Volleyball Nirvana.....

I had been comtemplating shooting some college volleyball, but not until I saw 3oh6's shots did I decide to give it a shot. My volleyball playing niece was in our care tonight so we headed off to Cameron Indoor to see what we could find. First thing I noticed was the 12 huge strobes hanging from the ceiling. Just great... that's not a good sign... then I popped my recently returned (thanks son) 85 on and checked it out... let's try ISO 800...OH MY GOSH! were sitting at f2.0 and 1/1240. I may never be able to shoot high school again. It's kind like going out to test drive a new performance car... then having to come back and drive a Yugo afterward. I think I will have to have a chat with the AD monday. 3oh6... thanks for ruining shooting high school volleyball... and Cameron Indoor... yes I will come and worship under your beautiful lights.... many times I hope.

Anyway.... some of the results from tonight.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

Holy Mackerel!! Those are incredible. We must all make the pilgrimage to this place where the volleyball Gods shine. That's some top notch images there mister. That last shot (even though it breaks the customary rules) is very cool. I like the different angles. I think it gives you more of a sense of the game overall. Varity is the spice of life eh??

Very awesome images. I really like#5 expression. Thankx for sharing.

The shot of the "about to become a 1-set" rocks!
Edit: On 2nd thought, probably a 2-set.

Geez, Mark, these are perfect! All with 85mm? One looks like a closeup ... crop or were you trying another lens?

On my!!! These are beautiful. Sharp, great angles/crops, and excellent postprocessing. Good work with your 85/1.8.

I noticed that these are shot at ISO 800. I'm curious - do you prefer ISO 800 over 1600 - in terms of final image quality (sharpness and detail). You're shooting at 1/250 sec which is right on the borderline of stopping motion in this type of sports action.

Dwight - I sat in pretty much the same position for the final 4 matches... with the 85 for all of them. I was about 10 feet back from the next on the floor - hence the different angles depending on where the action was on the net. The "closeup" is a 2/3 view... it has been cropped to get some clutter out of it - but she was that close.

Thanks everyone else for looking and your comments.... to quote PhotosGuy... the shots "Rock" because the action rocked..it wasn't me... given great conditions and an awsome subject matter, it doesn't take a genius to come up with a good shot or two. Now this only makes me day dream of doing the same for mens basketball.

Love those expressions on the faces,nice sharp shots.

rock solid...nice work

Great stuff! I love the expressions on the girls' faces.

Outstanding!

I love the fourth one and the last one. How does the last one break the rules? I think it is great! It must have been nice to shoot with some good lighting. I am envious of your fast shutter speed. They are all excellent—be proud.

Great shots Mark!
KAC

wagonwheel... I am really like the last one as well. The rule it breaks is it doesn't show her face - it's a back shot. But in my opinion - it really shows her athletcism. Thanks for the kind comments.

Kenny, mdm, Liza, Blinking8s, Malla - thanks for looking and nice comments. It was a lot of fun, I hadn't done anything with volleyball since my college days and intramural sports - thanks to my niece, I got re-introduced to it. Cheers all!

great shots, fantastic colors