Most exciting football game I've ever shot by a long shot, and easily one of the most exciting I've ever been to. Utah scored 11 unanswered points in the last 89 seconds of the game to pull off the victory, run their record to 6-0, and improve the Mountain West Conference's record against the Pac-10 to 6-1 this year. 'Nuff said. Here are some photos. (Looks like all but #3 were with the 1DsMKIII at ISO 3200; #3 with MKIIN at ISO 1600.) C&C welcome.
After Utah scored a touchdown with about 1:30 remaining to come within two points of Oregon State, a two-point conversion attempt led to an incomplete pass, but this premature tackle of the intended receiver gave the Utes another chance.
After a kickoff and a quick three-and-out by Oregon State (took only 23 seconds), Utah made enough progress to let the clock run down to 2 seconds and bring in their kicker, Louie Sakoda, who's up for just about every award out there a college kicker could be up for. 37 yarder.
These are GREAT, with #3 being my fav! Must have been very exciting to shoot such a game! Reminds me of the GREATEST college football game I've ever been too, A&M vs Baylor in 1986. Aggies overcame a 17-0 deficit to win the game 31-30 at Kyle Field in a cold drizzling day. The good old days of Southwest Conference...
Russ. great work. I know exactly how you feel, as ASU went 8-0 last year before their bubble burst. It's great stuff huh?
I like your shots but I want to see more head on shots, maybe work the end zone a little more? Does your team prefer throwing or running to a side?
One other thing: I notice a slight cast on the images. Even at their reddest, these images have a touch of blue/green in em. Are you shooting AWB or CWB, or a preset? It looks consistent from shot to shot, so I can't help but think your lights aren't phased.
I'm knitpicking, but I think that getting those reds to come out perfectly red, and getting some more action going your way would really work to make your already good images better.
You do know he's a local, right? I mean it's not like they have a geographically unbiased grounds crew that travels to and from different games. In fact, the person probably is a student at the school. And he's being paid a set fee (grounds crew just gets like a stipend, depends on the school and what not)
And he's literally 5 feet away from a touchdown.
And he's supposed to what? do nothing.
If you were a reporter, or a photographer, there's a specific reason to not be biased: your work is being pushed to the public en masse.
His job isn't like that. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say: wow, that sound guy is really biased, I can't believe I'm watching this TV station. They really ruined it for me by pushing their opinion on me.
PShizzy wrote:
One other thing: I notice a slight cast on the images. Even at their reddest, these images have a touch of blue/green in em. Are you shooting AWB or CWB, or a preset? It looks consistent from shot to shot, so I can't help but think your lights aren't phased.
I love the shots, but I see the cast as well, Max.
Man, that would've been a great one to witness. Good stuff, Russ!
I don’t think it was televised here, but I did see the highlights. Being a Beaver fan, I’m a little disappointed, specially since they defeated #1 ranked USC last week, but it did look like a good game. I’d rather watch good games rather than blowouts. These aren’t bad for ISO 3200, and much better than your night time ISO 3200 soccer shots you posted recently. Something to be said for the lights at this game. Can’t get that kind of performance out of my D2H.
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Gary
Will Fly for Food... and more Nikon stuff
Matthew: Thanks! Go Aggies, eh? It's taken me about 7 hours to finall get it, and I'm with ya!
Cecil: 300/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 IS
Hey thanks, John. Yes, very exciting. The crowd was riled up from the first play from scrimmage, filled to capacity...great atmosphere.
trenchmonkey: Thank you.
Thanks Patrick. You saw the most exciting part of the game, no doubt.
Dave: Yeah, good night to be in red. Thanks for your comments.
PShizzle: I always appreciate your comments, so this ol' white guy says thanks! I actually shot more from the end zones than usual (for me), taking advantage of the ISO 3200 of the DsIII and using the extender (since I don't have a 400/2.8). But I also ended up shooting from behind the play quite a bit, so your comments are well taken. Below I'll post some that are more 'head-on.' I also am not quite happy with the color. I shot AWB. When I had the time and inclination to set a custom WB, there was too much daylight for it to be of much use to me once the stadium lights were the sole source of light. I do see what you're talking about, but it's a damn nuisance trying to get it just right, and I don't think I've had much success.
Thanks, Sam. Sentiment around here is that it's be incredible if both Utah and BYU could be undefeated when they meet in November. Indeed it would.
datsdof: He might very well have been bounced off the ground by the ruckus going on around him .
James: Yup, a great one to be a part of. Thanks for the confirmation on the color cast.
Gary: You're right about these being better than those soccer shots, which were underexposed by at least a stop. Thanks.
As a present OSU student... it pains me. For being a 12 pt underdog, they put out a good game all the same. As much as I'd like the game to have ended in the 3rd quarter, you did a great job capturing it all the same.
Russ... I think number 2 is my favorite. I noticed you are using the 1Ds Mark III. I have been leaving it at home and using a pair of Mark III's. You pleased at 3200? I will have to give it a try next game. Which Lens. 200 1.8 or 300 f2.8?
Thanks
Mike
How do you post more than 3 images and work the text by each number
Daniel: I feel your pain. And you're right, Oregon State put on a good game! I'm sure I was not alone in believing, with 2 minutes left in the game, that it was completely over for Utah. They hadn't done much of anything in the second half to lead anyone to believe they had it in them to rally in the way they did. I guess that's what made it so exciting. Hey, just keep thinking about last week . And thanks for your comments.
Mike: Thanks. If I had a MKIII, I'm sure I'd be using it, but the DsIII definitely holds its own, and the extra stop shooting at ISO 3200 (I don't like to go beyond 1600 with my MKIIN) gives a nice boost to my shutter speed, or gives me the leeway to throw on the 1.4x under the lights. Lenses were the 300/2.8 and 70-200/2.8. As for posting more than 3 images, it's only possible if you're not using FM's image upload. My photos are hosted on another server and linked from there.
Wow, great pics - and yes, great game. As a Y fan, I'm looking forward to Nov 22. I've got tickets, but may not be there as my son's HS team will potentially be playing in the Provincial HS Finals that weekend.
