Ultimate Frisbee (Canadian Ultimate Championship) - First Attemp - C&C

[Crunchy]

Hi All,

First thanks for all the advice I've leeched off of here. I am finally brave enough to post some photos.

Last week Toronto hosted the Canadian Ultimate Championships. I volunteered as a photographer and spent four full days taking pictures. I will post some of the finals here...

Canon Rebel XTI
70-200mm F/2.8 IS
Kenko 1.4x Teleconverter (turning my lens to a F/4.0)

It was the first time I tried shooting in manual. Rain clouds appeared ten minutes before the finals and it was pouring throughout the entire two hour game. So I was forced to go to ISO 800 to ensure I get sufficient shutter speed.

I shot JPG. No post processing except resizing. (didn't even crop).

Any comments good or bad is appreciated.

#1 - Throwing it deep down field. The defender was out of position and made it a little less exciting, but was lucky enough to capture the intended receiver/defenders in the background looking back at the disc.


#2 - Couple of players going for the disc




#3 - Layout out for the disc - I was able to capture the face here... but the expression didn't really make this shot a winner.



#4 - One of my favourites. The disc floated in the air a little too long and many players were able to get to the same spot for a play on the disc. I was able to capture all 6 players simultaneously at the peak of their jump... and the disc was bending from all the hands trying to get a hold of it.




Don't want to spam too much so I'll start with 4...

[royv]

Finally something else for a change, all we see here is skate- baseball- horsejumping- and soccerpictures haha

About your photos, I think you captured the action pretty well, although I would like to see some tighter shots (perhaps crop them a little?). I also am a little dissapointed about the sharpness..
The colours could've been better too, but seeing the weather was pretty bad, I think you did a nice job.

post some pics of the other days too!

[ducko]

I feel like they are a bit noisy. That's too bad that you had to go to ISO 800. I wonder how 200mm at a larger aperture would have looked at a lower ISO and then cropping?

[Crunchy]

What can I do about sharpness? I am going to try to not freak out here and think it's my lens messing up. I am sure it's either user error or maybe I can choose a better setting for sharpness for the in-camera jpg conversion. (suggestions?)

Here are a couple from Day 1. Mostly sunny with on-off clouds. Brief shower at one point in the day but I don't think that was during any of the following four examples. Again, no post processing except for resizing. And again, no cropping... but these couple of shots I definately shot tighter... cutting off feet, hands, etc. (At the finals, I wanted to be safer and not shoot so tight thinking I could crop it later)

#5 - This is off the pull (think kick-off in an american football game), so I had time to set up... get down nice and low. Of course I still cut his feet off a little heh.


#6 - Again legs were cut off. How about the sharpness of this? Seems lacking (partially due to DOF), but overall it still feels a bit soft.


#7 - I think I got what I wanted here.


#8 - Again, feet/legs were cut off... and would have been better if the disc was still visible. Seems sharpness is better in this pic... I like the hair and the face.

[royv]

Are you using a tripod? monopod? Is the IS turned on? You use AI servo?

I don't know what it is, but some of your images look soft and OoF. I like #5 though, great shot there! might need a little sharpening but great catch!

[Crunchy]

no tripod, no monopod. I aimed for a 1/1000s or faster shutter speed through out the tournament, so I figured a tripod/monopod wasn't necessary.

Similarly, would IS have made a different at 1/1000s?

I use AI Servo. And I use * button to focus. The softness and OOF is starting to concern me. Anyone have any ideas what is wrong?

My technique on focusing:
-If the subject is relatively stationary (example. Player is standing waiting to throw the disc. Players are standing in one spot waiting for disc to land), then I just use the * to focus, then release the focus, and get ready to shutter button to shoot when action is coming.
-If the subject is moving, then use the middle dot and * to focus my subject, and keep the * button held down and try to follow it while I shoot.

Is that the right approach?

[Big WIll]

Colours all seem a bit 'Boring' in the first set of photos, much better in the second set!

Might have to get the Frisbee out!

[chrisvl]

Shots 3 & 4 in the first set are awesome captures.
Got to get them sharper and pump up the colors and exposure.
If you're going to post it's always best to PP before doing so. Apply some pp to 3 & 4 and repost so we can see the diff.
Get a monopod, makes a huge difference.
And yes I think IS would have made a difference. Even with a Monopod you will still have handshake.
IF you want to test it try shoot a shot o the moon and try and keep the moon in center frame. That'll tell you how steady your hands are.

[Notreknip]

Indeed, it is great to see something different posted here. I'm an avid ultimate player and knew of about a dozen players that played in this very tournament. I have posted some ultimate photos in the past and have improved a great deal with my shots (specifically with this sport) since then.

As for your results, I too think that they're a bit soft in some instances. I'm willing to bet (high) that this is almost solely due to a focussing problem. Personally, I use AI Servo and Center-Point AF for ultimate; also, I do NOT use CF#4 for this sport despite using it often otherwise. (My fingers can't move fast enough independantly for the action in ultimate!) I shoot with my 70-200 f/2.8 IS as well, always wide-open and always on Av. Very rarely do I have to go to ISO 800 (to get 1/1250 or so), but perhaps with the loss of one stop with the TC that makes sense. I find that the AI Servo is VERY quick to refocus with this lens as soon as you try to "compose", thus making the effort moot. Like you mentioned, I simply zoom out a bit, cringe slightly, and settle with centered subjects until it is PP time! (Oh, and I always keep IS on.) I've been debating picking up a 1.4x TC, but the more I think about it the more I think it may not be required if you're able to position yourself at mid-field.

Your shots do appear to need a touch more PP work in general. I think some noise cancelling, sharpening, tighter cropping, and a little color boosting would work wonders. Indeed the second set look much better already in this regard. Of course you know, but having faces, all limbs, and the disc in the shots is pretty crucial. (Having the disc is hard, I know.)

As for the monopod, I'm not too sure why it would be necessary or even helpful for that matter. A low perspective is very crucial for this sport; I always sit bracing my elbows on my knees. Secondly, this sport is VERY quick; perhaps people don't realize that. I would think a monopod would get in the way more than it would help, but that's just my perspective. I must admit I thought about getting one for ultimate shots, but decided against it.

I must say, I love the timing of #2, 3, and 4. #4 is something that I've NEVER seen in this sport and I've known it well for about 5-6 years now. That capture is quite incredible and could probably be sold to the right people if PP'd well.

Anyway, I hope this helped. I am still a rookie at this as I've only been using a DSLR for about 6 months now, but I feel pretty confident when it's in my hands on the ultimate sidelines! Feel free to PM me and I'll share some of my images!

[kenyc]

Nice work. a couple of comments. Work on composing so you don't chop off legs or arms or bodies. This is just practice. Do work on post-processing skills, virtually everything that comes out of a digital camera needs some sharpening and in sports often needs cropping.

Keep up the great work, it will only get better.

KAC