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October 28, 2007
Site Improvements
After a couple of hours of futzing around I have been able to fix the archives and some of the other functionality of the web site. Enjoy!
Posted by Allen Clark at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Adrenaline At A "Buck Eighty"
I had a great time when I visited Virginia International Raceway for a day of practice runs with a group of Superbike road racers that primarily ride Ducati bikes.
I have a bunch of pictures up on the OffWing Flickr group, click here to view.
The phrase, "buck eighty," was used at the early morning track briefing referring to the speed (180 mph) that some folks hit on the straight away section of the track. The safety briefing went over issues from the previous day and helped me get acquainted with the track.
Preparation for the shoot started about a month out from the day at the track. I first checked with the raceway for any limitations or special access that I would be required. Because they were just practice runs red-tape was at a minimum.
The next steps were typical preparation that I go through for a shoot:
- Image Research: Go out there and do an image search on the topic of your shoot. I will look at the wire services, Getty Images, Photoshelter, etc. Because of the specialty subject in this case I also checked out Flickr.
- Are there special lighting issues?
- Do I need special equipment?
- What angles and techniques do I like?
- Are there special lighting issues?
- Equipment Inventory: What do I need for this assignment? I also make sure that everything is in good working order.
- Shoot List: I get very excited in the moment, so I need to prepare beforehand by creating a shoot list of things that I want to try on the assingment.
I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that this was a practice day for both myself and everyone on the bikes. So I decided to experiment a lot in the morning followed by a break when I would review the pictures and learn what worked, what didn't, and what I liked. The afternoon was then spent focused on using what I had learned and again trying new things that I might have come up with after shooting for several hours earlier.
Here is what I learned:
- Location matters (of course). There were spots along the track that I liked more than others.
- The morning was bright without any clouds so there was a lot of contrast in some corners. The afternoon became cloudy turning the sky into a giant softbox that evened out the light and made getting even light much easier.
- Some locations and shots that I had pre-visualized just didn't come together how I thought they would. Other spots turned out to be pleasant surpises.
- I also kept experimenting with different locations so that I wouldn't get bored or too mechanical in the way I was shooting. With nothing on the line, now was the time to experiment.
- The morning was bright without any clouds so there was a lot of contrast in some corners. The afternoon became cloudy turning the sky into a giant softbox that evened out the light and made getting even light much easier.
- Technique: I didn't like the stop action shots, it works for hockey and tennis, but not in racing. Panning while shooting provided a nice sense of movement by bluring the background.
- If I had a lot of money, no wife, no children, and some extra time I would probably buy a Ducati.
Posted by Allen Clark at 12:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 27, 2007
Sorry For The Long Entries
We are still working out some of the kinks here at OffWing Photo. We are currently unable to provide links of extended entries so we will have to post our entire stories until we are able to fix.
Thanks for your continued interest....
Posted by Allen Clark at 06:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2007
Capturing The Drama At A Hockey Game
For me tonight's loss by the Washington Capitals to the Vancouver Canucks was overshadowed by the injury to Chris Clark of the Washington Capitals. Clark caught the slap shot of fellow Caps player, Alex Ovechkin to the head. Early reports are that he got stitches in his left ear after the game.
The following picture is a great example of being lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time (my apologies to Chris Clark), photographically that is. In several locations around the ice rink there are holes cut into the plexi-glass that protects the spectators. It is through these holes that we shoot our pictures.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 26: Captain Chris Clark of the Washington Capitals is injured during a NHL hockey game with the Vancouver Canucks on October 26, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
So what you say? Try taking a picture of something as fast moving as hockey without moving your lens more than a few inches to the left or right. The plexi-glass while providing safety, robs the photographer a clear view of much of the ice. I would estimate that from the hole where I was sitting tonight I could view approximately 40% of the ice.
Sometimes you get, only what you can get. Tonight I was lucky (but also prepared to shoot what I could). But sometimes the drama unfolds in that 60% of the ice that I can't shoot. This carries through to other locations with their own limitations.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 26: Captain Chris Clark of the Washington Capitals is injured during a NHL hockey game with the Vancouver Canucks on October 26, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
Being creative can overcome some difficulties, but there is little you can do when you are shooting a basketball game in a dark gym, with a lens that has a maximum aperture of 5.6. So don't knock yourself to hard if those shots don't come out. Sometimes the pictures just aren't out there.
Below is a picture that includes an official's elbow when he skated by the hole that I was shooting through. I would have loved to have that picture.
But when everything does go your way, you better be ready!
See more photos from the game by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.
Posted by Allen Clark at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 16, 2007
Race Day
I am out with a buddy of mine today at Virginia International Raceway, trying my hand at shooting motorcycles flying down the track at upwards of 170mph.
