first time out to the park this year...detroit tigers

[3oh6]

now dont laugh, but DY and the boys is my team. yeah so the tigers are not exactly one of those teams you tell your buddies you support, but i have loved the big d since i can remember watching baseball. now i live close enough to drive down and catch a bunch of games a year. anyway, our game saturday afternoon got snowed (i am not even joking) out so it went this afternoon in downtown detroit...lets just say you could pick your own seat for this affair. but a great game none the less. i was with some friends so i only shot for a couple innings, here is what i brought home...

like i said...pick your seat day at comerica park
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-1.jpg

as the weather warmed up tempers got hot...i don't know what happened here out at second base, but pudge was furious with twins pitcher j.c romero
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-2.jpg

pudge was restrained and cooled before he got himself in trouble, but the benches and bullpens did come out and talk to each other
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-6.jpg

meanwhile romero was saluting the small crowd as he made his way to the dugout following the group hug
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-3.jpg

oh yeah...there was a baseball game on...keep them lips together to keep the dirt out
http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-4.jpg

[symes]

These are awesome pictures...great work...

Where were you when you took these pics?

Cheers,

[gmen]

Good stuff 3oh6... nice tight, frame-filling pics... shot from a good low angle. Excellent. Looking forward to seeing some more of these Detroit folk in action.

[Croasdail]

Great shots.... your inspiring me to go shoot the local team and the nooner today... thanks!

[3oh6]

thanx for the comments gavin, matt, Croasdail...

symes the first and last one were taken from the first row about 10 feet down the line from the dugout, almost directly behind 1st base looking across to 3rd base. the rest were taken about a section further down and like 10-12 rows up where we were sitting.

gavin thats the recipe...except i was not as low as i wanted to be i still cannot complain. it was a one time shot being able to shoot from the front row but i will definately be getting some more images from the ballparks within a few hours of where i am this summer, hopefully i can pull off a shooting location like i had for these.

Croasdail good good!!! then taking the time to post these was worth it. i can hardly wait til the baseball season gets in full swing here so i can go shoot some shots with better access to the field...shooting pros is nice, but nothing beats the access when shooting youth sports.

[pcasciola]

Those are some great shots you got there. Thanks for sharing them.

But where are all the fans? :D

I went to a Yankee game last week and we were surprised at how empty the stands were, but there were still 35,000 there. If you were picking your own seat it would have been in the outfield upper deck.

[madplower4]

Fantastic shots, can you help me what settings you used. I am getting better, but getting that crisp, bright, action shots with the shallow depth of field is still a challenge.

[3oh6]

you know philip, there was really no one there. posted attendance is 19,000 because it was a make up for the snowed out game saturday afternoon that they sold that many tickets to. in reality there was about 1000 people there, because they even had the upper deck closed off. so this is everyone in the lower level and it was all green.

it was nice to be able to shoot pros so close to the field without worrying about getting in anyones way who was trying to watch, but then my backgrounds are all green. like look at #1...maybe 10 people in 2 whole sections almost. its a give and take i guess. but now i know my 300 f/4 will have no issues getting in and i dont think a problem would be had for a 300 f/2.8 so i think its time i found a gig to pay for that purchase in the near future. which is what my next piece is about...

madplower4 i'll start with equipment and work back...the faster/larger/wider/bigger aperature aka F-stop, or F#, also seen in an example... f/4. the lens i am using has a maximum aperature of f/4 which is a good match for this focul length...keeping in mind i am on a 1.6x crop body and being hand held without a monopod, also focusing manually for any of the stuff at a bag or homeplate/pitcher. this way i have 100% control over where that small DOF is going to be, plus my camera is dealing with some back focusing issues that i think might actually be the focus points being off, but it seems to do fine when tracking a subject using any of the foucs points individually selected.

the other key to DOF is the distance between subject, background/foreground, and you. look at #1...the distance behind the pitcher to the stands is alot, therefore giving nice background bokeh. then you have a shot here of this homeplate sequence...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/tigers_twins-7.jpg

the distance between me and the subject is pretty much the same as it is in #1, but the distance behind the subject to the background is substantially less, therefore producing a louder background. im not sure the term for it, but the subject just doesn't have the pop. you can read the sign, where as in #1 you cannot. so what it really comes down to again, like so much about a sports shot, is the background. the one above is busy and just not nice and as creamy as #1 therefore my subject doesn't come out as crisp and sharp and tends to leave the eye wandering.

as soon as i walk into an event my eyes are scanning the building or structure for the backgrounds of possible shooting points. for what bokeh they will produce, what they will distract from my subject, or possibly add to the subject. on top of everything else to deal with light etc. baseball always gives you certain angles because its a fixed action area for the most part. so the slide back into first shot was me just sitting during the sequence manually focusing where i wanted, which if you can tell is off anyway. i am front focused and don't have as much of the runners face as i would like.

this is why i think #1 is my best of this set, as soon as i sat down at the front row i knew i could get exactly what i wanted when i setup for this shot, and that is the pitcher and mound seemingly the only thing in the whole photo in focus. this shot is cropped very little and very sharp at 100%, now could you imagine with a bunch of soft color in the background due to the stands being full and an aperature of f/2.8. once of course i can get to the point of working with a shallower DOF which i am sure will take a good bit to get comfortable with.

