Great shots Russ, the rain really adds to that feeling of motion or action.

i'm jealous, great stuff

Hi Russ:

Now these have the pop I thought your previous series was missing. Great job on these.

Ted

Russ...great shots showing some intense action. I live in Pennsylvania and we have a small local Division 3 college nearby (about 2 miles away) called Messiah which I understand has pretty good mens and womens soccer teams. Never been to a game and may take one in.

Many thanks, Mike.

Ronnie: Thanks, and I see what you mean, especially when the rolling ball is kicking up a visible trail of water droplets.

Grant: No need but thanks!

Ted: Thank you. Yeah, that last series was a bit washed out, which I think can be attributed a bit to PP, but mostly to the very bright sun.

Thanks godfreyz. Well, I believe Messiah's women won the national championship last year and they're currently ranked #1 (Puget Sound was at the top for a few weeks). So I guess I'd have to say they have a "pretty good" team . Perhaps they (Puget Sound and Messiah) will meet during the post-season. You definitely should check out a game. Gotta be some very good soccer.

i hipe you don't mind:

1. nice action...too bad the faces weren't more straight on though
2. awkward crop/composition, no ball detracts from the action
3. too many backs for me, nice face on goalie though
4. nice but more room over her head would make it even better
5. superb but maybe a little too hot

Russ..

I lurk the sport corner alot, and rarely comment, as I can't hold a candle to anything in here, even on a bad day. You commented on some sailing shots I posted many eons ago when no one else did, and I have been following much of your soccer posts ever since.

Just had to drop a note on how much I look forward to seeing your newest set of shots of your daughter and the sport. I just love they way you capture it, and look forward to seeing your work.

Thanks for the images
dan

These are wonderful. Great job.

David

Randy: I don't mind at all. It's always very helpful to 'see' my work through someone else's eyes. Thanks for the detailed feedback. Only one I'll question is #3, because I've thought about these issues with this shot. Other possibilities (with goal keeper in same position) are: 1) no other players so it's a clear shot of the goalie, which would be a great shot but the kind to grab in warm-ups only to be questioned about whether it's a warm-up shot (which, by the way is an interesting question becaue if it's a good shot and you can't tell whether it's game or warm-ups, why does it matter?); 2) both other players also facing the camera, which wouldn't make any sense and isn't going to happen; 3) from an angle that would grab the faces of the two standing players and the keeper from behind. I don't disagree with your comment, and maybe the shot is a throwaway, but if there's something in this shot's action worth capturing, your comments raise the question of what it would look like. (Not arguing, mind you. This is the kind of process I like to think through for each 'select' shot, so I appreciate your contribution to the 'conversation.' )

Dan: Many thanks you for your very kind words. Humbling. And hey, do not be afraid to comment. There's much to be learned, taught, and otherwise batted about on this forum and I'm sure your involvement would be welcome.

David: Glad you liked 'em. Thank you.

I’m envious Russ. My daughter had offers from a number of colleges and we could have been shooting some of these games together but she got burned out and decided to hang up the boots. She’s a freshman at WWU now and I keep hoping she’ll change her mind and walk on but no luck so far. I just bite my lip and keep my mouth shut though.

Curious about your “warm up shot” comment, especially with all the ethics controversy on this board of late. I put warm up shots in the same category of cloning. Unless you clearly indicate in the caption or the post, warm up shots are a no no.

I recall a recent controversy around a photo contest where suspicions were raised about an image that had won or at least placed that some suspected may have been a warm up shot. Obviously not acceptable for editorial submission for the same reason photojournalists have lost their job for cloning out undesirable objects in a frame.

I don’t want to hijack your thread from the very nice images you posted from my back yard but it might be interesting to have a thread discussing photojournalist ethics.

George: I completely understand your feelings about your daughter's decision. It'll be hard when my daughter stops playing, whenever that is. Yet, like you, I also can understand your daughter's feelings about being burned out. It's a long haul, and in my daughter's case, she's been doing this since she was 4 years old.

