Last of Indoor, Low Light Sports

For a while any way.  Today I played with my new monopod.  Not nearly as easy as it looks when those guys on the sidelines are using them.  I also decided they are probably much are effective when you know where the action is headed.

I also resorted to using a flash for the older guy's basketball game.  I have been getting better photos with what I've learned and with the new lens, but everyone else is using a flash in there so I wanted to try it.  

I would say mixed results.  Definitely sharper pictures because I could up the shutter speed, but I didn't like the shadows and the red eyes are awful.  I have spent a little time trying to fix them, but JST has huge blue eyes and practically his entire eyeball is red.  Sometimes when it is corrected he has two entire blobs between his nose.  I am hoping for my copy of Photoshop to arrive soon and hoping that its red eye correction feature is much better than Lightroom - has to be, right?

Ok, now to the pics.

I've been playing with the Lightroom standard presets again.  I think I've said it before, but I really love the warmth that Direct Positive addes to the gym pictures.  (I have found that I like it best when I clean up the original, ie, get the White Balance corrected and get the Exposure where I like it.)

The flash definitely helped with the crispness.  The photo has more of that "flash" look than the first.  It also really picks up any reflective clothing, shoes, etc, which can be very distracting.

I found another preset that helped with a couple of pics from the other game.  They weren't quite a crisp, but weren't too bad.  I adjusted the White Balance using Auto White Balance in Lightroom, adjusted the Exposure slightly and used the Aged Photo preset.  I really liked the effect, especially for the second picture.  CBT was being announced at the beginning of the last game (lights were lowered, smoke, loud music and he ran out with little spin moves - hopeless with no flash).  His face is in focus, but everything else is a blur.  Using this preset seems to draw more of the attention to his face.  I think I'm going to do an entire scrapbook layout using this effect.

I am ready for the sunshine, I think.

More Gym Practice

It's been a week so it is time for that intentional picture. That which does not kill you makes you stronger and I was already going to the gym today to watch CBT play basketball.  I hate taking pictures in the gym.  Maybe it would be better with a more specific goal.  Today it would be to catch the emotion of the game since getting those very crisp shots is still impossible for me in that low light, especially since I haven't settled on a monopod.  (That's on the list for this week.)

Here's what I came up with.

Even Kelby allowed for blur in exchange for action in his Digital Photography book.  (Highly recommended.  I just finished it and I understand what all the raving is about.)  This game got really rough.

The coach in the orange t-shirt is awesome.  He knows how to keep it fun and to really know these kids, ie, what makes them tick.  I was hoping to capture that relationship (and the slight smile CBT has).

I love his focus on the basket and his teammate's watching his every move.  On this particular team his teammates expect a lot of him.

He just has such great facial expressions.  

Maybe one day practice will make perfect, but those lenses sure do help.  That 2.8 aperture sure blurs that background every time.

More Nighttime

As promised, here's a shot Keith took of a Chinese elm with have in our frontyard that is uplit.  Same night as the almost full moon from the post a couple of nights ago.

 

10.0 sec at f/5.6 ISO 100

Full Moon

I've been wanting to experiment with a picture of the moon and/or stars since our class.  Finally, we had an almost full moon, no clouds and it wasn't freezing outside.  I'm learning our tripod could be put in the same class as my kit lens so that was a bit of a challenge, but I loved this exercise.  (To show how much of a challenge - my house really isn't slanted.)  My sweet hubby came out and played some, too.  I'll share a shot by him later.

10.0 sec at f/7.1, 70mm focal length, ISO 100

 

Playing with Plants Pt. II

My mom has the most beautiful flowers in her yard.  I went out to take some pictures (this is the wonderful thing about Alabama in January - there are flowers and it's warm enough to walk around and take pictures).  Her daffodils and camillas were beautiful.

But, there was an extra treat.  Something unanticipated.  Honey bees were everywhere.  This one was just totally covered in pollen and was now cleaning himself off.  Very meticulously.

It was very cool

Playing with Plants Pt. I

Took some time in Alabama to walk around outside and shoot whatever I saw.  Found some interesting things.  I took these daffodils with the EF24-70mm at 1/4000 at f/2.8.  Focal length was 70mm, ISO 400.  

Chicago Workshop

Check out the workshop that led to this blog.

Christmas Tree

You can't imagine how hard it was for me to shoot something not in focus, but that's the point, right?  To stretch oneself?  Any way, here's a Christmas tree from my mom's.  The EF 24-70mm, 1/20 at f/2.8.  Would have been neat with no lights on, but they had a room full of company.  Note to self for next year.