Hmm, I think night time football is easier....

[Dan-o]

At least at night the settings get set the way I like then they pretty much go untouched. I haven't shoot afternoon football since last season but have been promising some of the parents I would do some of the games before the season ends. Damn front lit, back lit, 100-1200 ISO as it gets darker. I think night time is easier over all.

1. Couple back lit.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316270_JNwFo-X3.jpg

2. QB was a little slow getting up after this hit.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316240_oXJFj-X3.jpg

3.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316265_KGARZ-X3.jpg

4.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316272_qExvA-X3.jpg

5.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316254_7NcLX-X3.jpg

6. Stay out of the middle!
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316229_HdeUJ-X3.jpg

7. Game winning QB keeper.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316248_PJbkQ-X3.jpg

8.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697316237_jg4GJ-X3.jpg

[snyderman]

boy, those are RAZOR sharp. What lens did you shoot with? My 70-200 f/2.8L isn't anywhere near THAT sharp--even during the daylight JV games!

dave

[clarence]

I like eyes/ball/composition/bokeh in #4.

Great timing on #6... it seems odd that the player is thrown/falling but the defenders don't seem to directly responsible. Almost like a rushed punt with a roughing the kicker acting job?

Great low perspective and great eyes on #7 & #8.

Was this Freshman/JV ball? Why did they playing the afternoon?
I'd love to have a daylight varsity game.

[Mark II]

Looks like its all easier for you!
Very nice shots.

[pwrmac]

Very nice shots. Funny I was just saying the same thing last night after downloading some pics from a HS football game I shot yesterday. It felt like I had to relearn how to shoot during the day after shooting so much at night and in low lit arena's.

[DoubleL]

Looks like its all easier for you!
Very nice shots.

+1

Awesome Dan.

[Joe300]

boy, those are RAZOR sharp. What lens did you shoot with? My 70-200 f/2.8L isn't anywhere near THAT sharp--even during the daylight JV games!

dave

Yea, He has found the sweet spot of that lens...I am guessing 300 2.8is or the 400 2.8.... I have a sigma 70-200 2.8 w/1.4 TC and my sweet is f6.3...lol:lol:
Dan-o = gear list will tell you why he got those shots.... now is it the camera body or lens that gets you great shots like that ???/

Joe

[Big K]

now is it the camera body or lens that gets you great shots like that ???

It's the body behind the camera and lens that does it.

Nice shots Danny. Love #6.

[mattyv53]

I love #4 & #6. Great stuff.

[ChasWG]

You had the same issue I have with my son's games. The all black uniforms look cool, but are a bit of a challenge at times. Especially with the nasty grey skys this time of year.

They look great as usual!

[Sledhed]

Good stuff Danny but I still prefer to shoot with the big light bulb in the sky on!

[danaitch]

Stunning.

[Dan-o]

Thanks guys. Funny thing is I had to force myself to let the shutter run at the beginning. I kept waiting for that perfect shot like I do at night knowing I have to wait on the recycle. Felt good to shoot bursts again, although still only ended up with about 350 like at night.

Clarence here is the first photo in the series. Sometimes I wish I had a Sigma 120-300. Tight crops don't always work. #2 pretty much went straight up and down so it looks like he is just standing there in the other photo. Receiver dropped the pass anyways before the hit to add insult to injury.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697683697_oUPuu-X3.jpg

Joe I was using a 300 2.8 . There is a big difference between a 70-200 and the big primes. I guess that is the reason they are 4 and 6 times as much money. Here is one I took with a second body and 70-200 @2.8 .
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/697683710_gAtXV-X3.jpg

Yeah, Chris I would prefer daytime too over all. One thing I didn't like was trying to get good portrait type shots with just ambient. I really like having two exposures over one for those. I guess I could have used an ND and flash still.

[JeffreyG]

Stop whining. These are some excellent shots.

[The Moose]

Well put Jeffrey :lol: #4 is great, as is #7.

[kelleystar27]

I am so jealous, those are AMAZING shots!!

[Sibil]

The pictures are superb,

There has got to be some skill with the post processing for the resulting sharp pics. It's kind of hard to think (for me) that the mega-$ lens is the only reason the pics are so sharp. Did you shoot RAW or JPEG, and can you share your sharpening approach?

[J.Napier]

Danny,
8, 2 and 4 for me in that order. Dont beat yourself up for having to much light...lol. Anyway I missed the game of the season last night due to other obligations and lack of not having my truck. Arrrg !! Two hottest teams in the county with a last second drive to the endzone.
These are all great shots thanks for sharing them with us.

[Dan-o]

Sibil I use Lightroom for everything. I shoot RAW and have a bunch of presets built up since I've been using LR since the beginning and only use CS3 for a few watermarking actions. Here is a shot which is a continuation of the 4th photo. First is how it looks after downloaded and the second is processed.
http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/698426092_6hTti-X3.jpg

http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/698426077_nQBkd-X3.jpg

That sucks Jeff. I also witnessed the best HS gave ever last night. Was super fun and my voice is gone because of it. Horrible night photo wise though.

[clarence]

Thanks for that Before/After shot Dan.

In addition to the grain detail on the ball, I really like the extra shadows being pulled out of the white jersey and the green numbers.

The reflection on the black helmet looks "deeper" too.

[mikeassk]

Excellent series!

[TaylorT]

Wow these are all so sharp they're great! I know how you feel about day football... THe worst is when there are tree shadows on the field. Number six is crazy it honestly made my mouth drop. Nice work!

[slapstix55]

Great shots! I have never shot football before, But might have to give it a try this weekend. Keep up the cool shots!!