Dixie State tournament Florida (youth baseball)

[kgauger30]

Ok so here are a couple of the State tournament that we got to travel to last week. My son's team came in 2nd in the state. Which was a huge accomplishment seeing that they got invited to go because someone else dropped out. We went undefeated till the last game and that team beat us two times on some calls that I am not going to discuss LOL.. But here are a couple of shots that I really liked, and 3 of them are of my son!!

1. I call this one the take out.. The catcher was blocking the plate when my son came in to score (he was safe)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/Johnathantakeout.jpg

2. The next frame of the "take out" I was excited when I got this shot mainly because of all the dust. It made for some interesting shots.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/takeout2.jpg

3. HOME RUN!!! My son had the ONLY home run in the 13 year old state tournament. This is him coming into home.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/homerun.jpg

4. I call this one down low.. He was avoiding a ball to the head, you can see the ball by his hands. I liked it..
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/downlow.jpg




Please let me know what you think. I took over 1300 pictures in 6 games. I loved it because I could get on the field.. I really hope you like these pictures.

Kim

[JVolz]

In the first two you would have been better off shooting from the third base side to get a better sun angle (look at the shadows). I'm sure you were over at first to shoot righties in the box, but it's real tough lighting to make look good. The third looks nosiy and seems a little low in saturation.

[kgauger30]

With this game, there was no way to shoot on the other side. We were made to stay on our dugout side. There was so much animosity between the two teams, they kept everyone far away from each other. I had on a shirt with my son's team on it and his name on the back, so I would not have been on neutral ground. I had to do everything on the first base side due to the fact that we were the home team. They wouldnt even let the kids switch sides of the on deck circle. They had to stay on our side.

[tim1960]

First rule of sports photography is to dress in neutral clothing. This way, you're free to go on either side without being harrassed. I'm surprised your son didn't get ejected from the game for taking out the catcher. A major no-no in a lot of the kids baseball leagues these days.

I also have to agree with Joe. Shadows, noisy and the saturation is not quite right. Keep trying.

[kgauger30]

He can't get ejected if there was a play at the plate, which there was. The catcher was in front of the plate and he was not able to get in without sliding. He would have been ejected if he didn't slide.If any ruling would have come about over that play it just would have been that the run would score because of interference by the catcher. Age group here is 13 year olds.
I was not going to wear neutral clothing because it was the state tournament and I was supporting my sons team. If it was like the tournament I covered for the paper a couple weeks ago, then I would have had neutral clothing on, but it was my son's team and I was just covering it for us parents and the paper too. Can't go to the game without the parent shirt on.

Why do you think it is so noisy? Is there a way to get rid of it? I didn't even notice it till you both said something.

I personally like the angle that I shot that one from and the reason I say that is I wouldn't have gotten the sun off the dirt like that. I thought it made for a cool effect to the picture. I guess I wont know if I would like it the other way or not because I can't recreate the picture lol.. I also wouldn't have gotten the play from the other side, the umpire would have been in my way.( there were 3 for this game and the one from 3rd was running down the line just in case there was a question in the call )

[dmwierz]

Does this look any better?

Noise Ninja with 150% sharpening, a levels adjustment and a minor curves adjustment.

Presented as an option.

[kgauger30]

Wow that really made the colors pop.. I don't have that noise ninja program. Maybe I should look into it? LOL

I am soooo dumb when it comes to pp.. I have elements and I really dont know how to use it properly. I use mostly picasa.

[dmwierz]

Kim,

All Noise Ninja did was remove the noise. Elements has everything you need. Levels, curves, sharpening - it's all in there.

If you want to spend the time, get this book (the one that's pertinent for your version of PSE):

http://************/38udwg

[kgauger30]

Great I will check that site out. I really need to read up or take a course on photo editing. There is so much there to learn, and I can't seem to learn it on my own.

[kgauger30]

Is this better? It is my first try with USM and noise reduction..
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/homerunedit.jpg

[dmwierz]

Is this better? It is my first try with USM and noise reduction..
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/kgauger30/homerunedit.jpg

Kim,

What do you think? Really.

I'm not being a smart aleck - can you see any difference between your original post and your new one (or with my feeble attempt)? If so, what differences can you see?

