Today I was assigned to photograph a musical at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts. Since I am using a 1d mk ii and a 50d, I was a little worried about the iso performance in the dark theatre, but I was surprised. I have not tried making a print of any of my photos, but the original high resolution files look pretty good considering I shot them at iso 1600 on the mk ii. These photos below were all shot at iso 1600 1/500 sec and f2.8 Slight exposure adjustment in Lightroom. I may have been pleasantly surprised because the lighting on the performers was actually decent. I still wouldn’t mind a 5d mk iii to increase my iso performance a bit. But I will need to save some money first. Photos were shot on assignment for C and G newspapers.
Last night’s game against the Knicks was pretty exciting, and was a close game throughout. I would have liked to see the Pistons win, but we can’t have everything we want can we. I got a couple images I am very pleased with, and of course am looking at them and considering how I could have done better. Overall, I think I shot a good game, and have been lucky enough to be able to say that I haven’t shot a bad game yet (meaning my shots all suck) but I am sure it will happen, we all have those days. Below are a couple of the shots I am really happy with. Hopefully the next game will bring even more exciting images.
Today while working on assignment for the paper I met a very interesting and inspiring individual. He takes care of and maintains a 1970 Mustang which he as owned since it was built. The inspiring part comes when you learn that the man is blind. He cannot view his hard work the way that most people can, and he cannot see to drive his beautiful vehicle around. But he continues to take care of the vehicle the same way he always has because it is something he loves to do. A humbling experience to say the least.
Today I shot my cousin max’s basketball game up at Troy High. It was the second to last game of their season. Shooting youth basketball is a lot different than shooting the Pistons, but has some similarities as well, because the same game is being played, just on different levels. I had to bump my ISO pretty high in the dimly lit gym, and certain areas of the court resulted in darker images because of the difference in lighting over certain areas. But I grabbed a few good images, and my cousin scored 2 baskets 🙂 He is already a better athlete than I was. I wasn’t coordinated enough for sports like basketball. I stuck to martial arts and running. Anyway check out the photos, and enjoy! View the entire album of photos here – http://briansevald.smugmug.com/Sports/Basketball/Troy-Youth-Rec-Basketball-Feb/28139590_LJFtT3#!i=2378359579&k=5rsHCqX
-Brian
Max making his way up the court with the ball.One of max’s teammates handing the ball.
Tonight’s game wasn’t too terribly exciting. In fact, it was a little dissapointing. No wonder the stadium has been less than half full all season, filling to 3/4 only when the Heat, Lakers, or Clippers are in town. Tayshaun and Austin Daye returned to the Palace today for the first time as Grizzlies. I made more of an effort to make interesting images, and I think I made an improvement. I hope to improve each game. I operated 3 remotes in addition to my two handheld cameras. I am starting to think that maybe 3 remotes is a little too ambitious. However I am getting worth while images on all three remotes every game, so it is a toss up. It does take quite some time to set up all three remotes in addition to another 2 operated by my boss. So I need to figure out if it is worth it. Overall I am happy with my shooting for the game. I think I made some good images. Have a look, and any constructive criticism is welcome. -Brian
One of the three remotes. Behind the backboard glass.Just after Hooper “pantsed” (I’m not sure if thats a real word.) Austin day.Greg Monroe making his entrance onto the court during Piston’s introductions.Rodney Stuckey going for a layup.Flight crew’s final dunk of the night. “superman”One of the three remotes, and overhead shot. I used a circular polarizer tonight to try and reduce some of the glare I was getting off the hardwood.Tayshaun Prince in his new Memphis Grizzlies jersey.Morris Day performing live at the Palace during halftime.Sasha, one of the Detroit Pistons Dancers, performing during halftime.
