This last week I shot the Idaho Cross Country Regionals at the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s Circling Raven Golf Course. Twitchell, I know you want me to do Idioms, and I am working on that today, do not worry. It WILL be my next post count on it. But anyways, I learned a ton from this. I kind of walked on to the course not really knowing what to expect. I just watched some of the schools worming up, taking photos of them, to get my aperture, exposure and ISO dialed. Which was a good thing because if I had just started taking photos of kids running and had no idea what shutter speed to be shooting at, it could have been a little bit of a waste. Now after shooting a cross country meet, I totally know what to do now. Thanks to a fellow photographer (s6photoblog.blogspot.com) he lent me his canon 70-200mm IS ƒ/2.8 L which was super rad, thanks man! It sure was sick shooting with that high quality of a lens. The photos were so crisp and clear, I was pretty stoked. During the race, I had spectators just eying my gear and quite a few of them kept coming up to me and talking with me about my camera. I sure felt like a professional ha. This was seriously a significant boost in my photography because I really stepped out of my comfort zone of just shooting skating, portraits, fixing, ect. It was a totally foreign thing for me and I learned better angles, better exposures and all that good stuff. The photos didn’t turn out exceptional but I plan on doing this again and next time they should turn out better looking. My inspiration was actually this guy I had met at Iron Man CDA last year who I really dig his work. I do not remember his name, but he gave me his card and his web site is www.triathlonshots.com but anyways he has some great stuff on there. I think that there are multiple photographers on the site, but they have some great stuff on there. There is a section called photo tips and they are really good. Well here are the photos:
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/5.0 1/320 ISO:250
ƒ/5.0 1/125 ISO:400
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/4.5 1/320 ISO:250
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/2.8 1/100 ISO:200
ƒ/5.0 1/125 ISO:400
ƒ/5.0 1/125 ISO:400
Thanks a lot for viewing,
-Steve
I look hot!
Steve-
First, enjoy the people coming up and talking to you about your gear while you can. I know people are trying to learn and be nice, but there is something about having a decent sized lens out that attracts people who want to talk your ear off when all you want to do is get the good shot.
Good job breaking out and trying something new. Basketball is starting up and and you should try shooting some of it as well, it is actually pretty fun to shoot.
If you shoot XCountry again, zoom in even closer to really get the expressions on their faces. Another option is to get there even earlier and find out the course that they are running. Go scout it out and find some really scenic areas where you can get a wide shot of them running with the great scenery around them. As I told you, was it you that I was talking to? watch the backgrounds. The spectators, unless they are doing something really cool or holding a great sign or screaming with a great expression on their face, they are not needed in the photo.
The start of the race can often lead to great shots. The best way to shoot the start is to get as close to shooting them straight on. This way it looks like they are looking right at the camera, and running straight towards you.
Good first time shooting Xcountry.