Bob: The feeling is mutual, my friend. Thank you. But it looks like I"ve more 'work' to do until you realize how talented a shooter you are.
Jay: Thank you for your comments and your question. I can't justify #3 as a 'top-tier' shot--that's a judgment call in the eye of the beholder. But I'm happy to explain my decision to post this shot.
For one thing, I'm always trying for something a bit different from the kinds of shots I get dozens of throughout the course of a season (6 meets). But more important, I think, is my frustration over the fact it's virtually impossible to nail the 'perfect capture' of this type of release move. It's an incredible and, I assume based on the force with which gymnasts hit the mat when they miss the catch, very difficult and dangerous move. The common thinking is that this would be best captured from the front, but two problems with that are, first, facial expressions often are horrible (like their face is readying for contact with the mat at the same time their brain and body are working toward recapturing the bar), and second, at the absolute peak of the move, the anatomical focus of the image is something I'd rather stay away from. In the shot I posted, I judge her to be very much at the peak of her move, with her feet as high and about as far behind her head as they're going to get. Her form is excellent and both feet are visible. It's not without doubt that I made the decision to post it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.....I do appreciate your question. The thought that goes into all of this--before, during and after the event--is in some ways the part I like best. Thus, I'm always happy to share some of that when requested.
Russ - I'll add my "bravo" to the others - really nice photos.
#5, 6, and13 are my picks, with #8 looking like a nice jube moment for the team. #2 in your second set is very nice too.
I saw your mention of having white mats, but for me, the lighting w/ shadows is really nice as is - the chalk dust and other details shows up nice with the back lighting being more dominant.
Russ Isabella wrote:
Jay: Thank you for your comments and your question. I can't justify #3 as a 'top-tier' shot--that's a judgment call in the eye of the beholder. But I'm happy to explain my decision to post this shot.
For one thing, I'm always trying for something a bit different from the kinds of shots I get dozens of throughout the course of a season (6 meets). But more important, I think, is my frustration over the fact it's virtually impossible to nail the 'perfect capture' of this type of release move. It's an incredible and, I assume based on the force with which gymnasts hit the mat when they miss the catch, very difficult and dangerous move. The common thinking is that this would be best captured from the front, but two problems with that are, first, facial expressions often are horrible (like their face is readying for contact with the mat at the same time their brain and body are working toward recapturing the bar), and second, at the absolute peak of the move, the anatomical focus of the image is something I'd rather stay away from. In the shot I posted, I judge her to be very much at the peak of her move, with her feet as high and about as far behind her head as they're going to get. Her form is excellent and both feet are visible. It's not without doubt that I made the decision to post it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.....I do appreciate your question. The thought that goes into all of this--before, during and after the event--is in some ways the part I like best. Thus, I'm always happy to share some of that when requested....Show more →
Thanks, Russ. Exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for I appreciate you taking the time to explain.
Geee - was there only one team there Seriously, these are great. I have been so involved in a project at work that I haven't had time to do much of anything besides work. Actually, you have been to more UGA Gymnastics meets than I have this year! I hope to change that next weekend though. I knew that I had a missed 3 home meets, but I didn't even realize that girls had traveled to Utah until until my wife mentioned it; that reminded me that I need to log on to this site for the first time this year. Sounds like it was a very exciting meet. Keep up the good work!
Jon: Thanks for your feedback. Interesting thoughts about the lighting with shadows.
Jay: No problem. Thanks again for asking.
Hey Frank, I appreciate it.
Andy: Sorry to hear you've been so busy that you haven't even had time for Georgia gymnastics. You're at risk of being pegged as a fairweather fan! I hope your daughters are still able to get to the meets. As for shooting the "other" team, it just isn't feasible. Not only am I hired to shoot Utah, but positioning alone makes it almost impossible to be in the best position to shoot Utah and also be where I'd need to be to shoot the other team. Even more of an issue, though, is my need to go through some 2,000 images very quickly immediately after the meet so that I can process and edit a small batch for posting along with the University's online news release. I cringe just thinking about adding any more shots to contend with. Finally, more shots = more storage and more times swapping cf/sd cards. So yeah, I could grab a couple of shots here and there, and in fact I did shoot a few of Georgia on beam from my distant location shooting floor, but I've decided to avoid that temptation. Thanks for your comments, and I hope the end of your project is in sight!
Billy: You're welcome. Now, about your daughter the gymnast....
L O L Russ. I hated that I missed her meet, but I had 3 shoots to do. She has had a tough year at Level 6 (by her standards), so she was thrilled to finally be back on top.
This was her last Level 6 meet and she is very excited to move on to optionals so she can incorporate more of her tumbling into her floor routine and personaize her beam routine to highlight her strengths. It will be a fun season upcoming, with a lot of "firsts" for Anna, her mother and I.
Billy: Sounds like exciting times for Anna, you and mom. I wish her the best. I'm sure it is a thrill for her to think about adding her own elements to her routines. I'll be waiting to see some pics!
Thanks, Ronnie. Gymnastics is only a few months out of the year for me, but I'd miss it if I wasn't shooting it.
Thanks, Ted. The only thing missing in this sport is defense!
See here I was think that all your gymnastics sets are starting to look familiar and then I realized that I looked at these already and didn't post.
I don't know what access you have to strobes, but have you ever thought of doing some stylized lighting (maybe you already have) with floor routines and maybe some balance beam (I don't know if you could get bars or vault from a motion blur point of view). Obviously not during competition, though.
As to what you said about the school replacing the floor with white instead of blue, that's one thing I've never liked about wrestling photography is the different mat colors, especially black and dark green or purple.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain.
to you Russ. Can't say much more that hasn't been said.
I hope your daughters are still able to get to the meets. As for shooting the "other" team, it just isn't feasible. Not only am I hired to shoot Utah, but positioning alone makes it almost impossible to be in the best position to shoot Utah and also be where I'd need to be to shoot the other team. Even more of an issue, though, is my need to go through some 2,000 images very quickly immediately after the meet so that I can process and edit a small batch for posting along with the University's online news release. I cringe just thinking about adding any more shots to contend with. Finally, more shots = more storage and more times swapping cf/sd cards. So yeah, I could grab a couple of shots here and there, and in fact I did shoot a few of Georgia on beam from my distant location shooting floor, but I've decided to avoid that temptation. Thanks for your comments, and I hope the end of your project is in sight!