I am going to add a gallery a little later. I gotta get back out to the track and shoot the rest of the afternoon......later.
Posted by Allen Clark at 12:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 07, 2007
The Thrill of the Shoot
So with the start of our new photoblog, courtesy of Allen Clark (Thanks Allen), coinciding with the start of hockey season, I thought this was a good time to reflect on the past year. It was a little over 11 months ago that Eric told me about his idea to add photographic coverage to Off Wing Opinion’s outstanding coverage of Capitals Hockey and I immediately begged to be involved. A few days later, on November 3, 2006, I entered the Verizon Center for the first time with a mixture of trepidation and excitement but from the first click of the camera, I was hooked. Although I’ve been shooting nature and wildlife photography for years, that night was the first time I had the opportunity to shoot professional sports. With a 30 minute tutorial from Jon Swenson – check out his amazing pictures at www.sharkspage.com – and a borrowed lens from my boss, I embarked on this incredible journey.
Everyone I met that night from the Capitals franchise that night was extremely helpful and welcoming and I’m so excited to be working with them again this season. I was fortunate that night to share a photo box with a photographer from Sports Illustrated who offered a number of great tips and stories about shooting hockey. The pictures I took that night were okay but definitely had room for improvement. Hopefully you’ll agree based on the shots after the jump that I’ve learned a lot over the last year:
Image of Kolzig from November 3, 2006
Since that first night, Off Wing Opinion’s photography has seen a lot of changes:
-- we’ve added two more regular photographers: Allen Clark and Kate McGovern
-- we’ve added three more websites devoted to our pictures: our Flickr page , our Photoshelter Virtual Agency; and now Off Wing Photo
-- we’ve added new sports: DC United, Washington Bayhawks, Roller Derby, Dew Action Tour, Legg Mason Tournament; and Bowie Baysox
Each new sport has brought its own set of challenges. With the Capitals, the action is so fast its hard to capture individual moments on ice plus shooting through the glass limits your field view and sometimes brings the action a little too close. For DC United, the 1st challenge was simply getting to RFK – did you know that it takes 45 minutes to drive around the stadium on game day and the weather can provide its own set of challenges. Both the Bayhawks and the Dew Tour were made challenging by the heat and the blazing sun.
Its amazing to be back shooting the Capitals, a “seasoned photographer,” but even after a year the thrill is still there – the excitement of walking into the arena before a game, the feeling I get when I know I’ve managed to capture the moment; the excitement in the photo lab between periods when everyone is rushing to sort through the 100s of pictures from the period to select the 4-5 pictures that are worthy of posting.
Eric – Thanks again for sharing this amazing ride.
Posted by Ellen Blanchard at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 02, 2007
Looking For That Perfect Lens
Sigma recently announced the massive APO 200 - 500 mm F2.8 EX DG.
This morning one of the OffWing photographers posed this question, "I've been tossing around the idea of buying a lens (I've been renting) and I'd probably go with one for hockey since I think I'll be shooting more of those games, at least right now. Which brings me to my next question - what would you guys recommend? Is there anything that could be used for both hockey and field sports? Any thoughts on buying used?"
Very good questions indeed, nothing like having the right tool for the right job.
My advice was to go with is a 70-200mm f/2.8 ($1640 @ Adorama). This is a very flexible lens that has a constant 2.8 that will help you shoot in low light situations while keeping the shutter speed high enough to stop the action. This is the lens you would use to shoot at ice level for hockey.
Recently taken by me with a Nikon 200, 70-200mm f/2.8.
This is almost a must-have lens. There doesn't seem to be such a price difference on used vs. new on this lens because most people will never sell it unless they are switching from cameras.
The new model comes with vibration reduction (VR). This is very cool but I have found it is not needed for my sport shooting because I am typically using a shutter speed of 400-500, so camera shake is not that big of a deal. When shooting at 60-100 the VR would help. The VR also pulls a lot of juice from the camera's battery as it refocuses, something that happens a lot in hockey.
The other option would be a 400mm f/2.8 or 500mm f/4 . These are incredibly expensive ($3500 used - $9000 new) for most people. This is the lens that the photographers use to shoot down onto the ice from the stands. It is also what is used primarily to cover soccer, football, etc.
For me the decision came down thinking about what kind of situations I will most likely be shooting and cost. The 70-200mm f/2.8 was an investment that I basically HAD to have (I don't think my wife felt as fervently about it as I did) to do my job.
The bigger lenses are on my wishlist where they will stay until I make a lot of money with the sport stuff or find an incredible deal.
Nikon has just announced three new telephoto lenses. Check out the review over at Digital Photography Review. They also have this review of the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8.
We happen to shoot with Nikon but Canon has comparable lenses.
Interested in the monster Sigma lens? You can read more about it here on DPReview.
Posted by Allen Clark at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)