POTN G-Series Speed Challenge #69 Sports

[sara]

Challenge #69 SportsWINNERS

Well I have to admit, I am a little disappointed with the entries (and lack of) this week. I thought this topic was vast enough that we would see many submissions. The kind of shot I had in mind is what the winner's image is. Like I said also, I figured this would test your photographic skills (for some) seeing as sports aren't the easiest to capture. After all this is a "challenge" right? ;) :) Maybe it was too difficult?? What do you all think? (You're probably all thinking...geeez what a tough critic!) :-)

So here they are:


1st Place: Beach Bums, _OC_
Way to go! I was thinking along these lines for a "good" sports shot. I like the action you've captured. You seem to have caught it right at the right time- even stopping the sand at their feet. As a criticism, I do think it could have been framed a little differently to really get the "feel" of it, maybe a shot right down the centre of the net or maybe a closer crop of their expressions and hands meeting at the ball. But either way I think it's a good shot. Well done.

2nd Place: Before the Run, alans220
I loved this shot as soon as I saw it. Would have made first, but it just bothers me too much that the cyclist in the front is out of focus (seeing as they are the main subject). I think even if the cyclist in the back was the one out of focus the image would be stronger. It's well framed though and I like the intensity and believe the bright colors allow us to feel that.

3rd Place: My new iron, Boutty
You've hit my soft spot for studio/tabletop shots. I really enjoy this shot however the biggest problem is that it is too underexposed. I believe you may have been going for a moody type shot but it's too dark for my taste. Plus I think the new iron would have done well with some great lighting. ;)

That's my two cents for this week! Good luck for the next challenge and am looking forward to it.


Challenge #69 Sports

I thought this might bring out a variety of images and at the same time challenge everyone. As long as a sport is the main subject, anything goes. I'll be watching for photographic skill and interesting shots. Have fun!

________________________________

To submit, click "Post Reply" and put your Photo Name in the Subject Line. Don't forget your Camera Model.

Post until Monday noon GMT, June 5, 2006

Photo Submissions

1. Camera -- Canon G-Series Camera (G1,G2,G3,G5,G6) or Pro 1 only.

2. Time -- any on-topic photo taken at any time is eligible, although photos that have won other competitions should NOT be entered.

3. Size -- photo must be EXACTLY 640 pixels on the longest side, with NO BORDERS.

4. Post-Processing -- do whatever you like and the host will decide if it works.

5. Posting --
* One photo per photographer in each challenge.
* Photo Title in the message subject line.
* Camera model.
* EXIF data, if you like.

6. Commenting -- No commenting on photos by anyone, including the photographer. Once the winners are declared, photographers can add comments to their images and everyone is invited to discuss.

7. Photo Display -- Photos must appear in this thread to be eligible.

Time

One challenge every week, on the following schedule:

New Topic ... As soon as possible after winning.
Posting Starts ... Right after topic is announced.
Posting Stops ... Monday noon GMT
Winners Announcement ... Tuesday noon GMT.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please consider turning on Private Messaging in your profile.
This will allow the host to contact you about winning or ineligible photos. You turn this feature on by clicking "User CP, Edit Options, Enable Private Messaging" (about a third of the way down the page). Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click this sentence for Hosting Rules and Winners List. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=926762#post926762)

Click this sentence for Discussion of Rules thread. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=59640)

[marie]

G2
1/500 f/4


http://www.pbase.com/image/61099863/original.jpg

[shadowwolf]

G5
score in T-ball

http://members.cox.net/bdw17/800xtball_052806.jpg

[alans220]

G1 1/250sec F7.1

[andrewaaa5]

G3

[Terrywoodenpic]

Claire...School Sports Day

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/terrywoodenpic/claire-School-Sports.jpg


G3

[_OC_]

G6

[rpolitsr]

Archery: Inner 10!

Powershot Pro1 Shooting Mode: Shutter Speed Priority AE (Tv), 1/400 sec. f 4.5, ISO 100

http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/pictures/potnentries/69_sundayafternoon_7303.jpg

[Boutty]

G6

Shutter speed: 0.5 sec
Aperture: 8
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: -1
Self-timer: 2 secs
ISO: 50

[sara]

Glad no-one posted after deadline. Sorry was nowhere near a computer. Results will be posted soon. Thanks.

[sara]

Results are now posted.

[_OC_]

:eek: (very surprised!)

I'll post the next challenge tonight. I'm still at work.

Thanks.

[_OC_]

Thanks Sara. It's my first time to post and at the same time, it's my first time to win so I was surprised. I just bought my Canon G6 and I'm still learning.

