I'm heading back out to the diamond tomorrow and want to try that famous, slightly overused, frozen baseball shot. Where the pitcher is out of focus but the baseball is sharp and crisp. I'm sure I can experiment and figure it out, but I remember a guide that was posted on here a while back and would love to read it again before I head out.
The search function isn't working and I googled to no avail. Can somebody at least remind me of what name it's been given? I can't remember it for the life of me!
If your trying to do what I think your trying to do I wish you lots of luck cause you are surely going to need it.
IE are you trying to track the ball as it leaves the pitchers hand? Unless you are directly behind the plate this will be somewhat of a tough gig to pull off.
Hey Darryn, great last name. Maybe we're related somehow.
Actually I can get a great seat directly behind the plate. I've used this for some cool shots before but I really want to do the "artsy" thing for a change.
There's really not a lot to it. It's trial and error, really. But... there are times to do it and times where even if you nail it, it's still really a ho hum shot.
Here are the environmental and game conditions that should be surveyed before attempting it.
1) Early morning or late day sidelighting on the field tends to work best. When looking at Detrick's shot, it's not so much the fact that the ball is frozen that makes it such a dramatic shot, but the lighting.
2) Detrick's settings were different from mine. For one, I underexposed about 1 to 1.5 stops. I wanted the highlighting on the baseball to standout and not be blown out. This is one of the rare occassions where the equipment is the subject (the baseball) and not the player.
3) The mechanics and follow through of the pitcher is essential. If you don't get an interesting leg kick, don't do it.
4) Background should be nice and clean. Players back there can take away from the impact.
5) The rest is trial and error, focusing on an area between mound and plate and trying to sync up a tack sharp baseball en route to the plate at the same time where the pitcher's leg kick reaches its apex.
This is one of those shots that I keep playing with, but haven't gotten real excited about yet. This was my last result...this was the best of grabs from 4 or 5 pitches.
The setup is pretty much what Paul describes. I looked for a spot between the pitcher and home where the ball aligned nicely, and was not too high. Set a focus zone there and tried to time it so I fired when the ball entered the focused zone.
Well, here's my take! I may have a couple other takes to show but I think this is the best one. I managed to get the ball a little sharper a few times but the overall scene wasn't as good.
Heh heh... I think we ALL need to keep in mind that a "HO HUM" shot for Mr Alessi is usually a golden keeper worthy of throwing a party for us mere mortals. I like the first effort there personally Jeffery. Very well captured.
Nice thing about having Mr. Alessi around though... he certainly gives us all something to strive for. Cheers!
? Unless you are directly behind the plate this will be somewhat of a tough gig to pull off.