My View of the HoopHall Classic....

So I too got to attend the classic over at Cameron Indoor. You really can see why some of these kids were so highly recruited. I spent most of my time shooting those that would be soon wearing the blue and white - but there was plenty of talent to go around. Anyway, here is my view of the activities of the first game. Oh and Mark (kg4bia), had I known you were going to be there, I would have hooked up with ya...

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AWESOME SHOTS!! We live fairly close to Mater Dei and my son talks about them all the time. They have a very talented and tall team. The twin guards that are 6'9" I think are only Sophomores. I bet they were fun to watch.

I'd love to hear what lens you were using. Strobes? Flash?

My son wanted me to ask who won? He was very unhappy that this game wasn't telivised.

Croasdail,

I would have been honored. If you look on your last photo, to the far right edge from the Mater Dei guys fingers, you can see my right elbow.

I probably have a shot of that action as well.

You had a much better position than I did, plus much better glass. Were you sitting on the baseline in front of Coach K with one or two other photographers? If so, I was drooling wishing I had some of you guy's glass.

Maybe we can hookup for a shoot sometime and maybe I can learn so tips from you.

Mark, KG4BIA

Awesome shots, I really like the one of Taylor King driving to the hoop. Mater Dei and Oak Hill academy is a very classic battle. What was the score of the game?

Good stuff, Croasdail.

What's your technique for shooting basketball?

With my XT, I either set my custom function to 4-1 (AE lock/AF) or 4-3 (AF/no AE lock), have the center focus point active and dial in AI-Servo. During the game, I shoot with both eyes open and follow the action while pulsing the * button. I pulse the * button to 1) turn the center focus point red so I can see where it is, and 2) disengage and reacquire focus when bodies move in front of the action. At peak action moments, I lock on and let 'er rip, keeping the focus point at the waist on baseline drives and from the chest up on plays close to the hoop.

I dunno, I see so many comments in the forum about achieving correct white balance and stuff, but haven't read anything about shooting style.

Hey Erica - no strobes, no flash, just good lighting and a 70-200 f2.8. Oak Hill just had their number that night. Every time Meter Dei pulled up close, Oak Hill seemed to answer. Both teams play at an extremely high level. No doubt most of these kids will find homes at good Div 1 teams.

Hey Mark.... yep.. I was over with Coach K. Got some decent shots of him scoping out his new recruits. I also wandered around to. I find it really limiting to shoot from only one area.

Ronnie - I don't do any of that fancy stuff. I am just too uncoordinated to pull that off. I just practice tracking and constantly have the camera re-aquire the subject by tapping the shutter release. It seems to work for me, I get 90% plus in focus on the right subject. I know the old function 4-1 thing works for a lot of people though.

Rebelion.... here is how things ended up. Taylor looked really nervous after the game as he was headed off for some time with coack K. There was a lot on these kids shoulders playing in front of all the media and scouts that were there at the game. I don't think Taylor disappointed. I got tons of shots of him for my files.

Oh - Mater Dei was home.

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Sweet photos.
If only all venues had great lighting.

I can hardly handle my excitement when I have a gym where I can use my 70-200. It's such a great focal length for basketball and the zoom gives you some creative options when shooting.

Thanks so much for the game info. My son was wanting to know how they (MD) did. He could end up playing these guys in a tournament next season. and he is in awe of the MD superstars.

Top self as usual big guy...top self!

Yea I would be nervous playing in front of coach K also. Thanks for the great pics and the scoreboard shot Croasdail.

Did anyone else watch Duke vs. Virginia last night? It was another down to the end finish in over time.Singletary's shot near the end was soo bada$$. I was supprised though that paulas missed the three at the very end. Usually Duke get those kind of breaks.

Nice action ... wish you had EXIF (and IPTC).

Great Captures!....You definitely have the touch...What lens were you using?

DwightMcCann wrote in post #2648808
Nice action ... wish you had EXIF (and IPTC).

Huh.... I didn't do anything to remove it. Oh well. The gallery I posted using Aperture has it in tact because it picked up the captioning info out of it. There were created using CS which I am falling out of love with more and more. Very powerfull but a lot more work. Anyway...

Thanks for the comments everyone... I was wondering if I had gone too closeup with these.

Cheers.