Congratulations to all the winners too and to all the entries. All is amazing.

Last weekend, I went to the beach to try on my new camera and to watch the volleyball game. Btw, those players are US Olympians. I took 150 shots for 1 hour.

I also attached other shots...

[rpolitsr]

Congratulations, _OC_ , alans220 and Boutty. Nice shots.

_OC_, as sara said, the timing in your shot is perfect. The skilled players perhaps helped a little, but still the photographer is important there. A nice start!

Alans220, I like your shot! The water does a great background to enhance the main subject. Well done.

Boutty you achieved a great volume for the small ball from the lights and shadows. Let me say that a back light to produce a lighter edge in the elements of your shot would be enough to destroy the sensation of a dark photo perceived by sara.

Terrywoodenpic, I think you captured very well the concentration of the little girl. She is another subject enhanced by a simple background.

The humorous shot of marie influenced some of the photos of my son Juan Esteban remembering his days of goalkeeper in his high school team.

My post was the static photo of a target showing the highest score for an arrow: ‘inner 10’ shot by the bow of my brother, but there were also some action shots:

My sons, one of my brothers, some nephews and nieces and their friends were photographed while practicing sports in a niece’s home this Sunday afternoon.

http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/pictures/sundaysports/69_options.jpg (http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/sundayafternoon.html)

[in Japan]

Congratulations to the winners _OC_, alans220, and boutty. Welcome to the forum _OC_ - nice capture. Shadowwolf, who's the little guy coasting across home plate? He's adorable. And rpolitsr, thanks for sharing your other sports photos. It looks like you had a great weekend with your family. Love the clay monster gallery by the way.

I was a bit disappointed when my schedule last weekend didn't allow the time to shoot any sports photos. I was thoroughly looking forward to the challenge and thought as sara did that there would be more entries....including my own. It was a nice open topic, sara, perhaps just a busy week. Now, it's time to aim for the sky.

Brandon

[marie]

Congratulations to the winners and runners up

# 1 OC

# 2 Alans 220

# 3 Boutty

the winning shots are lovely
very nice photographs from all
and thanks to Sara for the usual difficult job of having to judge

I also enjoyed seeing the rest of the pictures from your family sports outing Rafael.
(the girls (especially) will have to wear pants which allow for more fast leg movement next time they are kicking) :lol:


you done a good job with the blurred and unblurred background behind the girl.
some nice shots of the movements of all especially in the first one of your son
and the shot showing your other son ready to 'shoot' (3rd last shot)
(I think it is your other son) .......it came out really well

the picture you entered for the challenge showing the archery board was very colourful and clear. really nice

is that 'inner 10 ' hit called a 'bull's eye' ? ( like on a dart board? )
we used to play darts at home.
:confused:
(mostly though,it was my three brothers and my dad and some uncles and also friends of theirs)
dad had a 'workshop' at the top of our house and thats where they played.. mostly
sometimes the board was placed on the back of the kitchen door :shock: :lol:
the kitchen was long
:lol:

really nice family shots to have

Congratulations again to the winners
~ and to all ~
I enjoyed all the pictures very much

:)

[rpolitsr]

Thank you, in Japan, I love my son’s clay monsters. Yes it was a beautiful weekend indeed.
It was a nice open topic, sara, perhaps just a busy week.

I agree with you in Japan. I would say that it is difficult to shot sports though.
Usually sports are dynamic and fast. The slow autofocus and shutter lag of our cameras adds to the difficult task. And the backgrounds! If you got the player in the right attitude, in focus and framed, then you realize that there is a cluttered or inadequate background pulling your shot to the disaster side. It happened to me this weekend, as you can see in most of my other sport shots.

Thank you, marie for your comments.
(the girls (especially) will have to wear pants which allow for more fast leg movement next time they are kicking)

http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/pictures/sundaysports/69_piesmojados_7293.jpg Hehe…
Or at least wear dry clothes. They were playing in a grass with a lot of water!

You are right; my sons are the football player wearing the black T shirt (Juan Esteban - Juanes) and the young man behind the bow (Rafael Antonio -Rafa).

I am not familiar with the special score names neither for arrows nor for darts, bull’s eye is a new term just learned from you, but I am sure your father and your brothers were happier with the board for the dart’s game hanging in the kitchen’s door. :)

I also shot some other pictures to introduce our young hosts Andrés and his blossom, Bernarda and his bottle, Chalo and Cristi, their parents, in the kitchen, before lunch.
Perhaps the photos belong to ‘People’, but most of my friends belong to these challenges.

