Foo - I know there are some photographers round here

I'm trying to land a bit of a photo gig at school and presented them with some of my work. These are from the past couple of years. Input is appreciated.

**This isn't any sort of journalism gig and as such i didn't deal with captions...forgive me :D**

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503586.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/51776937.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/53558363.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/60350280.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/60748898.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/61843588.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/66460463.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/67926706.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/71273537.jpg

I'm no judge but those look great! Wish you were around for my daughter's basketball games. :D

Nice photos! If I was in charge of hiring photographers at Sports Illustrated, you'd have a job.

Great collection. I'm not a pro photographer or critic but I'll give it a go:
No. 1: Nice dynamic capture and good panning. Really shows the tension and effort the runner is putting forth.
No. 2: Good timing but the colors seem a bit off. The color of the shorts seem a bit oversaturated and look a bit artificial and there seems to be a magenta color cast over the whole scene and seems a bit flat. Maybe it's my monitor...
No. 3: Image is a bit grainy but looks great for iso 1600. The look on the would be tackler's face is priceless.
No. 5&6: Nice bokeh. Great capture of the kid's expression in no. 6. Can't read the exif... what lens?
No. 7: I think this is my favorite although I think this shot would have benefitted by the "rule of thirds" by chopping off the bottom third. I wonder how this would look like in b&w...
No. 8: The goal in the bottom right is a bit distracting. Maybe crop or clone it out?

Just my $0.02.

Those two pictures of the Little Leaguers are fabulous. If those were my kids, I would have paid you big bucks for a copy of those.

I am a cameraman and not a still photographer, so my viewpoint may be a bit different, but I think the photos are very nice.

To me it would be better if the photos were not so tight. By that I mean that I would like to see a bit more context. My firends that shoot stills always shoot a bit wide and then crop.

Good luck and remember that my opinion is worth what you paid for it.

Those look great, TQ. I have lots of respect for people who can do sports photography well. It's gotta be tough to capture that one perfect moment.

Those look great, TQ. I have lots of respect for people who can do sports photography well. It's gotta be tough to capture that one perfect moment

It is! I'm still looking for it :lol:

Thanks for the kind words. Lets not get overboard though...there are photographers who are 10x better then me and only get a small 1x1 thumbnail in SI...and its for good reason.

I'm in agreement that all are great shots.

The soccer players heading the ball...man, that's just wrong:

"Here comes the ball, I think I'll hit it with my head."

Look at the expressions on their faces. Duh.

The one little league guy looks like he's about to take a dirt nap, but I think that's just perspective.

The low shot angle on the sculls is great, and the lighting makes it a fantastic picture.

Holy crap, those are great! :eek:

I am a cameraman and not a still photographer, so my viewpoint may be a bit different, but I think the photos are very nice.

To me it would be better if the photos were not so tight. By that I mean that I would like to see a bit more context. My firends that shoot stills always shoot a bit wide and then crop.

Good luck and remember that my opinion is worth what you paid for it.

Thanks for your insight!

Regarding wider sports photography, it really depends on the context and the photos use. I shoot either for news print or for sale to parents. In both instances the typical shot that is desired is a crop tight of the player showing something that you cant see with the naked eye (or even on a video camera). This is less the case with newsprint, especially if the event is an event

Sometimes you just wana try something different. I'm actually not very fond of this picture, but my editor was impressed that i was thinking outside the box (i suspect if he saw me on the high dive with his camera equipment he would be thinking differently :lol:)
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/67041177.jpg

Shooting the event
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/66958812.jpg

Its not always "peak action" (this was for a story on the coach)
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/66753887.jpg

Truth of the matter is that i need to work on my non peak action stuff...hopefully, if i can get this "job" i should have a lot of room to experiment.





The low shot angle on the sculls is great, and the lighting makes it a fantastic picture.

There is a saying that if you're not close enough to get hurt then you're not close enough. In this case, i was getting wet.

These are some very nice photographs. I focus on bird photography (purely a hobby) which seems quite different but I believe it shares many technical similarities to action/sports photography... I'm still rather inexperienced and I'm saving up for some more advanced equipment. I'm hoping since Canon just released the 1D3 that I might be able to find a used 1D2n for a good price sometime in the near future. I started off with and currently use Nikon equipment but plan to make the switch when I save up enough cash to do it right.

I won't waste your time reminding you that most of them are surpurb, since that's not what you're asking us for. :)

I would suggest taking the "Streaks" one out. It looks like it was shot by someone else; compared to the others. The quality isn't up to the same level as the others. It doesn't look like 1600 film, but rather a digital file that was increased in size. The shadows and midtones are blocked up and edge sharpness is really lacking. I'm guessing it was the end of an overcast day in the last remaining light.

The expressions and action in that one is great though, so it might be hard for you to make the final decision.

Take a look at cropping #11 out of the photo of the girl heading the ball. #11 looks a little too happy that her team's shot got blocked. The photo is really about the girl, framed by the lights on the scoreboard.

Do you have any portraits of athletes, not involved in action?

timmyquest,

The NPPA is a great resource and can be invaluable in terms of contacts and guidance...........


http://www.nppa.org/


When I was a member it cost about $75/year.

Their last game
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503573.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503585.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503570.jpg

Their last game
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503573.jpg

If you're showing a printed book, this should be the last photo. It it's an online gallery, make this the last one next to your contact information.

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503585.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/50503570.jpg

Don't be afraid to include these two in the midst of all the action. They will be welcome to the viewer and show that you can "see" and are not just looking for the peak action shot on the field all the time.

I have been working at a factory all summer...the money was good but my life sucked, so i quit and called up the paper i use to work for. They put me to work right away and sent me to a volleyball league a local bar "brewed" up. Man i'm rusty! If you ever forget how difficult it is to shoot sports just give yourself a 6 month break from doing it...

1.Who needs feet anyways? Funny thing. I couldn't get her name that night but i asked my girlfriend if maybe she knew her, her response "Uhhh...i'm living with that girl next year! It's not always bad to work for a small town newspaper lol
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/82143683.jpg

2
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/82143685.jpg

3.
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/82143687.jpg

4. After his third one, and realizing i was running out of time and didn't have much i said "you know, that would probably be a safe shot" So i followed him for one play and came up with a 3 shot series, this being the best of the 3.
http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/image/82143686.jpg