TEE BALL - THIS WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN...

So my son had his first Tee Ball tournament this weekend and i spent the day shooting the kiddos as best as i could.

That's a fun time to shoot them learning to play. My daughter is now in 8u and things are quite a bit more on the serious side!

oh god - some of the parents from a couple of the other teams were ridiculous..

1 dad was SCREAMING from the dug out at his kid, and a couple of mom's from that same team were running their mouths like hens... Makes me remember why i hated sports when my 19yr old was little.

I'm glade i only shot that team 1 game, it was pissing me off how ridiculous they get...

I miss those days. All my kids "played" t-ball. From building castles between 2nd and third, to reminding the outfielders there was still a game going on.... it was totally fun. Miss those days. They go by so fast.

Youth baseball, I certainly miss it… It goes by in a flash and I even miss observing some of the bad parental behavior, assuming no physical or emotional abuse – lol! I did watch a mother from a Corpus Christi 9U team recite some kind of voodoo hex at the opposing kids while they were in the on-deck circle. I don’t believe in that stuff (neither did the other team, since they won), but that’s my #1 on the top 10 list of crazy parent behavior.

I started photographing my son and the other player’s back in t-ball to keep my mouth shut and give a little bit back to the kids and parents. Over the last 17 years I’d amassed a couple hundred thousand photos of my kids’ teammates – lol! I’ve recently deleted all but my son, group shots and recent college teammates and still have in the tens of thousands of photos.

Tips on photographing youth baseball (all baseball actually). Lower is better, get yourself a cheap three-legged camp stool and shoot sitting down and in comfort (with much better angles). Shooting from behind the fence or net works great, just get close. I hold the lens hood against the net for stability aligning the lens center with an opening (I’ve never shot on the field - it’s also smart to buy accidental breakage insurance for the lens, I’ve never needed it, but it’s cheap and kept me relaxed while shooting against the net). Good glass makes all the difference my 100-400mm with image stabilization has been my favorite, but the 70-200mm is very good too…

I love baseball, I tried to indoctrinate both my boys, but it just didn’t take with my eldest. In fact, the first time he watched more than an inning or two was when his brother was the Friday night starter for Arkansas in 2017. Enjoy the journey, there’s nothing purer than watching baseball before they become teenagers… lol! Plus, everyone loves the team photographer. Here are some baseball photoshop ideas (message me if you’d like the ESPN artwork): https://www.flickr.com …/albums/7215764​5529256141

Hit’em where they ain’t -Bill

bstephan wrote in post #18752521
Youth baseball, I certainly miss it… It goes by in a flash and I even miss observing some of the bad parental behavior, assuming no physical or emotional abuse – lol! I did watch a mother from a Corpus Christi 9U team recite some kind of voodoo hex at the opposing kids while they were in the on-deck circle. I don’t believe in that stuff (neither did the other team, since they won), but that’s my #1 on the top 10 list of crazy parent behavior.

I started photographing my son and the other player’s back in t-ball to keep my mouth shut and give a little bit back to the kids and parents. Over the last 17 years I’d amassed a couple hundred thousand photos of my kids’ teammates – lol! I’ve recently deleted all but my son, group shots and recent college teammates and still have in the tens of thousands of photos.

Tips on photographing youth baseball (all baseball actually). Lower is better, get yourself a cheap three-legged camp stool and shoot sitting down and in comfort (with much better angles). Shooting from behind the fence or net works great, just get close. I hold the lens hood against the net for stability aligning the lens center with an opening (I’ve never shot on the field - it’s also smart to buy accidental breakage insurance for the lens, I’ve never needed it, but it’s cheap and kept me relaxed while shooting against the net). Good glass makes all the difference my 100-400mm with image stabilization has been my favorite, but the 70-200mm is very good too…

I love baseball, I tried to indoctrinate both my boys, but it just didn’t take with my eldest. In fact, the first time he watched more than an inning or two was when his brother was the Friday night starter for Arkansas in 2017. Enjoy the journey, there’s nothing purer than watching baseball before they become teenagers… lol! Plus, everyone loves the team photographer. Here are some baseball photoshop ideas (message me if you’d like the ESPN artwork): https://www.flickr.com …/albums/7215764​5529256141

Hit’em where they ain’t -Bill

Same with my girls. Both have played softball and my youngest is still in 8u, but I can’t get them to watch a game on TV at all. They do enjoy going to see the local minor league (TN Smokies) or Univ of Tennessee teams play in person, so that’s a start I guess. (They absolutely LOVE hockey though... weird, lol). My oldest liked being a cheerleader in the dugout more than actually playing, so she only made it a couple of seasons before losing interest.

I shoot the same way... low and as close to the fence as possible. I actually carry my gear in a rolling pelican case because it doubles nicely as a low seat that I can pull right up next to the fence so I can shoot as close as possible. I recently switched to Sony, and my favorite and most used lenses are the 70-200 2.8 GM, EF 300 2.8 IS (adapted with MC-11), and occasionally a 1.4x. I’ve made baseball cards, photo books, and many other things for their teams along the way. Fun stuff.

It’s certainly nice watching them grow and get better and more skilled as time goes on. I’m doing my best to enjoy it as much as possible now before she moves up another level or two and it gets even more insane. lol

Lyndön wrote in post #18752718
Same with my girls. Both have played softball and my youngest is still in 8u, but I can’t get them to watch a game on TV at all. They do enjoy going to see the local minor league (TN Smokies) or Univ of Tennessee teams play in person, so that’s a start I guess. (They absolutely LOVE hockey though... weird, lol). My oldest liked being a cheerleader in the dugout more than actually playing, so she only made it a couple of seasons before losing interest.

I shoot the same way... low and as close to the fence as possible. I actually carry my gear in a rolling pelican case because it doubles nicely as a low seat that I can pull right up next to the fence so I can shoot as close as possible. I recently switched to Sony, and my favorite and most used lenses are the 70-200 2.8 GM, EF 300 2.8 IS (adapted with MC-11), and occasionally a 1.4x. I’ve made baseball cards, photo books, and many other things for their teams along the way. Fun stuff.

It’s certainly nice watching them grow and get better and more skilled as time goes on. I’m doing my best to enjoy it as much as possible now before she moves up another level or two and it gets even more insane. lol

I spent 3 days in Knoxville watching the Hogs play the Vols in 2017 - Weather was bad but the kid pitched well enough to earn SEC pitcher of the week. Great fans and you guys are going to get better quick with Vitello's recruiting (he's one of the best). https://www.flickr.com …text=Tennessee&​view_all=1

It's nice to know I'm wasn't the only crazy dad photographer out there... Breath it all in, it really does just go by so quickly.

-Bill

Enjoy these days. They will be gone far too quickly!