Basketball

This was my first basketball game and it was really fun.  I'm happy with my photos too.

I used both my D90 and my D7100.

The venue is so dark that I did pop my flash just a little bit to get the best exposure.  I'm not sure though if my flash made a difference other than psychological, since I set the cameras up to get good exposure without the flash.  Also my flash was somehow set to manual and it's lowest setting of 128, the pictures looked good and the game was moving fast, so I did not attempt to change it.

I used a custom white balance on both cameras.  I established my white balance by taking a picture of a white dry erase board near the door.  I shot in RAW.

In spite of presetting my focus on a players head, I still botched the focus on the tip off.  The referees are taller than the players so I took the tip off shot from up in the bleacher.

I used back button focus and spot metering on both cameras for the entire game.

Both teams are local teams, so I stayed on the same side after half time to photograph the other team.  I was on the same side as the cheerleaders.  During the second half on referee always stood right in front of where I wanted to be so I had to change my position a bit.

My next basketball game did not go as well for me.  I think the spot metering caused trouble when my camera was pointed at the lights as I was sitting down.

Next time in the mini dome I will use manual mode and set both cameras to f /2.8 1/250 2500

       North Mason player Hailey Simonson looks to make a pass as Shelton’s  Aurora Gouley 15, defends in
the first half of the game at the Shelton minidome on December 21st.  No flash for this picture

Nikon D7100

70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/2.8

 

70.0 mm

1/250

 

2500

Flash (off, did not fire)

 

Shot with my old trusty D90.   Bulldog Cheyenne Filer makes a fast break past Vanessa Kennedy
and jumps to make a one handed shot during the first half. 

Nikon D90

17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/3.5

 

50.0 mm

1/200

 

1600

Flash (on, fired)

 

Shelton's    Timber Ware makes a fast break and completes a layup shot during the 

second half.  The Defender is Jenna Rock

Nikon D7100

17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/3.2

 

50.0 mm

1/250

 

2500

Flash (on, fired)

   Timber Ware has plenty of room to make a one handed shot during the second half

Nikon D7100

17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/4.0

 

36.0 mm

1/250

 

Flash (on, fired) 2500

1.       Bulldog Hannah Womack reacts as she hits the floor hard while the two teams fight for the ball on the floor with 6 minutes remaining in the game.    (Womack hurt her ankle earlier in the game and left the Bulldogs with no one on the bench.  She returned during the second half.)

Nikon D7100

17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/4.0

 

32.0 mm

1/250

 

2500

Flash (on, fired)

 

    Climbers Timber Ware and Kaitlyn Allen battle for possession of the ball with Bulldog

 Hannah Womack  at Shelton’s end of the court during the third quarter

Nikon D7100

17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/3.2

 

27.0 mm

1/250

 

2500

Flash (on, fired)

 

  Shelton Cheerleaders clap and pound on the floor during a time out in the fourth quarter

Nikon D90

70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

ƒ/2.8

 

200.0 mm

1/250

 

2500

Flash (off, did not fire)

 

Show EXIF

Football

I decided to go shoot what turned out to be the last football game of the season for Shelton High School.  It was dark and it was raining.  I'm glad I have a completely rainproof set up .  Another newspaper photographer was there and she told me the best places to stand.  The rules were very lax, I was allowed anywhere on the sidelines.

The home team was pretty much skunked, so my best shots are of the away team.  This was my first time shooting football and I very much enjoyed the experience.

Spot news

A friend told me about a tree that impaled a house in town.  She sent me the message via face book chat.  So I put down my morning coffee and drove up the hill to take a look.

Hail was falling, so I took the outdoor pictures from inside my car.

Then I thought to ask the homeowners if I could come inside and take some pictures.  They said yes.

 I was tired, I did not have my favorite camera and  my external flash was acting up, but I got the job done with my trusty old D-90 and its built in flash.

Since the paper goes to press the same day that this happened, I took my cameras straight into the office and handed over my SD cards.

Spot News and an Award

In today's newspaper:

The community voted me in on this list.  I am flattered.

There was another structure fire that I was able to reach in time this month.  One of my pictures is in the paper.  This fire was in a shed and no one was injured.  I met the property owner and she was fine with me posting photos on Facebook.