To view many more photos, visit http://briansevald.smugmug.com/Sports/Basketball/Memphis-Grizzlies-Vs-Detroit/28094193_cSJNMm#!i=2373707882&k=v3Krvfn
Tonight’s Pistons game was more energetic and interesting. The game was more fast paced than the last few have seemed, and the crowd was even seemingly more energized. I am not sure what it was that made the game feel that way, since the stadium was still only at less than half its’ capacity. I had a good game and made some good images. Overall I am happy with my image making lately at the games. Though I am wanted to upgrade my cameras, and think about it every time I take a photo. No matter, even if I did go and get a 5d mk III, as soon as I do, I will want the next release that is even better than that.exciting and interesting. I am still rocking 2 canon 20d’s and a 40d and a 50d. I shoot primarily with the 40 and 50 and use the 20ds as remotes. When using the speedotron lights, the 20ds perform just fine even with less expensive glass. This is because the focus is set manually, and the lights provide all the light you could need. This past game I shot two remotes in addition to my two cameras. I shot an overhead remote (see upper left) that was directly wired into the sync with the lights and fired by a pocketwizard, and a behind the backboard camera (see right) that was wired into a different set of lights so that the two could be fired in close succession to each other without waiting for the packs to recharge. Shooting a total of four cameras was a little daunting, but in the end I was happy with my images and would definitely not hesitate to shoot like that again, provided that everything went as smoothly as it did this time. Check out the entire album of photos on my smugmug site click here or to view some of the photos on my facebook photography page click here. Thanks for reading and have a great day!
After a week and a half on the road the Pistons returned to the Palace and faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. After living in Oklahoma for a year, I never became a Thunder fan. But my girlfriend is, so I must be careful what I say about them 😉 The game was very close, and much more exciting than the previous games. Though the Pistons could not pull out a win, and are now on a very long losing streak. Another photographer told me that it is a franchise record for the longest streak of losses at the beginning of a Pistons season. Again this game I shot available light, as there was not a set of strobes for me to use. Still I came out of the game with several impactful images in my opinion. I ran at about 1250 iso, 320/s and F2.8 custom white balance, 24-70 on a canon 40d, and a 70-200 on a canon 50d. I am getting a little better at anticipating when and where to shoot. Basketball is a fast game, and this will take some getting used to. Overall I am still learning and tweaking. Check out http://briansevald.smugmug.com/Sports/Basketball/Detroit-Pistons-vs-Oklahoma/26493815_X7hMqF#!i=2212353121&k=pqCTSbs for the rest of the photos. I believe I posted around 40 images. Have a great day, and for all you photographers out there, Happy Shooting.
Check them out and I hope you enjoy them. They are the very same photos included in the end of the year banquet video. Congratulations on a great season, and congratulations to those seniors who will be moving on to college next year. For those Maples left to fight on, good luck and have a great season next year.
The Pistons gather before taking on the Houston Rockets on Halloween night at the Palace.
On the 31st I had another chance to shoot the Detroit Pistons in action. I also had the pleasure of seeing James Harden’s first game of the year with the Houston Rockets. Yes the Pistons lost, but it was a fun game. I did not have use of a set of strobes for this game unfortunately. I shot using available light, my settings were approximately F2.8 400/s iso 1600 for the duration of the game. I did change my setting a few times to shoot action in the crowd or other things, but for the action on the court that is what I used. I was using a Canon 40d with a 24-70 F2.8 and a Canon 50d with a 70-200 F2.8 Other than the Pistons losing, and not playing great, the game was a blast. I need to come up with a better plan on when to switch bodies in order to maximize the quality of the shots I am getting. The 70-200 on my crop bodies is too long once the players reach the free throw line. Thats when I picked up the
Jeremy Lin sweeps past the Pistons defense.
24-70 and started shooting. I just need to anticipate the body change before I need to switch. It seems simple enough, but the players movements are somewhat upredictable, and shooting with two cameras isn’t easy in the first place. Some of the other photo journalists are using camera 3 bodies, one with either a 300 or 400mm lens, one with a 70-200, and either a fixed 50 or a 24-70 range lens. I need to get used to shooting with two cameras let alone three. But it is interesting to see how other photographers work in the field. There was a bug showing of photographers from the Houston area at the game, and I overheard some of the sports writers saying that the debut of James Harden on the Houston Rockets actually drew quite a few fans to the Palace that night. I did in fact notice myself that there were quite a few Rockets fans in the stands during the game. Shooting with available light is ok when you can shoot at a decent iso, and not have too much noise.
James Harden and his legendary beard.
