improve, and anyone can improve! I suppose I just get bummed out that people don’t even try to improve… they just expect and then become satisfied with mediocrity.
Also at Hearst there is a “no flash” rule. Thank goodness! Of course, they do it to protect the works of art there, but I am happy that people do not use their flash because I normally see people do it in silly conditions. As far as I know, this “no flash” in Hearst Castle (and other museums) is a good policy. I always hear that flashes can damage paintings and whatnot — is this scientifically true? Maybe it is. I know if you leave art in bright light all day that it can become discolored… but are a bunch of instantaneous flashes the same thing? I don’t know… I’d love to see a full study on it if anyone has a link. As with all things, the policy certainly sounds solid, but I am skeptical about “common wisdom”.
Personally, I would institute a “no Dumb Use of Flash” rule, which would tell people not to use their flash to take photos of things that are over 15 feet away. Like, for example, did you see the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? Thousands and thousands of clueless people using their flashes! Aren’t any of those thousands of people somewhat curious — wondering if the flash actually does anything? Or maybe this mass flash-delusion is only negatively reinforced by seeing all the other flashes going off? I don’t know…. but it is interesting to think about.
Studebaker
Image by Skunkworks Photographic
I am not overly into cars but there is something about a Studebaker that is just amazing. These cars were just so unique and so sexy. There were a few of them about during the show and I managed to grab a few tight shots of lots of them. It was really an amazingly good time!
**********FIRST EVER CONTEST************
Ok everyone! Welcome to the first ever Skunkworks Photographic Contest! Here is the deal – All you have to do is like the facebook page a post a comment on the wall with a link to your favorite photo. It can be any photo…any person’s photo that is. I love to see awesome images and I can’t wait to see you favs too.
Contest???? Yes! Like the page and post a link. Using a Random Time and Date Generator, the comment that is closest in time to the randomly generated Time and Date wins the prize. Prize?? Yes! A 20x30 Skunkworks Photo of your choice – signed and numbered. The winner will be notified via facebook message with a link to the photostream to choose your image.
Contest will close on 09/30/2010 at Midnight. Winners will be notified by 10/07/2010.
Like the Page Here!
I hope everyone has a good time and I can't wait to send someone a print!
Note: Post as many times as you want! Just make sure you include a link to a photo!
Feeding Time
Image by pixieclipx
Update: This photo placed First in the 3rd Annual City of Union City (CA) photo contest for the Animals Category. Two other images I entered won Honorable Mentions. The reception for the awards is tonight, 7pm, in Union City. I'm not sure I am going to make it; I have come down with a nasty stomach ache.
Finally, I captured the hummingbird that comes and feeds in my garden each day! I'm psyched; this wasn't easy, but worth the wait. She is a little dive bomber who is apparently camera shy. This took about 30 minutes of poaching in the garden boxes near the single feeder to get this shot.
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