Lotta history here....Wrigley Field, 8 Baseball Shots

[MJPhotos24]

Finally got an internet connection so thought I'd throw up some photos from yesterdays game at Wrigley. One of the worst trips I've ever taken and very frustrating but at least getting some decent pics. Hey Chicago, you're roadways suck!! Not much besides shooting has gone right, seems to be a trend lately...always good time at Wrigley though, except for the parking. Ran into a couple guys I know from there minor league days, which is always a good thing, but watched as the Cubbies got shelled first by the Padres and then by there fans.

All shot with Mark IIn and 300 2.8 IS + 1.4 convertor...manual, 4.0 and shutter ranged all over the place as it was sunny, cloudy, dark clouds, mix of clouds, everything in between except actual rain.

#1 - HURRY, HURRY, HURRY....Cubs catcher awaits a throw on a play at the plate, of course I wasn't prepared for this and had the camera at the wrong horizon but hey, it wasn't that close a play anyways.

http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies01.JPG


#2 - I HIT BALL NOW! Cubbies CF'er is about to make contact and drive one...what happened after he hit it I don't remember, hey it was a hot long day.
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies02.JPG


#3 - LADIES, HOWS YOU DOING? That CF'er again gives the head nod/lip pushy outty thing to some fans in recognition of them yelling his name nonstop after an out to end the inning. He was on first, batter behind him made the out I do believe.
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies03.JPG


#4 - FACEPLANT! Cubbie slides in for a steal against the Padres 2nd baseman, he kinda got stuck and almost had a full on facial of dirt followed by a big white base.
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies04.JPG


#5 - A litttttle ahead of the ball, Padres SS brings the bat through the zone but it looks like he's a little ahead of the pitch, or he tried to pull it...either way its not in the frame.
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies05.JPG

#6 - Look ma' I hit the ball....rookie looks a little happy here don't he? He collected his first Major League hit earlier in the game but unfortunately it wasn't as good a pic as this one. Had his arm up a bit in front of his face and was from the other side of the field.
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies06.JPG


#7 - Yea, I can't hit....but I'll try. This bum isn't much of a hitter...
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies07.JPG


#8 - ....but this sure shot Hall of Famer is the professor on the mound...so its ok he can't use the bat to great - neither could the Cubs facing him, which is his ex-team. It was over after the first inning and he added on to his HOF stats....
http://www.knockoverrecords.com/Cubbies08.JPG

For viewing only, do not save, copy, reproduce, etc, etc.

[RonnieA]

Good stuff. #6 and 8 are my favs. Can't believe Maddux still wears those stirrup socks.

[FZ1dave]

Nice shots! #4 is my favorite.

Are shots like that even possible with a 350D?

[fslshooter]

Good stuff, Mike! #4's my favorite - love the flying dirt and intensity. Wrigley's a great place to shoot and the atmosphere is more like minor league than the majors. Say hello to Chris at your all-star game and don't pass up the opportunity to have a few beers with him -- he's good company!

[Sledhed]

Looks good Mike and thanks Jerry! I'm glad you love Chicago so much Mike, I feel the same way about New York. I only have one small complaint and it's not with the pictures but the captions, that's Soriano in the pics and he's the LF'er. I got a similar shot of Soriano at the Cubs ST this year, 100% attitude and I've never seen a guy spit as much as he does. See you tonight.

[MJPhotos24]

Ronnie, it could be worse - he could be wearing actual stirups!

FZ - never used or looked into the 350D so not sure what it offers, will try to find some time and look it up though when I fly back home as I'm running out the door after answering this message.

Jerry - Going from Wrigley to US Cellular is night and day, Wrigley is low key and everyone seems really down key, which is good. It's very much like a minor league atmosphere at Wrigley, but with 40,000+ people instead. Good time for sure, Sox was good yesterday but with the rain and just how "new" everything is it didn't have the same feel or energy.

Chris - Chicago is great...for passing through fast, ha. j/k. Last year my trip went fine since I was only here for about 4 hours and then gone (though it took me an hour to drive 1/4 a mile last year). This trip so far just hasnt been fun when outside of the stadiums, hopefully the AS Game will make up for a lot of that today. I didn't notice I messed up the caption for Soriano, was thinking of Pie for some reason I guess...now, to get packed up for the AS Game :)

[throw_n_gas]

Mike,

#1 and #4 do it for me...Thanks for sharing your work!

Rick

[MJPhotos24]

Thanks for the comment Rick.

BTW, I'm on my laptop and coloring sucks, how do these look coloring wise to everyone? I shot all manual trying new things and wont be able to tell until I get them on my home computer in a few days.

