My first spring training pics

[DaveL]

Hey all,

Just got back from Florida with my 10 year old and wanted to
share some of my spring training pics. I just took up shooting
baseball. I started with a canon S1 (10X point and shoot) in
august and shot the last month of the season. I enjoyed it so
much I upgraded to a rebel XT (w/ canon 75-300 III lens) during the
offseason. These are pretty much the first shots with the new
camera. Most shot in auto mode as I'm still learning how to use
the custom options. I did bring a 2X TC but wasn't crazy about
the sharpness and it's affect on my autofocus.

As always, C and C welcome...

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1140118578539_IMG_1266.JPG

Dodgers prospect Andy LaRoche, Crackerjack Field (aka home of FSL Jerry, see below shot) who was kind enough to spend some time with us and let me try his camera.

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1139977524222_IMG_1505.JPG

Red Sox SS prospect Jed Lowrie, shot through the screen at St Pete.

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1140314558451_IMG_1164.JPG

Braves prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia (sp?) signing autos at Crackerjack

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1142412624378_IMG_1344.JPG

Blue Jay/NH Fishercat catching prospect Curtis Thigpen in the Jays big league camp in Dunedin.

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1141699848085_IMG_1011.JPG

another Blue Jay/NH Fishercat Ryan Roberts and his cool tats...

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1140712205855_IMG_1559.JPG

Sox prospect Craig Hansen. shot through screen at St Pete

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1141805245449_IMG_1169.JPG

My 10 year old on the outfield berm at Crackerjack. He's a baseball
nut and did very well getting autographs on this trip...

http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/421790/1141764528512_IMG_1242.JPG

Caught the railing here but here's our own FSL Jerry in action...

[superdiver]

Now thats a lens!


Great memories you have created with your kid...good job...dont worry about the IQ, just enjoy the memories you have made! You mind will hold a ton more memories then your hard drive will hold pictures...LOL

Not that you should stop working on pictures...just thought I would kuddo you for the kid memories...LOL

[fslshooter]

Dave -

You have some great photographic memories of your Spring Training trip and I bet you've got hundreds more like these. I see you concentrated on the prospects -- good idea. You handled the extremely bright sunshine very well minimizing harsh cap bill shadows and you got some good stuff shooting into the sun -- kudos on both counts. A couple of suggestions -- learn to use custom options as soon as you can and image quality will improve in the long run also use manual focus when shooting through the fence.

I like #1 best -- nice pic to get autographed. Excellent timing on #2 but it would be a bit better if you shot from a position so that the pitcher is in the frame too. I like the compositon of your son's pic and the one of me illustrates a technique I often use when shooting with big glass. Note how I'm resting my left elbow on the fence rail and cupping the lens hood in my hand. This makes for near rock solid stability and allows for limited panning also.

Sure glad I met you and Brandon that day -- hope to see you back in Florida for some Florida State League games this summer.

[DaveL]

Thanks guys for the great comments. I'll be reading
up on my manual and learning to use photoshop in the
next month. Thankfully, my Eastern League team opens
up in 4 weeks...

Dave

[Sledhed]

Dave - Very nice images, love #1. I'm sure Jerry gave you some great pointers, he's an excellent photog and an asset to POTN. I hope to shoot some baseball with Jerry someday.