The 40d and the 50d do ok when it comes to this. I would really like to get a hold of a 5d mk ii. I have seen the iso performance of the 5d mk ii and it is amazing. I have not had a chance to use a 5d mk iii yet, but for me, the 5d mk ii is coming down in price because of the introduction of the 5d iii, so on my tight budget I will be seeking the older model for now.
It looks like I will be able to attend the home games this year and function as an assistant photographer for the official photographer for the Pistons. I am still in training, and learning a lot. I am just grateful for the opportunity. I am looking forward to the next game. The pistons are on the road for the next two weeks so I will be anticipating the next game for a while.
Pistons defense attempting to strip the ball from James Harden.
Because I did not have use of the strobes, and the NBA does not accept photos without the use of strobes, none of my images from this game were transmitted to the NBA. If any of my images are transmitted to the NBA, I cannot post them. So I suppose I should enjoy posting them while I can.
This past Friday I had the opportunity to shoot the Detroit Pistons vs. the Atlanta Hawks at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I had the opportunity to shoot the game because of a connection I was able to make through some family and friends to the official photographer for the Pistons. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity, and hopefully I will get to shoot some more games. Shooting the game was different for me. Most of my sports photography has been in ambient or available light, allowing me to shoot at a high framerate. This allowed me to get photos without having to have picture perfect timing. Shooting the Pistons game was a little different because the news agencies and the nba use strobe lights that are up in the catwalks above the court. These strobes can only be discharged approximately every two seconds. This does not allow you to shoot any faster than a frame every two or three seconds. So the framerate I was used to shooting at was essentially impossible. My timing was challenged, and I found myself challenged. Sitting just off the floor next to the Pistons cheer/dance team I used a canon 40d with a 70-200 at about 5.6 and 250/s and a canon 20d with a 24-70 at 5.6 250/s. The game was a blast, and I can’t wait to shoot another one. Hopefully I have the opportunity to. As always with other shoots, I learned a lot, and still have a lot to learn. Sports photography is definitely the most challenging for me, but when you can walk away with a great action shot, and you have one of the best seats in the house, its definitely worth it. This is the first professional sporting event that I have been able to shoot. The other events I have shot have mostly been college sports. While requiring a media pass, the college sports were on a completely different level. The level of photographers at this event were of much higher caliber, and from respectable news agencies. I had a chance to chat with one of the photographers for the Detroit News. The only other differences were the venue, and the use of the strobes for the shots. When watching basketball on tv I had noticed the strobes being used, but never really thought about it beyond that. The strobes make a tremendous difference in the shots you can get on the court. While noticeable the strobes apparently do not affect the players, as there are multiple sets of strobes being fired throughout the game. Sitting on the floor when they go off they are definitely noticeable to photographers, and probably others, maybe others can ignore them or don’t notice. The strobes allow you to shoot at a smaller apeture, giving you the depth of field desired, as well as the ability for a reasonable shutter speed without having to raise your iso higher than 100. Overall it was a great learning experience and a fun night. I am grateful for the experience, and hope that I will have the chance again in the future.
I am getting a little better at water polo. This weekend I shot water polo twice. The quality of my shots are getting better, but they still need some touching up in lightroom. The lighting in the pools is absolutely horrible, even with a 2.8 lens I am still slightly dissapointed. I am fortunate that I can run iso 1000 without much noise. I really would like a body that can run at higher iso’s no problem. But the limitation of funds is always the problem isnt it. Here is the link to the Seaholm vs. Chelsea match on 10-19-12
I believe the lighting was slightly better at Ann Arbor, but it was only slightly better. Seaholm’s and Ann Arbor’s pools are well lit to the naked eye, but are not well lit for photographing. I had no problem with white balance, but both pools are dark. Thank goodness for lightroom, and a 2.8 lens. The equipment I used at both of these games was a canon 40d, a sigma 70-200 F2.8 mounted on a manfrotto monopod. The link to the Seaholm / Troy High water polo game on 10-18-12 Hope you enjoy the photos and have a great day.
So here it is boys and girls, the link to my Reef Fish Identification PDF. The work is about 50 pages long and contains my own writing, and photography. It took over six years to gather the photographs needed to complete the work. Edition III is currently being edited and added to with the photos I was able to capture this summer. But for now, check out Edition II. Click the link to view or download your own copy.
Brian Sevald Creative 