this all of course in addition to the shutter speed being fast enough to 'freeze' the action which adds to the pop. when combined with such a small DOF though it makes this more challenging and you really have to think about what your doing while shooting. actually i try to do the thinking before the game and let instincts take over during shooting which works for me. sorry for being so long, but you asked a question that requires alot to account for. also the exif with all the settings for all the shots is still embedded in the images. right click file, properties, summary, advanced should answer all settings questions you have HTH

[madplower4]

Thank you for being long winded! That was great advice. Here are links to pics I took of my sons game. They aren't bad but not as crisp and clear as yours. I was using a Rebel, with TV setting to largest f stop opening, and let the camera pick the speed. I looked and saw speeds of 1/2000 etc. but they still aren't as clear as yours. I know I'm asking too much, but do you have advice on how to "better" these shots. They aren't bad, and I am proud of them, but when I see your work, it's like, "man, how does he do that!!" I know my f-stop only goes down to 4.0 I believe with my 70-300mm basic lens. I set iso at 100 and used autofocus but only center dot focal point selection.

Wait a minute, how do I attach a pic or set up a link for you to see them?

[madplower4]

Take a look at these, and advise away!! I'm going to resize 2 more and attach so that you can see the blur that I'm talking about regarding the action.

[pcasciola]

as soon as i walk into an event my eyes are scanning the building or structure for the backgrounds of possible shooting points. for what bokeh they will produce, what they will distract from my subject, or possibly add to the subject. This is something I am struggling with doing youth sports photography. Nearly every field is lined with a chain link fence, cars, SUVs, parents, etc. making it nearly impossible to set up for a nice clean shot. The backstops are mostly completely shielded as well, all the way to the end of the dugout, so a front shot of the pitcher is impossible. It does provide a good background for shooting the batters anyway.

this is why i think #1 is my best of this set, as soon as i sat down at the front row i knew i could get exactly what i wanted when i setup for this shot, and that is the pitcher and mound seemingly the only thing in the whole photo in focus. These are all good shots, but the only thing I don't like about #1 is the glare off all the empty seats, which I find a little distracting compared to blurred out fans.

This Friday is going to be my first attempt at getting in to Yankee Stadium with my 20D + 300/4L, which I just bought a smaller holster bag for. The game I went to last week, my friend said we would probably be in the upper deck because they were free tickets. So, there I was, 10 rows behind the on Yankee's on deck circle with no camera. Figures...:rolleyes:

[madplower4]

Why are these blurry? I had lots of light, my biggest f-stop and the auto speed was hovering around 1/2000. These 2 were the worst of the group shot that day. Thanks again for all your help, you have no idea how much I appreciate it!!

[3oh6]

madplower4 well i had a look at the EXIF on the first two you posted and the aperture was not set to the lowest possible of the lens at the focul lengths so you should be able to open the lens up a little bit more. also the shutter on the first one is only 1/320 and the second only 1/500. all the shots are at ISO100. so what you will want to do is maybe turn the ISO up to 400 perhaps and make sure the aperature is at the maximun (lowest f number) for the focul length. this should get the shutters up over 1/600 and freeze the action better. what you might want to shoot in is Av mode and open up the aperture to the fullest, this will ensure maximum shutter speeds. HTH

[3oh6]

philip your absolutely right about #1...if i had a crowd it would be a great shot, but then again i wouldn't have been shooting from the front row had there been so...it all evens out i guess. yeah shooting at a MLB park is a bit different than shooting at your local ball diamond. i here your cries for shooting at these type of facilities. when ball season starts here i am sure you will see your share of my photos with porta potties, lawnchairs and dogs in the background ;)

have at it on firday and make sure to show us some shots...not that i really want to see pics of the yankees ;)

[HJMinard]

Hey Jody ... no need to apologize. We've been tormented for a little more than a decade, but the city and the organization (prior to the late 80's) have a very rich baseball history. I think they're on the right track to getting alot better.

Really nice shots ... I should try to get to a game before the big summer crowds start showing up.

Is that Farnsworth in the first shot? And who's that big fella running in the background of the Pudge/Juan Samuel hug photo? Franklin German, perhaps?

[3oh6]

jay, i know there is history there i just wasn't anywhere near to being around. i still like the team on a whole as they seem to still be an old time club and with the new park done the way it was its great. on monday it was nice because there was no one there so all the old guys would talk to you for a while if you wanted and just hearin stories from those guys is great. stuff like that makes it that much better so i guess a slow day at the park can be a good one too. i am hoping it will be the same in toronto tomorrow as i figure i am going to take the train and grab the afternoon game between the jays and the rays i guess. i know one thing, it wont be the same atmosphere as it is in detroit. i say make sure you get down there for a game, its well worth the quick drive. im coming from a good hour and a bit further north when i drive down, so you have no excuse ;)

yup farnsworth came in and gave up a couple in a third if i recall...about the seventh. as for the guy runnin in from the pen...i wouldn't have a clue, but you might be right. i was just tryin to get a shot of the altercation then one of pudge and romero.

[tigerroar]

Hey, nice pics. I've been to Comerica Park. Where is everyone though? It was full when I was there back in 2001 while I was visiting my cousin in Windsor.

[HJMinard]

Hey, nice pics. I've been to Comerica Park. Where is everyone though? It was full when I was there back in 2001 while I was visiting my cousin in Windsor.

Attendance will increase when the weather gets better. The game in question was a rescheduled event with very little prior warning to ticketholders. Additionally, it was a day game (1:00 p.m.) on a workday.

[PaCiFiSt]

Nice shots everyone. I really like the one of the kid diving into the base