Little League Tournament

I had the pleasure of covering a 42 team Little League tournament this past weekend. I have to say, covering kids playing sports is really fun for me. There's a certain purity to the game. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the tournament.

The shots in the second row are MONEY! I really dig the 3rd row too.

These are freekin good for little leaguers! That 70-200 MKII is money on that 7D! Nice shots.

Bottom row, left.......love this shot....

NO Fair at all... though the temps hit 50 here today we still have 2+ feet of snow on the ground.. no ball for at least 5 weeks

Nice shots. I like them all. You're right about this age and having a "purity" to the game. They're out there to have a good time. They want to win to, but if they lose, they tend to get over it pretty quick. Some of my favorite years of coaching (12 years total) were with the Little League.

I do have to agree with DHMN too, that it's not fair to have to look at these. Still snow on the ground here in Iowa too, but it is melting. Still looking at at least five weeks though before we can play.

Haha, sorry guys I didn't mean to rub it in . If it makes you feel any better, I did get a bit of a sun burn. Thanks for the comments.

nice shots.....but who's playing little league in February?

Well done! Nice camera work. Sharp, well framed. Stopped the ball repeatedly! Enjoyed seeing them.

myoungok wrote in post #11876079
nice shots.....but who's playing little league in February?

I live in Orlando, FL. We play year round.

Really nice shots!!!
Yep, still a ways away from baseball or softball here in Oklahoma....can't wait!!

vcrampton

Nice shoots. Can you tell me the setting on the camera. F stop, speed, mode. I'm trying to take some baseball pics myself with a 60D and the same lens. Raw or Jpeg. Any tips would help out.

duck60d wrote in post #11882816
Nice shoots. Can you tell me the setting on the camera. F stop, speed, mode. I'm trying to take some baseball pics myself with a 60D and the same lens. Raw or Jpeg. Any tips would help out.

All of these were shot at f/2.8. The speed was dependent upon the time of day. The afternoon shots were between 1/5000 and 1/8000. The "sunset swing" shot was 1/1250. I never put the ISO over 400 except for a couple times when the players backs were to the sun. Throughout the day I shot only JPEG, but I switched to RAW during the low light shots like the sunset one.

I like to have full control over the situation, so I always shoot in Manual. I shoot a lot of sports during the day, so I need to be able to change my settings quickly. If the sun ducks behind a cloud, I need to be able to switch settings with the flick of a dial.

Let me know when you post your shots. I've been thinking about buying a 60D, but I'm not sure how it will perform. I'd love to see some of your shots to help make up my mind.

I shoot my son's 9U travel league games all the time. I just can't seem to get the money shots with my 5DMII. How is the best way to go about getting good action shots when you never know when they're coming???

these are great. I find the 2nd one a bit comical because that kids has got some long legs and arms and feet to boot!

kellgell wrote in post #11930515
I shoot my son's 9U travel league games all the time. I just can't seem to get the money shots with my 5DMII. How is the best way to go about getting good action shots when you never know when they're coming???

these are great. I find the 2nd one a bit comical because that kids has got some long legs and arms and feet to boot!

Hi Kellgell, thanks for the kind words. The first thing that helps to get good action shots is access. I cover tournaments for several groups, so they give me access to the fields. Most of the time I am behind 1st or 3rd, but many times I am much closer. Secondly, I understand the game pretty well, because I played through high school. I look at the situation on the field and I try to anticipate what is going to happen. For example, if there is a runner on first, I can watch for a pitcher trying to pick off the runner. On the otherhand, if there is a runner on 1st and 3rd, I will set up closer to home plate looking for a close play at the plate. Of course, a lot of it is experience too. I've been doing this for a couple years now, and I can take upwards of 1,000 photos a day during a 40 team tournament. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.