University Gymnastics - Lots to learn yet....

Hi all. This is my first meet of the year. I some ways if came back just as if I hand't had a break. I only shot the bars and the beam this time through. In other ways, I found it really hard to find the appropriate shots for this sports. There are shots that look spectacular, but I would feel uncomfortable having shots of my daughter in that position.... dad vs. photographer thing going on there. Anyway, here are a few from this weeks meet. It was a good meet in that I made relationships with a few new coaches that are interested in my services.... it's all good.

Comments and critique are more then welcome.... please.

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Great shots! I especially like the bar shots--really, really good captures.

Roland

OK, I will have to PP mine to see how they compare. Your's always look better, but we'll see after I PP. Of course you are linking instead of uploading to POTN and that makes a big difference. Now I am a little confused about the exif info on these. There are 2 different names? There is also a zoom lens with a FL > 200mm at f/2.8? I also see you had 2 cameras. The 20D which I have and a 1D. NV! I'm thinking of going 1Ds MarkIII when it comes out even if it requires all new lenses to do 22MP. You had an in with the coaches to go on the floor during competition or did you do the chalk shot far away? I had a chance to get in good with NCSU, I took some back in 2005, the coach was looking for someone, but I didn't come back until now.

I guess what I'm saying is...great job, especially if you're the one I need to strive to beat on gymanstics shots. That's the best compliment I can give.

I need to host my pictures so it is easier to leave the exif info in without sacraficing quality. Now you know why I didn't leave it in my shots. Oh yes, you could have put the link to here in the other post even if it would have made mine look bad. I still need to PP and they were just batched from RAW to go to web.

I can tell by your shots that you have issues with many of the girls positions..and thats fine...I can even understand since I have a 13 year old...but its not like you are "looking" for those kinds of shots, much less looking to embarrass someone. So if the athletes dont have a problem with thier positions I dont think you should either...

easy for me to say how you SHOULD feel huh.....LOL

Well I think you did quite well. This is a challenge in lighting, focus and PP work. I love the detail you pulled and the open space for the OOF backgrounds is a nice thing....

My daughter is 13 and her team runs from 6 - 18.... Sometimes the camera grabs things that in the normal course of an event goes by quickly or un-noticed...I don't post those either. Delete and move on.

Well done.

Randy

Thanks super.... I am just trying to play it super clean. Very very clean until I ave proven myself and my intentions. I'll let the coaches decide what shots they feel comfortable with putting out there. I have them, just won't post them. A buddy of mine coaches ladies soccer at the university level and all it took is one player to make a claim that nearly ruined a near perfect career. Fortunately he kept his reputation clean, and he was given the benifit of doubt. I don't have that track record yet.

Jeff... it was tough. I took way more shots then I normally do to get my quota of keepers. And these took a lot more tlc then I normally have to do in PP to get them even close to usable. Still a long way to go here. But thanks for the comments.

Thanks Roland and Randy..... much appreciated

Very nice, I like the way you show the power in the legs in the second to the last photo.

I don't see anything wrong with the positions. That's just what they do. That's like not taking a shot of figure skating when the guy has the girl in the air just because of how he holds her. It's just how they do things...

As far as the "arty PP" I can't really tell on this laptop...but I'd stick with the "normal PP" - sharpness, saturation, contrast - ie the basics - for sports. Just my opinion though.

nice work, Mark. Nice to have more light on the faces, but I guess it's part of the sport for the face to be in the shade when the athlete is upside-down. and for what it's worth, agree with your discretion. nice cropping job in the 5th.

i think you've done well with the shots you've shared. These look good, and i'm sure the gymnasts would love to have them...jmo

Nice job, good to see integrity! My daughter is 11, I agree, although I don't know that I would have thought of it while composing, surely would have when it came to posting! I'm learning, through my own difficulties, just how hard it is to get the lighting right in settings such as these, with action sometimes quite fast. Very good job, keep up the good work and thanks for pointing out the details for us beginners!

Thanks all for your comments. Gymnastics presents some great photographic opportunities, I am just scrtching the surface on how to take advantage of them.

CDI.... while in principle I agree with ya, it is still a very fine line and I am just choosing to stay well away from it right now.

Jeff.... yes.... two camera bodies and two lenses. Most shots taken from the public areas, though a couple were taken from the floor. My old 1D really struggles with the noise and the 20d really really struggles with focusing. I too am waiting for the what ever is next from Canon.... hoping we have some word next month at PPA.

Mark - These are good -- really, really good! I especially like the mood you've captured in #1 -- it's as if we can see their thoughts as they review their upcoming routines mentally. Perfect timing on #'s 2 through 7 too. #8 doesn't rock my boat but I bet she and her folks love it. Good stuff!

I'm a gymnastics fan, a former athlete, and a coach and believe me, crotch shots are never appealing. Thanks for taking this into consideration when you shoot and when you publish.

Jerry - Yeah... agreed on the last one. I had in my mind what I wanted to do with that one but my skills to get there are lacking. I just have so many shots that are so much the same, I was trying to do something different. Gymnastics is like shooting pitchers, after a while you get your timing going and it becomes rather predictable. Next time I will be trying more with the floor excersizes. The nice thing about gymnastics is you know where the actions going to happen, so you just need to be ready.

Thanks jseens, appreciate the comment. The old crotch shot just doesn't feel right.... and I get more of them then I would like. It's one thing to do the move... it's another to have it frozen in time... if you know what I mean.