I only took one camera and lens to this fire.  I knew that I wanted to walk to this fire in the dark and I did not feel like carrying two cameras on my bicycle.  I used my old Nikon D90 with my new 70-200mm lens.  I wish my fancy lens had been on my D7100 so I could have shot at a higher ISO.  I don't feel like there is time to change lenses in the rush to reach a fire before it gets put out.   I hope to get a second D7100 but first I feel like I have to sell both of my D90's.

Such strange colors here and right off the camera

Apple Squeeze and Fall Colors

I've had a picture on the front page two weeks in a row

I bought a Nikon D7100 camera to upgrade one of my D90's.  I think this was a good upgrade and economical too, as it's still one model behind the newest technology.  I bought a refurbished unit from Adorama, it looks brand new and the shutter count was only 19.

On my first job with this camera I got to take advantage of it being water resistant. The D90 is not water resistant, so I have to be more careful with it.  I will still be shooting with one D90, as I don't feel like spending to money to upgrade both of my cameras right now.  I think I will be able to adjust to using two different cameras models at a time.

The people related to the people who's house burnt down claim they wrote a letter to the editor complaining about my fire pictures.  I wonder it if will get printed.  The paper says that this coming week they are only printing letters related to the upcoming elections.

Fatal House Fire in Town

I think that pretty much all photojournalists get excited when they see plumes of smoke in town.  I know that I do.  When I saw massive amounts of smoke rising and floating down the main street in my town,  I knew that it had to be something big.  I ran to my my back bedroom and grabbed one camera, the one with my big zoom lens.

 Then I ran outside to see what was happening.  It was a house fire and the flames had not started showing yet, but they would be soon.  I've photographed enough house fires now to know that a certain amount of smoke means that flames to will soon begin to pour out of the house.  It was a policeman who first taught me this.

I sent my daughter to go get my breathing mask and my other camera with a wide angle lens.  Later I sent her to get me a battery too.  She is a great little helper.

This particular fire took place during the evening sweet light and in the fall.  One could not ask for sweeter lighting.  I took some photos that I am proud of.  Then I sent them off the the newspaper and I posted a  few on my Facebook Page.  Then I left town and was incommunicado for two days.  The paper printed one of my photos on the front page and the editor praised my work.  Later I learned that the fire caused a death.

The family who belonged to the house on fire did not like my work.  They and their friends sent me facebook  messages asking me to take my photos down.  Since I was incommunicado, I did not receive the requests right away.  The family thought I was ignoring their requests and they and their friends started trying to trash my name.  The attacks got more and more vicious.  Threats to sue me, threats to destroy my business and on and on.  

I took down the pictures but I don't feel at all good about it.   These pictures were some of my best work to date and I hate censorship.  Still, I was sensitive the the family's grief so I took these off of Facebook after I got  home and saw all of the requests and threats. Perhaps these pictures were just a bit to much for this tiny town?

This week the paper only posted letters to the editor that were related to the upcoming elections, with one   exception.

Open House at the Museum

 The Mason County Historical Society Museum got a face lift and they held an open house and book signing to celebrate.  I enjoyed shooting in this space, the low white ceiling was great for bouncing my flash.  I set my FV to plus three and used shutter priority for the most part.

In other news 13 of my photos are in the Oysterfest insert in a newspaper.  They were all credited as file photos.

Assistant museum supervisor Charles Fisher and Peggy Moore look at items in a display case at the Mason County Historical Society Open House held at the Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton Washington on September 19^th, 2015.

   Jim Tostevin of Shelton looks at books for sale while drinking a cup of complimentary coffee provided by the museum. at the Mason County Historical Society Open House held at the Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton Washington on September 19^th, 2015.

Gretchen Borck of Olympia in Orange and Jeanne Fisher of Shelton, point out familiar sites in an old aerial photo of Shelton on display in the museum.  at the Mason County Historical Society Open House held at the Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton Washington on September 19^th, 2015.

Bob Cliff of Gig Harbor looks at a book on a display case.  Statues of Paul Bunyan and other loggers are in the foreground.  at the Mason County Historical Society Open House held at the Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton Washington on September 19^th, 2015.

    From Left Heidi Saup, Cathy (Tillotson) Drebick and Danelle (McKay) Borel look at a year book for Irene S. Reed High school.  Cathy and Danelle will attend the Irene S. Reed High School Class of 1960 reunion at little creek casino tonight.

Active Shooter Drill

The local LEO's had an active shooter drill in town.  I took pictures from the sidelines.

Workers at a nearby business watch the drill while on lunch break