How I Shot That - Figure Skating Bullfighter
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| Sony 70-200 f4 OSS G: http://amzn.to/2F3YYR2 Camera is Sony a6000 - http://amzn.to/2ELLKIr |
Back in the late summer of 2017, I was at an event called State Games of America (SGA). This is an Olympic style of athletic competition open to competitors in all 50 states. I found that SGA had a photography competition, and that they would give you all access to the sporting events. You then get introduced to all sort of people all across the nation.
One of the most attended sports is figure skating. I've been around this sport for a long time, nearly as long as I've known my wife (the coach in this sport). She had 5 kids participating in various levels and events. This kid, Daren, started with her and now lives on the east coast.
But back to what I had to do in figuring out the event and getting the best possible photos of these participants. I knew that my current lense wasn't going to be enough. The lense I had been using for skating up till now was a 50mm f 1.8 OSS. It is great for when the kids are pretty close. But it makes for a lot of work down the line. I needed to rent something nice.
I went to Lens Rentals .com and was able to reserve the 70-200mm f4 OSS G (probably should have gotten the f2.8 GM, but that was too much money for what I wanted at the time). This along with my crop sensor a6000 would give me an effective focal length of 300mm at the farthest reach. In other words, If I had to shoot photos all the way down at one corner of the rink, I could still fill most of the frame with the skater all the way down at the other end of the ice.
When I first got to the rink, I had to get my media packet and find my places. I wasn't going to photo 'everything' so I needed to get situated for when I was going to be there. I quickly found one of the nicest things at this event, where these rinks usually have glass set up for hockey, they had places in the corners with the glass removed. These were photographer hot spots! But I needed to make sure I had access, it wasn't a reserved place. There is a lot to be said for having presence in any job you are performing. And that is what I did, didn't take up too much space, but when I moved, I made my moves seem precise and required. This way, other parents, or unauthorized Photographers wouldn't get in the way. I must say, the other event authorized photogs knew how to find a close spot, but not get in the way.
The day I shot Darren (pictured above) was the 2nd day of competition. These skaters at these levels were much faster. To get the motion blur as reduced as possible, I had to get the shutter speed up to 1/800 a second. The lighting was pretty good, but I still needed to go as high as ISO 2000 and my f-stop was as wide as it could be at f-4.
Another way to prepare is to get some shots off during the warm up session. I was able to get the group of skaters before their program in a few practice shots. Thankfully, this let me know Darren jumps high. I was able to keep the camera steady, and maybe move a little bit to account for the jump, but still get everything. Thankfully, my camera can go as high as 11 frames a second, so getting him in front wasn't so hard. I have many other photos of the man and my favorites from that event. https://lifeexposure.smugmug.com/State-Games-of-America-2017/Favorite-of-SGA2017/
It really makes me want that lens. I was, however, happy with renting it for now.
It really makes me want that lens. I was, however, happy with renting it for now.
