Category: Nikon D2X

Photographing the Ramblin’ Wreck

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X
Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/1250

Through the years I have photographed the Ramblin’ Wreck coming onto the football field before home games at Georgia Tech.

Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm, ISO 800, ƒ/2.8, 1/640

The cheerleaders all jump onto the Ramblin’ Wreck and then it tears through the banner made for the game onto the field.

I would try different angles every once in a while as able. Many times I had to shoot something on the field at the same time so I could rarely change my angle.

Nikon D100, 70-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/8, 1/1000

One thing I learned was shooting on the ground level I often had a very cluttered background and if I shot at a higher depth-of-field the background competed too much with the foreground.

Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5.6, 1/3200

By getting up higher I was able to eliminate the stands which helped to clean up the background.

Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5.6, 1/3200

I could capture the Georgia Tech football team running onto the field behind the Ramblin’ Wreck. This was one of my favorite angles to work for many years if I could get into the stands rather than being on the field.

My suggestion is to look for new angles and know what you are trying to highlight in your photograph.

Photography Tips for Covering Football

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X / Nikon D3s / Nikon D4 / Sports
 
Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/1250

Action Shots

This blog post is about the action on the field and not reactions to that action.

Three things I think you should strive to have in all your action shots on the field:

  1. The Ball
  2. Expression
  3. The competition
While not every great sports photo will have all three, the overwhelming majority of them will have all three elements.
 
 

Definition of Sport—an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000

I like capturing the expressions of football players. An expression shows the “physical exertion” of players. So the key is to put me in a place where I will see their faces more often.

 
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000

When possible, I recommend covering one team. this way, you can show their team’s faces on offense and defense without running up and down the field over and over to get in front of them.

I generally try to shoot way down the field in front of the teams and prefer standing in the end zones. If they are far away, I use longer glass, like a 600mm lens, and when they are on the goal line, I may switch to my 70-200mm lens.

Why the endzone? Well, they are generally running in that direction and trying to cross the goal line. So when you are on the sideline, they may run slightly in your path, but they could also be running to the other sideline.

Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250

While my knees get sore from kneeling most of the time, I think you get better “athletic” moments. When you are low, you make the football players look much higher off the ground when they jump than when you stand. We like our star running backs to look like Roman gods flying when necessary. Remember, the purpose of the sport is entertainment. Flying because I am down low is a lot more exciting than from above, where they look closer to the ground.

Nikon D3S, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 with 1.4 converters, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/2000

Some of the best defense shots of the game are behind the line of scrimmage. Behind the offense, you capture the sacking of the quarterback. You can also catch the running back. You see, the defense moves the ball forward for their team when they create a loss for the other team’s offense.

I recommend renting long glass lenses rather than buying them. It would help if you had a lens between 300mm to 500mm to cover football, and adding 1.4 & 2X converters get you the longer lens.

Here is the list of gear I use in football

  • (2) Nikon D4 Cameras
  • 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 Nikkor
  • 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 Nikkor
  • Sigma 70-200mm ƒ/2.8
  • 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S carried in the Thinktank Glass Taxi™ [not in photo]
  • Sigma 1.4 converter
  • Nikon SB-900
  • Manfrotto 294 Aluminum 4 Section Monopod
  • Manfrotto by Bogen Imaging 323 RC2 System Quick Release Adapter w/200PL-14
  • ExpoDisc
  • Shure FP15/83 Lavalier Wireless System
  • RØDE VideoMic Pro
  • Zacuto Z-Finder
  • AWP Knee Pads – Important to save your knees
  • ThinkTank System for lenses using belt and harness
  • ThinkTank Memory Card Holder
  • ThinkTank Airport Security™ V 2.0 Rolling Camera Bag
  • ThinkTank Credential Holder Tall V2.0
Nikon D3S, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 with 1.4 converters, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/2000

One last advantage of shooting from the end zones—is BACKGROUNDS. Your background is easier to keep clean and improve impact.

Have fun shooting this fall.

Favorite 4th of July Photos

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X / Nikon D3
Nikon D100, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 200, ƒ/8, 19 seconds [Emerald Isle, NC 2004]

I just wanted to share a few of my 4th of July photos through the years. I hope you enjoy them and also go out and make some photos for you to cherish through the years.

