Home Run Swing - No Ball

With all the threads lately about timing the ball-on-bat, I thought it might be interesting to post a shot I got during a game today of a home run swing with no ball (and barely a bat).

May 29, 2008; Milwaukee, Wisconsin -
Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira (24) watches the flight of his three run home run during the fifth inning of an MLB game at Miller Park between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Braves, won by the Braves 8-1.

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Sweet image! Very nice.

Very nice Dennis.

Fabulous images Dennis. I hope all of the aspiring small ball shooters see this and realize that the BOB shot is truly over-hyped. I'd take that top image over every BOB shot I've ever seen.

Coming out of the box is my absolute favorite shot. Excellent stuff!

Both shots are awesome I like #2

I can't say enough good about that first image Dennis. I agree with Chris in a huge way that coming out of the box shots are just fantastic and probably my favorites.

Question though, am I misreading your exif. Says auto exposure but the actual settings look to be anything but. What gives?

Nice shots, Dennis. Shame about the Hardy shot, though it's still a great capture.

namasste - exif reads AV.

namasste wrote in post #5622743
I can't say enough good about that first image Dennis. I agree with Chris in a huge way that coming out of the box shots are just fantastic and probably my favorites.

Question though, am I misreading your exif. Says auto exposure but the actual settings look to be anything but. What gives?

Scott, and all - Thanks.

This was an odd game, from an exposure standpoint. The game started with the roof open (apparently the first time all year) but by the third inning, they closed it in anticipation of showers that never materialized. With the roof open, Miller Park is sorta like a regular ballpark, and you can get away with shooting manual for much of the game. However, with the roof closed, the light can vary by as much as a whole stop across the field (from home plate to the infielders, for example).

So, to answer your question, I shot the whole game in Av, and used EC to vary my exposure based on monitoring my histograms. My guess is whichever EXIF program you're using interprets Av as an "Auto" program. One of the ones I use call it "Progam Mode", If you scoured the EXIF data, Aperture Priority is probably buried in there somewhere.

Here is the complete info, per EXIF Viewer:

Exposure Time: 1/4000 sec
F-Number: f/4.0
Exposure Program: Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating: 1250
Lens Aperture: f/4.0
Exposure Bias: 1/3 EV
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length: 400.00 mm
Color Space Information: sRGB
Image Width: 533
Image Height: 800
Rendering: Normal
Exposure Mode: Auto
White Balance: Auto
Scene Capture Type: Standard

The first photo is a great shot and a winner. Nice work!

Dave

Both shots are superb. I wouldn't say one is better than the other. The only thing I would do is a tiny extra crop on the 1st shot, to remove the tiny bit of the catcher(?) on the left, poking into the shot. Other than that superb. Love the 2nd shot of guy in full flight and missing (or did he manage to stop it?) the ball!!

Nice work.

Dave and Harm- Thanks. Yeah, I noticed the catcher after I had already submitted the image. To crop him out would have put the end of Teixeira's bat right at the very edge of the image, which might not be the best. I'm restricted to a 3x2 aspect ratio, so cropping that tight on the left side might also impact the rest of the shot.

On the second image, yes Hardy made the stop (more of a smother than a stop, since he knocked the ball down rather than catching it), but his flip to 2B Ricky Weeks at second base was too late for the force out.

Thanks for looking!
Dennis

dmwierz wrote in post #5625278
Dave and Harm- Thanks. Yeah, I noticed the catcher after I had already submitted the image. To crop him out would have put the end of Teixeira's bat right at the very edge of the image, which might not be the best.

Yes, I thought about that too - in terms of the crop being too tight to the bat. Perhaps cloning is another option too, to make it a sure fire winner.

Harm wrote in post #5625289
Yes, I thought about that too - in terms of the crop being too tight to the bat. Perhaps cloning is another option too, to make it a sure fire winner.

I think youre making a mountain out of a mole hill here. Instead of worrying about cropping or cloning or anything else, why dont you just accept the fact that not every picture can be perfect and take the example that Dennis posted for what it is. Its a great capture that illustrates that there is more to batting pictures than just ball-on-bat. Could it be better if that tiny bit of catcher wasnt there? Maybe...but I dont think he was sharing this for a portfolio critique

Love it!