Another Week Of Sports Photography

This was a kind of fun week for my sports photography. I had a couple of new lenses to play with. At this point of the basketball season it gives me a different look, and anything different is good. This is also a busy time of year in other aspects of my life so I was only only to get to a half for a couple of these games. No matter how long you are at the games it is always good to get some reps in and work on some things. Today maybe as you read this I will be at another big game in Mackey. It is always great to work on things so that when the big game comes around you are ready for it.

One Moment, Two Cameras

Late in the Purdue women’s game I made both of the above photos. The top photo was made with my floor remote at my feet. I had the 16-35mm lens on it, and I like the way that you can see more of the stadium in the background. The bottom photo was made with my new 28-70mm lens, and it gives a tighter view of the action.

Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend

This week I sold my Canon 400mm lens in order to get a couple of new lenses. I bought that 400 almost exactly ten years ago, and it was a game changer from day one. I used to call it the moneymaker. When I first bought it everything changed for me. At the end though I was having to manually focus the lens though, and it just was not a part of my kit anymore. It had sat in the closet for over a year without being used. It was time for it to go. By selling it I was able to add a couple of new lenses to my kit. The Sony 28-200 f/2 and the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 will be very nice for me, and I can’t wait to put the lenses into use.

First Run With The Sony 28-70 Lens

Tuesday night I went to the first half of the Harrison game to play around with my new lenses. The Sony 28-70mm f/2 lens is one that I thought would be great for a few things. One of those was basketball. I have been pretty much just using my 50mm and 135mm for basketball. This will be fun to throw into the mix every now and then to see what it can do. When I bought the lens I was worried that I might miss that 4mm on the wide end of the lens. After the game I realized that I never even thought about it. It will be fun playing around with this lens over time to see what I can do with it.

First Run With The Sony 16-35mm Lens

I have always wanted a 16-35mm lens. When I shot Canon the lens was a dream lens for me. I had the 17-40mm Canon lens for a long time, and I made many of my favorite photos with it back then. It was an f/4 lens though and I always thought about what it would be like to have that extra light. Now I get to find out many years later. For this first game I used this lens primarily as a remote next to me on the floor. I like the idea of being able to change up my focal length as the game moves on with this camera. It has the ability to work under the basket in the mouse hole, and it can also be zoomed in a bit to be used farther away from the basket as well.

A Contested Rebound

I love these kinds of photos. You can see just how close some of these hustle plays can be. Here you have three players all going for this rebound and getting there at the same time. At the beginning of the year I made a little point of emphasis to myself to get better at these photos.

The Sony 85mm II

This past week I sold my old Sony 85mm lens. It was the version one, and the focus was not quite fast enough for sports. I haven’t been doing as many portraits lately so I decided that it was time for it to go. During this game my friend Mark let me play with his lens for about a quarter. I really gave me some good results. I don’t know what next winter will bring as far as work for me, but this lens may end up being in my bag.

A Quick Photo

Wednesday night while walking into the stadium the snow was really coming down. I had my roller bag with my gear for the game, but on my shoulder I also had my grab bag which was loaded up with my snokeh kit. I am glad that I did that. I saw this gate lit nicely, and I made a couple of photos of it. Then seeing the bike coming down the hill I tried to time the photo just right. I really like how this turned out. I don’t know that it is a sports photo, but I was on my way into a sporting event and that is a sports stadium in the background so I am including it.

This was a fun week trying out some new gear. That always gives me a little boost late in the season. I have been getting out and trying to get to some more high school games lately just to work on some things.