Click the thumbnails to see them bigger.

http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/pictures/sundaysports/69_hosts_7251.jpg (http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_1/69_june_sunday04_hosts.html)

[marie]

http://www.geocities.com/r_polit_1/pictures/sundaysports/69_piesmojados_7293.jpg Hehe…
Or at least wear dry clothes. They were playing in a grass with a lot of water !
:rolleyes::lol:


oops
and I forgot to mention that she looked beautiful
she does look really well in the other shot

this shot is a good one to have
(she won't forget the visit too easily)
:eek:
:)

You are right; my sons are the football player wearing the black T shirt (Juan Esteban - Juanes) and the young man behind the bow (Rafael Antonio -Rafa).

thanks,
also meant to say that I wouldn't dare compare Archery to Darts:eek:
:rolleyes:
your sons ( and others) will or may be highly insulted :evil:

:lol:


I am not familiar with the special score names neither for arrows nor for darts, bull’s eye is a new term just learned from you, but I am sure your father and your brothers were happier with the board for the dart’s game hanging in the kitchen’s door. :)

I would think so too

and the game would be more of a challenge
:eek::eek: :eek:

:mrgreen:

I also shot some other pictures to introduce our young hosts Andrés and his blossom, Bernarda and his bottle, Chalo and Cristi, their parents, in the kitchen, before lunch.
Perhaps the photos belong to ‘People’, but most of my friends belong to these challenges.

Click the thumbnails to see them bigger.[/quote]

thank you very much
I think the photographs are so colourful and all of you look really well in them
looks like it was a very sunny and happy occasion for all
beautiful
the blossoms are gorgeous
the children are also
:cool:

http://www.geocities.com/r_polit_1/pictures/sundaysports/69_hosts_7251.jpg (http://www.geocities.com/r_polit_1/69_june_sunday04_hosts.html)

[marie]

Congratulations to all the winners too and to all the entries. All is amazing.
Last weekend, I went to the beach to try on my new camera and to watch the volleyball game. Btw, those players are US Olympians. I took 150 shots for 1 hour. I also attached other shots...

they are lovely colourful action shots which you added on also as well as your winning shot OC
( especially the first of the last two)
Congratulations on the win
it must have been very special there taking the shots knowing they were Olympian players

:):cool:

[_OC_]

they are lovely colourful action shots which you added on also as well as your winning shot OC
( especially the first of the last two)
Congratulations on the win
it must have been very special there taking the shots knowing they were Olympian players

:):cool:



Thanks Marie for the compliment. I need to practice / learn more though.

Any suggestions on resizing pictures? I was comparing my original picture to my resized picture (the one that I entered) and it's not as sharp than the original - or it's just me?

I think the pixels are just compressed too much that's why it doesn't look sharp. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[rpolitsr]

You always loose detail when resizing images.
I use the following approach to resize my images for the challenges:



I work always in Photoshop (CS)
Perform all the corrections in a full size copy of the original file.
Crop to frame the picture, if needed
Resize to 640 pixels the largest side.
Apply Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask…
- amount from 75% to 150% depending on the file
- radious usually 0.3
- threshold usually 0
Save for web ( usually Preset: JPEG High) to reach the 100KB file size

[marie]

Any suggestions on resizing pictures? I was comparing my original picture to my resized picture (the one that I entered) and it's not as sharp than the original - or it's just me?
I think the pixels are just compressed too much that's why it doesn't look sharp. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I am sorry OC. I replied last evening but must have lost the post .. hitting something by mistake
my computer was slow and I must have closed down the page I had for you when I closed elements and others
I did that last week with another post and never realised until much later (when I noticed my reply was missing)
usually I check to see if the 'reply' had been posted ok but sometimes I close down the computer without checking and this was one of those times. I apologize

I use Irfanview when resizing. it's other options are very useful and helpful to always have on the computer .
if you wish to download here is the url
(just to say I leave resizing until very last... after sharpening and everything else )
sometimes certain pictures are not improved with sharpening,
with others they definitely are. all depends on the picture
(you can also crop the 'finished' picture in Irfanview)

http://www.irfanview.com

as Rafael has kindly replied you may prefer that method. it may be more suitable
good to have a choice
best of luck
and thanks

[rpolitsr]

Similar methods with different tools, I think, and, if marie’s pictures are the example, Irfanview does an amazing work in the correct hands.

[marie]

Similar methods with different tools, I think, and, if marie’s pictures are the example, Irfanview does an amazing work in the correct hands.

your method is probably more suitable in other ways
thank you Rafael

I want to take this opportunity to mention and give thanks to you for always helping out and adding the winners and runners up names on this post every week
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=113480

:D
it is appreciated

thank you very much