Tips on...<Shooting at a rodeo>

• Start by attending small-town rodeos. This will let u in get close and personal, as close as the arena fence. Having good day light si critical for high shutter speeds and high ISO
• Set your camera for continuous focus and ensure you use most or all of the focus point on your camera 11 on the E-3
• Use a fast telephoto, something around at least 300mm, but not so big that you can hand hold it. It can cover most of the arenas (Regular rodeo arenas are 2/3's the size of a foot ball field)
• You might have to increase the ISO to ensure you can keep camera shake so 400 in full sun you can shoot at f/8 at 1/1000 of a sec. If your camera can cover 1600 then you can go to f/111 at 1/2000, this way you can ensure that you will still get a sharp shot in the case your camera's autofocus was focusing on the bull's nose and not on the rider's/
• Sometimes the noise grainess on the shot if processed correctly can look very good for rodeo shots

del.icio.us Tags: rodeo,sports,action,movement,cowboy

Tips on...<Cricket>

• Bring a tripod and teleconverters if available
• Start by setting the lense first, then the converter, then the camera
• A tripod makes sense as cricket has a lot of stops on the game, and gives you the ability to move around
• Positioning parallel to the wicket will allow you to get some cool blur shots of the crowd
• If playing Twenty20 then you get the advantage of having color uniforms and colored wickets which make it easier to stand out
• Depending on where you are positioned, spend some time with each type of player hoping they make a play, spend some time on the bowler, the batsman or hoping a fielder makes a catch
• Some great and classic shots are of those at focusing at the wicket, the batter gets bowled and wait for the bails to fly out up in the air.
• Arrive early on the game, a tripod or monopod should be required.
• Pay attention to the background as there will be lots of crowds and make sure the color doesnt interfere or makes the focal point gets lost
• Be ready for every ball. there is nothing worse than missing a ball and realizing it would hae the best shot of the day.
• Concentrate and try to anticipate what is going to happen. If the batsmen are runing quickly between the wickets then try focusing on the wicketkeeper in case there is a run out. If the ball is hit high in the air try to get a photograph of the ball being caught or dropped by the fielder
• You will need a long lens for cricket. A 400mm is probably the shortest lens that u can get away with. The action will always be 60 to 80 yards away/ Converters are a cheaper way to get this done
• Look around you, there might be a good picture away from the field. Children watching, old men sleeping, people in the scoreboard.

del.icio.us Tags: cricket,assignment,outdoor,speeds,sports,suggested speeds,movement,freeze Action

Tips on...<SportPhotography>

Right Kit

• Get the lense with the widest aperture you can find to be able to shot in low light
• Your DSRL should have a good burst mode measured in frames per second
• Monopod makes sense for certain sports, otherwise it would limit yoour mobility on the field

Know the climate

• If you are going to cold weather, keep your batteries warm to maintain battery life, having them on your pocket close to your body is a good idea
• If too hot, bring water and sun screen, also if your bag has some deflective material use it to try to keep your equipment cool

Tell a story

• Usually everybody focuses on an sporting event on the usual shots of the man of the match, the goal, the save and the victory, step out of the euphoria and focus on the losing team, defeat, frame their reaction against the celebrations, this will make you stand out from the crowd

Stay alert

• Dont stop shooting after the action stops. Resist the temptation to start looking at your LCD screen, lots of humourus, interesting pictures can be taken when the play stops

White water

• Scout the route before hand, spot the best location, try and do it while other people are practicing to see the difficulty levels.
• Practice on your local water sports center
• Bring a fast telephoto.

Keep your eye on the ball

• If the sport includes some sort of object such as ball, javelin, or other try to shoot it in the context of the player, sports person to show some context
• Try to predict the shot, prefocus on that area to get the shot.
• In some events youy might have to trade off and shoot in JPG to ensure you can get enough shots of the action on those long burst

Know your sport

• Learn the sport you are shooting, this will tell you where to locate on the field, when to change position, and when the dynamics of the game could change

Photograph spectators

• Capture the enthusiasm of people on the bleachers
• Look for die-hard fans dressed up for the match
• Dont forget to check the crowd's reaction at key moments on the game

Invoke a response

• Once you are mastering the technical aspects, but ensure you are ensuring your shots are creating an emotion on the viewer

Tips on...<Motorcycle racing>

• Get a map of the race track and scout a location, get a program this will also tell you where fences are, corner names, overtaking curves, etc
• Attend qualifying rounds, less people more freedom of movement
• As raiders accelerate out of a corner bikes often lift the front wheel making for great shots
• Fences along the trail can be problematic a good suggestion is
• Set Aperture Priority an F8 or 10 on a 600mm lense and move the ISO to get the shutter speed sloe enough to capture movement in tires and disk brakes
• Wait for the bike to arrive at the spot you have selected.
• Try a different spot on the track so shots dont get boring and repetitive
• Try your panning skills
  • Go to shutter priority
  • 1/125 and 1/250 secs shutter speed
• Equipment
  • 600 mm lens
  • 70-200 mm lens (in case you are close to the action in the curves)
  • 1.4X teleconverter in case is needed
  • Monopod could be useful for added stabilization

del.icio.us Tags: bikes,motor,motorcycles,panning,races,shooting ideas,speed,suggested settings

Tips on...<Classic Cars>

What to take

• Camera and a 70-200 telephoto lense (or close to that range)
• Walking boots and hat
• Food and Water
• Sun block
• Get a program to assess the circuit

Tips

• Approach static classic car as you would human portraits. Use a zoom lens and an aperture of around 5.6 or 8 to throw the background out of focus and keep the car the focal point
• Shooting from a low angle adds impact
• Soft clouds make give smoother shadows and texture to the metal shapes and curves while early lighting is much more flattering than the light of midday
• The small details on a classic car are often exquisite. Bonnet mascots, dashboards, lights and bodywork curves are all great reasons to bring a macro lense. Use an aperture of f/8 at close quarters to give a smooth out-of-focus background, while keeping the main subject sharp.
• Be aware of people wondering in the shot, unwanted reflections can ruin a great composition
• If there are some racing involved, get early to the pits to get shots of mechanics these make for great B&W shots,
• Also on racing, get to the circuit early and keep an eye on the sun direction (be prepared to move around as the sun does)
• Pack enough memory cards to really practice that panning technique and vary shutter speeds between 1/1250 secs and 1/500 secs depending on the speed of the car.
• For dealing with crowds a good trick is to work with them, bring a tripod with a shutter speed of 2 secs and at f/22 will make the car stand out from the blur of the crowd
• Ensure you take pictures of clean cars, they are much more photogenic that even the midly dirty ones.
• Shoot details early in the day before dust and fingerprints appear
• Get to know the owner they might be open to the idea of a separate photo shoot later, outside of the event
• Understand what you are shooting, do your homework and get to know the famous or historically important cars seek out rare cars as your pictures can make it part of historical records
• Work with available light, early morning light is very flattering for the metal on the car.
• A cloudy day with a touch of fill-in flash is preferable to direct sunshine.
• Fill in the frame with color and detail. Simple frame filling shots are often the most striking. Concentrate on one detail, color or shape, with classic cars most details are exquisite and well worth a shot)
• Take care when shooting reflections -look for shapes and textures reflected in shiny paintwork and mirrors

Be aware of reflections

Focus on the details