Strobed Girls B-Ball

[flauri]

Finally gave this a try tonight.I used 2 Calumet 750's triggered with PW's. Camera settings were ISO 400, SS 1/250 and I went between f4.0 to f-5.0. I think I like this method over direct flash and no flash/ambient light. I placed them on the top row of the bleachers and had to prop it up to aim it at the ceiling. The bleachers were like a molded one piece that can be cranked in and out.....but it worked.

Thanks to Matt Merciez for some last minute tips today.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks
Frank



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/FCL_1645-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/FCL_1678-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/FCL_1735-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/FCL_1808-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/FCL_1827-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/IMG_0687-1.jpg

And finally Mrs. Referee
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/flauri/IMG_0716-1.jpg

[dmwierz]

Hey, Frank, nice work. Nice colors. You shoot much basketball?

[EnronRocks]

Did you use one or multiple strobes? Also, what strobe do you use and what wireless transmitter and such do you use?

[Sauk]

i wonder why you are getting motion blur. Maybe Dennis could answer this because it seems like you shouldn't get that much motion blur.

[Merciez]

Nice job Frank. I really like the 5th image posted. You might want to number your images in the future to make it easier for others to comment on them.

[dmwierz]

i wonder why you are getting motion blur. Maybe Dennis could answer this because it seems like you shouldn't get that much motion blur.

Matthew, I'm not sure if that's motion blur or just a DOF issue. I see Frank was at 1/250s f/4.0 ISO400 300mm (35mm eq:480mm) which means the DOF might have been VERY small, depending on the distance to the subjects, and the player's hand could very well have been outside the DOF (if that's the image of which you spoke).

[gromeo]

Hey, Dennis staying warm up there? Talk to Gray couple times a week, doing a lot of work with Todd mostly the the UCF stuff. Gray passed that letter from Guy to me since I have to go shoot at BCU. I am getting spoiled shooting in the new UCF arena.

Matthew, you can still get motion blur even with strobes, 1- if the strobe units flash duration is not fast enough, which maybe the case in pic #3 the hand to the face has motion. In pic #6 the ball as Dennis said could be DOF, but if you look close the player going for the ball has motion blur in her face area and her hair, the jersey is sharp. One thing nice about AB's and WL's is that they fast duration 1100 sec.

The OP said he used a pair of Calumet 750, there are 2 styles to these the Esprit and Travel Lite, the Espirit has a stated flash duration of 1700 t.5 and the Travel states 600 t.5 duration. This is one reason I went with WL 800 they had faster duration at 1100 sec using the t.1 method. The only other monoblock units that have this are the Elinchrom 600 RX (big bucs) 1300 sec.

[cptkoi]

Liking No. 5

h

[DDCSD]

Matthew, I'm not sure if that's motion blur or just a DOF issue. I see Frank was at 1/250s f/4.0 ISO400 300mm (35mm eq:480mm) which means the DOF might have been VERY small, depending on the distance to the subjects, and the player's hand could very well have been outside the DOF (if that's the image of which you spoke).

I'm reading 90-300mm in the EXIF. All at 1/250s, between f/4.0-5.0

Looks like it lit it up very well!

[Chet]

Where do you park 2 of these in order to get full court shots? Also aren't these considered distracting during a game?

By the way, these look great to me.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/resources/images/products/bw7505-2.jpg

[dmwierz]

I'm reading 90-300mm in the EXIF. All at 1/250s, between f/4.0-5.0

Looks like it lit it up very well!

Derek - Not sure where you got that. Here is exactly what I got on the 6th shot:

File name: IMG_0687-1.jpg
File size: 254734 bytes (2400x3000, 0.3bpp, 85x)
EXIF Summary: 1/250s f/4.0 ISO400 300mm (35mm eq:480mm)

Camera-Specific Properties:

Equipment Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Camera Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows

Image-Specific Properties:

Image Orientation: Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution: 0 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 0 dpi
Image Created: 2008:01:28 23:03:38
Rendering: Normal
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
F-Number: f/4.0
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 400
Lens Aperture: f/4.0
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length: 300.00 mm
Color Space Information: sRGB
Image Width: 2400
Image Height: 3000

Other Properties:

Resolution Unit: i
Chrominance Comp Positioning: Co-Sited
Exif IFD Pointer: 268
Compression Scheme: JPEG Compression (Thumbnail)
Horizontal Resolution: 300 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 300 dpi
Resolution Unit: i
Offset to JPEG SOI: 1002
Bytes of JPEG Data: 8349
Exif Version: 2.21
Image Generated: 2008:01:19 18:13:50
Image Digitized: 2008:01:19 18:13:50
Meaning of Each Comp: Unknown
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
Focal Plane Horiz Resolution: 2885 dpi
Focal Plane Vert Resolution: 2886 dpi
Focal Plane Res Unit: i

Romeo - you may be right, the girl in the background may be showing motion blur, though she could also be outside of the DOF on the other side (or her motion blur could be the result of being in the shadow of the player in the foreground, and thus she may be more under the influence of the ambient light, and less the strobe).

And Fury, in a word: no (I think I may end up adding something to my signature: "Properly done strobes and flashes are NOT distracting to athletes for sports where they are allowed"). I shot two HS basketball games Friday night and just for grins, counted 25 different point and shoot flashes going off all over the bleachers, being pointed right at the court, several from only a few rows up. Aren't these distracting? Yet nobody ever says anything about this...

When I strobe, I almost always bounce off the ceiling or wall, and the duration of the strobe is so short that unless you know they are there, pretty much nobody notices. Ever been to a pro or college basketball or hockey game or seen one on TV? Ever notice the VERY BRIGHT strobes going off all the time? Probably not. Next time you're at one of these games, try to even FIND the strobes in the ceiling. They go off so quickly that even when you know they are there, they are very difficult to locate. There are some sports where strobes and flashes are not cool, like gymnastics, most of the time swimming, cheer (sometimes)...but for basketball, hockey, wrestling and even volleyball (this one is touch and go) strobes are frequently used and often you're almost expected to use them.

[DDCSD]

The last three shots are at 300, but the first 5 vary from 90-180mm. Like #4 is at 155mm.

[DDCSD]

Where do you park 2 of these in order to get full court shots? Also aren't these considered distracting during a game?


Can't tell you anything on set-up, but watch Sportscenter today. Pay attention to the college and pro basketball highlights. Every time someone takes a shot, the arena strobes go off. I never noticed it until the other day, now I see it every time. If they do it at the pro and Div1 level, you can bet it doesn't distract anyone.

Although it sometimes makes for a handy excuse for the losing team.

[flauri]

Thanks everyone for the responses and discussions.

Derek - What Dennis had on the EXIF is correct.

FuryMe - The placement I used afforded me to get full court shots. I used the 300 for the down court shots and 70-200 for the shots closer to me.