[throw_n_gas]

Thanks for the comment Rick.

BTW, I'm on my laptop and coloring sucks, how do these look coloring wise to everyone? I shot all manual trying new things and wont be able to tell until I get them on my home computer in a few days.


Mike,

I'm on a laptop at work as well, and they look pretty darn good from here!!!:)

Rick

[Strnge]

#4 is Fantastic!

I hope I'll be able to learn from you guys to shoot that good.

[GBRandy]

Great shots! Love #4...

And agree with you 100% about Chicago's roads...only thing worse? Their airports...

[chrisvl]

Mike #4 is priceless.
Great shots.

[MazerRakhm]

Great stuff! I'll agree that #4 is outstanding, but I've got a soft spot for the pitcher. Had an outstanding career, I just wish his last stint with the Cubs didn't go so lousy for him.

[OPD1008]

Thanks for the comment Rick.

BTW, I'm on my laptop and coloring sucks, how do these look coloring wise to everyone? I shot all manual trying new things and wont be able to tell until I get them on my home computer in a few days.

Mike,
Those are some great shots. I really enjoy it when Cub photos show up on this forum since I've been a long-time fan.

Just curious about your comment on shooting manual. Do you normally shoot in AV mode when the conditions are changing so much like they did this day? If so, I'd be curious to see your comments on whether you feel the results were better going at it in maual mode. I'm just learning the whole sports shooting thing and find it quite a bit of work trying to work the shutter when the cloud cover is in constant change.
Don

[ayman86]

does anyone take any white sox pics? lol

[Keltab]

Excellent shots - and the color is fantastic!
My favorite is #8 - I got to watch him quite a bit with
the Braves (wish I had been into photography then!)
Where were you when you took those pics? I want to
start shooting pro ball (in COlorado now, so the Rockies are my team
to practice on) and I am not sure where to try and set up to take the best shots
of the pitchers... ANy help would be appreciated.
Thanks again and I look forward to learning more from all of you

[MJPhotos24]

Thanks for the comments, appreciate it. #4 is one of my favs, always been a fan of Marcus since his Buffalo days way back. Glad so many like it.

Great stuff! I'll agree that #4 is outstanding, but I've got a soft spot for the pitcher. Had an outstanding career, I just wish his last stint with the Cubs didn't go so lousy for him.

I wasn't a fan of Greg when he was with the Braves (he always beat my Mets!) but what an amazing career for a guy who doesn't overpower anybody, just great movement on the ball. I saw Glavine for the Mets last year while in Wrigley, and now Maddox...not a bad draw for only visiting once a year.

Mike,
Those are some great shots. I really enjoy it when Cub photos show up on this forum since I've been a long-time fan.

Just curious about your comment on shooting manual. Do you normally shoot in AV mode when the conditions are changing so much like they did this day? If so, I'd be curious to see your comments on whether you feel the results were better going at it in maual mode. I'm just learning the whole sports shooting thing and find it quite a bit of work trying to work the shutter when the cloud cover is in constant change.
Don

I switch around shooting AV and manual, if I know I'm going to be shooting in 30 different directions - say for Batting Practice - I'll go AV. Game shots though manual if the conditions are good to do so. If for example the plate is in shadow but 2nd is in the sun and there might be a play there (double play) I'll probably switch to AV +2/3 so I can shoot the batter and then switch quick to the DP. Overall though I like manual better.

does anyone take any white sox pics? lol

Ha, I shot them the next day...but haven't gotten through them yet. When I do I'll post a couple if I get time. I have about 6 teams to go through and an all-star game so that will keep me busy for awhile. I was in a hotel with no internet after the Wrigley game so had plenty of time to go through them all and get some ready for posting on here.


Excellent shots - and the color is fantastic!
My favorite is #8 - I got to watch him quite a bit with
the Braves (wish I had been into photography then!)
Where were you when you took those pics? I want to
start shooting pro ball (in COlorado now, so the Rockies are my team
to practice on) and I am not sure where to try and set up to take the best shots of the pitchers... ANy help would be appreciated.
Thanks again and I look forward to learning more from all of you

I was in the photo pit at Wrigley with press passes. There was only four or five photographers there so we had plenty of room to move around in the pit along (last year on my lone visit you were lucky to find a seat). From the stands it's a bit more difficult and depends on the security, how many people are there, etc. Just have to try and get as close as possible and for pitcher I prefer from the end of the 3rd base dugout if a righty, 1st base if a lefty...then from behind the catcher to get him looking right in, and then sometimes from the other side of the dugout to get a front/side angle thing working if that makes sense.