If you follow my photography at all, you know I shot A LOT of Michigan Football and Basketball....which is great, I love both of those and ultimately they are my favorite things to shoot (other than my daughter). But as I was going through all the photos I took in 2015, I could help but feel disappointed in myself for not getting out and shooting more things. Aside from some Michigan Softball, I really didn't shoot much else last year. With that in mind, I was excited to shoot something a little bit new and different for me---Women's Gymnastics. The first time you shoot something, I always recommend doing some research. For me, that meant two things--1) I have lots of great Sports Photography books that I can quickly look at to get some techniques and ideas. One I highly recommend is Peter Read Miller On Sports Photography. He has shot for Sports Illustrated for over 30 years, with his photos appearing on the cover over 100 times, and has covered 9 Olympics, 36 Super Bowls, and countless other big events. Anyways---highly recommend this book, it is a great resource. 2) I usually do a quick Google Images search for whatever I am shooting to pick out a few shots that I really like and want to try to replicate. In this case, I came across a photo from a previous Michigan Women's Gymnastics meet that showed that they usually have a giant, inflatable block M somewhere in the arena. This leads me to the second thing I wanted to talk about, which is the importance of backgrounds. When possible, always try to be conscious of the background that will appear in your photo. We have all had great photos of our subject ruined by something or someone distracting in the background. While I wasn't able to prevent some security guys from standing in the background, I did find that the giant inflatable M made for a great backdrop for this meet and did my best to position myself so that my subject would always be between myself and the M.
A few last thoughts on shooting gymnastics. Like all things, practice makes perfect. I found shooting this for the first time very difficult due to the speed, the rapid changes in height and direction, tough lighting conditions, and just not being familiar with each gymnasts routine. If you plan to shoot gymnastics, I highly recommend getting their early as most of the gymnasts are going through their routines to warm up. You might get some clues on where you want to be positioned for a key element of the routine.
That's all I have for today---please feel free to email me with questions at [email protected]. Thanks!
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A lot goes into getting a great football photo. Talent is important for sure, but luck definitely plays a role. The first thing you need of course is a memorable or visually appealing moment. These don't happen every game---there are plenty of low scoring games with lots of boring runs up the middle. But every now and then there is that moment---the one that causes the crowd to gasp and then cheer, the one that makes the ESPN Top 10 list that night. Even if you are lucky enough to be shooting that game, you still have to be in the right position---no small feat when talking about over 1,000 feet of sideline to cover. Strategy and gut can help, but ultimately luck plays a big role in this. Of course, even if you are in the right position when the big play happens, you still have to capture the moment with a sharp, properly exposed image. The above photo of Michigan wide receiver Amara Darboh making a fingertip grab against BYU is the perfect storm of right place, right time, a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck. I shot this using my Nikon D750 and my 70-200mm lens zoomed out all the way to 70mm. I used aperture priority, my f-stop was f/2.8 and my shutter speed was 1/4000 of a second to capture the speed of the play.
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One of my favorite places in Michigan is Traverse City. My wife and I try to go there at least once a year, usually in the Fall. There are great shops, restaurants, and wineries, and it is a perfect little Fall getaway---typically during Michigan Football's bye week. Last year we decided to take a more scenic route to Traverse City, shooting over to Ludington and hugging the coast on the way up. We were fortunate that our trip aligned nicely with the tail end of peak fall colors up north, so I wanted to get in some photos along the way. With just a little bit of research, I discovered the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which is a part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. It is a 7 mile loop with about a dozen marked stops along the way. The first of these stops was this beautiful old covered bridge. With the colorful fall leaves in the background, it made for a really cool shot. I used a trip-pod so that I could close down the aperture all the way to f/22 to keep the foreground and background more in focus and dropped the shutter speed to 1/4 second. The rest of the scenic drive was really nice too, with great look-out points to Lake Michigan and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. If you are planning a trip up to Traverse City, I definitely recommend this little detour.
]]>Austin, just 20 years old, survived two plan crashes---the first killed his mother and two siblings, the second, eight years later, took his father and stepmother---and yet here he was, checking into a game for the Wolverines. He had overcome a coma and intense physical rehab to be here. Soon after entering the game, he was fouled with Michigan in the bonus---he was going to the free-throw line. I can't imagine a more pressure filled free-throw with so little impact on the outcome of the game, but he calmly stepped to the line and hit nothing but net. The crowd went wild, and shortly after he was taken out of the game to a standing ovation, where he met his coach, John Beilein for a touching embrace.
Over the past 3-4 years, I have captured countless classic sports shots---touchdowns, dunks, three-pointers, a Big Ten Championship, and many more. But I don't think any of them will stick with me as long as this one. The courage Austin has shown to bounce back from horrific tragedy not once, but twice, is one of the most miraculous things I have ever witnessed and I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.