This is a big part of learning how to edit. Figuring out what the different menus in PhotoShop can do is only the beginning. Learning how to interpret the results and then how to choose the proper ones for the myriad different images you'll run into it, IMHO, the most important knowledge to be gained.

Look at the colors - are they accurate to what the original scene presented; look at the sharpness around the edges of the objects - are the edges sharp but not so sharp that they have halo's around them; check out the textures of the uniforms to see if they are crisp or blurry; do the blacks LOOK black or are they dark grey; are the whites bright white, but not nuclear bright; can you see the detail in the shadows or is it all just a dark smudge; how about the highlights - can you discern detail or is it all bright smudges; etc...???

It's kinda like cooking. Many people can follow a recipe, but if that's all it took, we'd all be gourmet cooks and have shows on the Food Network, with restaurants names after us.

There is a lot of subjectivity in photo editing, which is thankfully why the editor has yet to be replaced my a computer. It is an art. Look at the before and after of your edits and see if what you have done has improved the "taste" of the meal, in your eyes.

[kgauger30]

I really do like what you did.. I was trying it myself to see if I could do it as well.. I can see the difference in both (yours and mine) Yours is crisper than mine, and that is what I am attempting to do. I know mine is not the best "cookie" yet, but I am trying.

[dekalbSTEEL]

There was so much animosity between the two teams, they kept everyone far away from each other.

I wonder if this had anything to do with the "showboating" your son did at the plate when he hit his home run. I know if I was the opposing coach, I'd use that to motivate my team (in a positive way, of course;))

Nothing personal, just an observation.

Jon

[kgauger30]

He usually doesn't do that, but that was in the second game against them and it tied the game up for us. He usually doesn't get that excited. The animosity comes from being so close (in living distance) they were the only other team in our district, and that was the 5th time in 3 weeks that we had played them. The animosity really isn't between the kids as much as it is between the parents.

Oh and if it was me that hit that I think I would have done the same thing. It is saying something that he was the ONLY one on the 13 year old tournament to hit one out. The fences were 300 in the corners and 315 in dead center and it landed about 20 feet or more from the fence. The director said it went about 325-330.. Plus this was his 3rd state tournament and he finally got the chance to trot the bases. HE was very excited.

I know you weren't being personal, but I did have to let you know the situation. That way you would understand the situation. The coaches from the other team even gave him a hi-five..

[dekalbSTEEL]

The animosity really isn't between the kids as much as it is between the parents.



That's too bad :cry:

[kgauger30]

That's too bad :cry:

Yes it was too bad. Their parents were chanting all kinds of things that our parents found rude. Including Whoop there it is after each out. I didn't get into all of that because I was on the field. But from what I was told it was bad. Including their parents smoking close to the field where it was going onto the field and into our parents faces and the kids.. I don't know though I wasnt getting into it.

[tim1960]

Yes it was too bad. Their parents were chanting all kinds of things that our parents found rude. Including Whoop there it is after each out. I didn't get into all of that because I was on the field. But from what I was told it was bad. Including their parents smoking close to the field where it was going onto the field and into our parents faces and the kids.. I don't know though I wasnt getting into it.

I find it hard to believe that smoking is allowed in and around the dugouts and other spectators. All complexes that I have played in either do not allow smoking or have smoking areas away from the game. That is a shame that grown adults bring this behavior into kids games. Sometimes I think that the parents should just drop off the kids and come back to pick them up after the game.

[dmwierz]

I love shooting kids sports. The athletes are energetic, excited, funny, appreciative...all those things that many if not most pro and college athletes aren't. When you take a picture of a kid, and it's a good one, he or she AND the parents are thrilled, and this is something you can't get in any other segment of sports photography.

However, as a former athlete myself, and one with a little coaching experience, and one who is also a parent, I have to say I am frequently appalled at what I hear and see "adults" do while their kids are competing in youth athletics. This includes coaches almost violently berating kids, openly disrespecting the refs/umps, making orrible decisions that don't help the kids learn the sport the proper way, etc. I also see parents behaving reprehensibly and in ways that embarass me (I can't imagine how it makes their kids feel)...

It makes me want to remind them that most of the lessons being taught on the playing field have very little to do with the sport itself, and that they might want to think about this the next time they "go off the deep end" or engage in conduct unbecoming a role model.

But, I'm just the photographer, so what do I know?