I am very happy to report that the fix for my focus/sharpness problems recommended by Eric Smith absolutely worked. I tightened the screws on the mount of my 400 f/2.8 and with well over 1,000 shots taken, I didn't see a single instance of the whacked-out AF behavior I'd been seeing much too often prior to the fix. A WHOPPING thank you to Eric.
Here are 12 images from last night's match between Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy. RSL won 3-1. In a coupe of weeks I'll be shooting the US Men's team in a World Cup qualifier and now, finally, I'm beginning to feel like I'll be ready for that opportunity. C&C welcome.
Russ, nice work. Until I saw the last shot I was going to ask what it's like to shoot a match entirely during daylight.
Odd that you say that about your 400. My EF 400 f/2.8L IS and my 1D MkIV went TOTALLY nuts last weekend during an MLS match, and the A/F was so bad they both had to be sent to CPS. One week, and a couple hondo later, the pair is behaving much better.
Thanks, Dennis. Sorry to hear about your gear problems (and expenses!). RSL matches are starting at 7:30 these days, which means the light is pretty good for much of the match, and then it's terrible--as if a thick, ugly yellow pall is cast over the entire stadium. But my biggest problem is time lost to editing and submitting (which generally means I leave the field in partial daylight and come back to darkness). I bolt to the photo room as soon as the first half ends. It takes at least 5-7 minutes to get there from the pitch (longer if I have to wait long for the elevator), and then the same to get back to the field, so that accounts for halftime. Unlike NBA, where I can find the time to chimp through my images as I'm shooting to lock the ones I want to submit first, I've found that any time I take my attention away from the soccer action, that decision comes back to bite me in the ass, so when I get to the photo room, I've got to upload everything, go through it all, identify the images I want to send right away and also those I'll want to send at the end of the game, edit, caption and send them. I'm missing at least 15 minutes of the second-half action, and even more than that last night because I ended up captioning the wrong versions of the images I was planning to submit!!!! Anyway, all of this is to ask whether you've developed a better system for soccer. Most of us shooting these matches in SLC seem to be in the same boat, but I can't help think there has to be another way...
Russ,
Even on the ipad I see your IQ improvements. Isn't is nice when you are able to take advantage of a simple fix? :-)
For number 1, consider an alternate crop, lop off everything to the right of the right-top side of the last N in Beltran. It refocuses Donovan and makes it look like he is mid-fake.
Russ - have you thought about a wireless remote connection. Would it be possible to upload while on the field? I know there are compact flash with built in wireless capabilities
Many thanks, Guy. I've gone back and forth between #1 as I've presented it and with the crop you've suggested. I can see that some of that space on the far right is 'wasted' in that the background shows through and is more distracting than a player's body. I also can see that by cutting more off of Beltran, it looks like he has been faked out of the frame, and that does add something to Donovan's move. But I can't get past cutting off Donovan's foot, so I'm not convinced what's gained is worth it. I thank you for suggesting it because I enjoy looking at images in different ways, and I too am always looking for alternatives to what I see. Keep 'em coming.
Russ Isabella wrote:
Many thanks, Guy. I've gone back and forth between #1 as I've presented it and with the crop you've suggested. I can see that some of that space on the far right is 'wasted' in that the background shows through and is more distracting than a player's body. I also can see that by cutting more off of Beltran, it looks like he has been faked out of the frame, and that does add something to Donovan's move. But I can't get past cutting off Donovan's foot, so I'm not convinced what's gained is worth it. I thank you for suggesting it because I enjoy looking at images in different ways, and I too am always looking for alternatives to what I see. Keep 'em coming....Show more →
Said in Monty Python esque accent- "who needs the second foot?"
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. You just took a bit step my friend by admitting that you have a screw loose.
Well, based on your lead....My name is Rick. I'm a photographer. I have a screw loose too!!
So glad that Eric's insight helped fix your 400. These are exactly what we have come to expect from you night in and night out. Like all of them -- the only one I'm not nuts about is the last -- and it has nothing to do with the image as much as the color of the light you had to deal with.
Hey Russ, BINGO That's what the 400 f/2.8 is supposed to do in the hands of an expert ! No more focus issues here and you're back to your normal great soccer captures. Like how you provided some similar shots from previous post. Certainly shows how tightening those screws solved the issue. Also agree with the logic that cutting off Donovan's left foot provides a less powerful frame where one's eye tugs at the brain to fill in the missing body part vs holding the attention on the action presented.
Russ Isabella wrote:
Anyway, all of this is to ask whether you've developed a better system for soccer. Most of us shooting these matches in SLC seem to be in the same boat, but I can't help think there has to be another way...
Eric: Like a charm! I'm very grateful. Thank you.
Hi Russ:
This might be a stupid suggestion, but can't you do your edits pitch side? At most places I shoot I try to do as much as I can on the spot where I shoot. In soccer it's not that hard since they let you bring as much gear as you want on the sidelines. Here most photogs have their laptops with them on the sidelines and some even do their photo selection / edit / captioning / sending during the game. As far as uploading goes, there is free WiFi (but it tends to clog up pretty fast) as well as the protected stadium WiFi but some people also go through a mobile connection (either tether through their phones or through another mobile device). Of course this will depends on how fast your connection is and how many photos you send, but on the other end, once you are sending the pictures you can turn around and start shooting again so connection speed (or lack thereof) isn't that big of a deal usually.
That's what the 400 f/2.8 is supposed to do in the hands of an expert ! No more focus issues here and you're back to your normal great soccer captures. Like how you provided some similar shots from previous post. Certainly shows how tightening those screws solved the issue. Also agree with the logic that cutting off Donovan's left foot provides a less powerful frame where one's eye tugs at the brain to fill in the missing body part vs holding the attention on the action presented.