Regarding the warm-up question, I realize in the face of your comments that my perspective wasn't properly spelled out. I come at this purely from wanting to capture shots that parents would want to buy. And from that perspective, I can't see why it would matter whether the shot were from warm-ups or a game. A nice action shot of a keeper is a nice action shot of a keeper (and typically there isn't going to be anyone else in the shot). Also, plenty of stock shots can come from warm-ups (think baseball cards), and there isn't any implication otherwise, so I don't see any ethical issues. Now, if we're talking editorial, then I would agree that trying to pass off a warm-up shot for game action would be unethical, and would involve providing a misleading caption. On the other hand, I imagine there could be room in a paper for a state-best goal keeper warming up, as long as the caption made clear that the shot came from warm-ups.

Ultimately, I feel it depends on how the shots are being used. Nothing inherently wrong or bad or unethical about a warm-up shot, though I can see how one might be used in a misleading and thus unethical manner.

Russ Isabella wrote:
George: I completely understand your feelings about your daughter's decision. It'll be hard when my daughter stops playing, whenever that is. Yet, like you, I also can understand your daughter's feelings about being burned out. It's a long haul, and in my daughter's case, she's been doing this since she was 4 years old.

Regarding the warm-up question, I realize in the face of your comments that my perspective wasn't properly spelled out. I come at this purely from wanting to capture shots that parents would want to buy. And from that perspective, I can't see why it would matter whether the shot were from warm-ups or a game. A nice action shot of a keeper is a nice action shot of a keeper (and typically there isn't going to be anyone else in the shot). Also, plenty of stock shots can come from warm-ups (think baseball cards), and there isn't any implication otherwise, so I don't see any ethical issues. Now, if we're talking editorial, then I would agree that trying to pass off a warm-up shot for game action would be unethical, and would involve providing a misleading caption. On the other hand, I imagine there could be room in a paper for a state-best goal keeper warming up, as long as the caption made clear that the shot came from warm-ups.

Ultimately, I feel it depends on how the shots are being used. Nothing inherently wrong or bad or unethical about a warm-up shot, though I can see how one might be used in a misleading and thus unethical manner.

My daughter has played year round since 5 or 6 as well and shooting her games are still the highlight of sports photography for me, even compared to shooting the World Cup.

I don’t disagree with your comments about "warm up shots" and other than the perspective you added related to selling images to parents, hope I said the same thing. I submit images outside of game action all the time; I just make sure my caption clearly indicates as much. I try to be consistant even when posting an image on a photo forum such as this one.

You obviously understand the different standards but time and time again controversy rears its ugly head around the few that don’t. I guess I was looking at this as a “teaching moment” for some perspective journalists that might not yet realize the high standard demanded for editorial work since that seems to be a goal many are working towards.

Sharp stuff and wait, progeny included! Must have been a great time all around, well done!

Great to see a Soccer post from you Russ. I havn't been on the boards much lately, so it's nice to see your still at it. #4 looks very familiar .Did she transfer schools ?

My Daughter played her last Soccer season this past Spring. They went one game from playing in the State Finals, farthest a Fenton Soccer team has gone. She has now started her first year of College and Soccer is a thing of the past for her.

Thanks for sharing, Scott

Nice work again Russ, I really enjoy your take on the action and flow of the game as much as the technical accuracy you display

Great shots! UPS is right down the street from me(@10mins). I'll need to make a game or two..
RonBaltazar

Shane: Good to see you here. It's been a while. Thanks.

Hey Scott: Same deal, good to see you (and your familiar avatar) in the Sports Corner. Thanks for your comments. I'm pretty sure I remember you following the end of your daughter's high school soccer career. I'm sure you miss it, and I hope she's enjoying her freshman year. Yes, my daughter transferred and it's working out very well all the way around.

Darren: Thank you! I appreciate your feedback.

Ron: Hey, you should check out a game. Only two left in the regular season, this Friday and Saturday, both at 11:00 a.m. Glad you liked the shots.