Settings and gear are below the images.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2005-07-03_21-35-27-08-680x1024.jpg
Nikon D2X, Sigma 15-30mm, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 19 seconds [The Fourth of July Fireworks over Lake Mohawk on July 3, 2005 in Sparta, New Jersey.]
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2005-07-03_21-49-00-11-680x1024.jpg
Nikon D2X, Sigma 15-30mm, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 40 seconds [The Fourth of July Fireworks over Lake Mohawk on July 3, 2005 in Sparta, New Jersey.]
Nikon D3, 24-120mm VR, ISO 100, ƒ/16, 14 seconds [The Fourth of July Fireworks over Panama City, Florida, July 4, 2008]
Nikon D3, 24-120mm VR, ISO 100, ƒ/16, 11 seconds [The Fourth of July Fireworks over Panama City, Florida, July 4, 2008]


Tripod and Cable Release

I recommend using a tripod and a cable release.  This will keep the camera as still as possible during a long exposure.

This is the Nikon MC-30 that I have used for years on different Nikon Cameras.


Camera Settings

  • Manual
  • White Balance – Daylight
  • ISO 100
  • ƒ/8
  • Bulb Shutter-speed and keep open for two bursts of fireworks using cable release
My exposures were from 6 seconds to about 12 seconds on average. I typically might shoot 75 to 100 photos and only really like about 10 of those shots.

Advice to photography students

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X / Nikon D4
 
Downtown Lisbon, Portugal [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 25600, ƒ/2.8, 1/160]

To get work, you need a portfolio, not a degree. So yes, you could have saved much money without earning a degree from a great school. But unfortunately, based on some of the work I continue to see by students graduating from photo schools worldwide, many have wasted a lot of money.

How do you start if you are not in a photo school? Well, that is the catch. You see, you need someone to help introduce you to the tools you need to master and to teach you some of the standards. However, almost every school does teach you how to operate your camera to get good exposure, and they teach you how to use the latest software as well. In addition, most schools do a great job of exposing you to the work of the masters in the profession.

‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.’

I think this is what a good education will do for those who want to learn how to be a photographer. First, they show you what you need to do. Then, they give you assignments that teach you how to create those elements that will help you make a portfolio.

Passion not Assignments

Your portfolio must communicate to those you wish will hire you that your work will grab their attention. So no matter the subject, you need to SURPRISE the audience with your photos.

The First 100 attendees at the Chicago Chick-fil-A grand opening played Face the Cookie, where they used the muscles in their faces to move the cookie to their mouth. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 9000, ƒ/10, 1/100]

Too many students are just shooting the assignments they are given and then pulling the best from their jobs and putting them into their portfolios. Why is this such a big mistake?

First of all, the assignment work given to you is seldom something that speaks to your passions. You then work hard at finding out the standards for the grading and then shoot to get a good grade. This process is enough for a few people to create an excellent portfolio image. However, the vast majority of the students are just going through the motions to complete the assignment. Often they waited till the last moment to shoot.

If you were not doing photography, what would be the one thing you would want to do? Maybe you would like to be going to soccer games and watch them. Perhaps you are a foodie. You like going to farmers’ markets and finding the local food and going to restaurants that buy local as well. Maybe you would be spending time working with a nonprofit and building wells worldwide.

Follow your passion and build your portfolio around it.

[Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/8, 1/160

If your passion is music, then do more than go to concerts. Could you pick up an instrument and master it? Learn music theory, so you understand music at a much deeper level.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm with 1.4 converters, ƒ/6.3, 1/2500]

If you like sports, then play in a league. I used to play basketball three times a week in pickup games for more than 20 years.

Those that will hire you are experts already in their subjects. They will not respect you unless you show a similar passion for the subject as they do.

They are most likely aware of most of the best photography in their industry. To SURPRISE the experts will be hard to do. But, you have to, or they will continue to use who they have shooting for them now.

Show Me!

“Show me the money,” Tom Cruise, playing Jerry Maguire, said in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire movie. The point was that talk is cheap to a football player who hired Jerry Maguire as his agent. He needed a good contract.

Please show me your portfolio is the same request your potential clients are asking you to deliver to them. Your work better SURPRISE them because they already have photographers shooting for them. You have to impress them to want to use you.

Passion NOT Assignments

The easiest thing to do is to give me your best effort for all your assignments. But, unfortunately, that kind of work seldom competes against a photographer who is passionate about their subjects.

School vs. Real Word

If your photo school ran all their classes like the real world, then every type would pass/fail. Everyone would hand in their assignments, and only one person in the class passed. The best photos for that assignment, as perceived by the teacher, would get a passing grade. Everyone else would fail.

My friend Dr. Bob Carey, department chair for the Department of Communications at Gardner-Webb University, said he toyed with the idea of doing just that for an assignment on creating an estimate. He said he did tell the students about his idea but wanted them to understand that is the way it will be once they graduate.

Mark Johnson, Senior Lecturer of Photojournalism at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has created identical camera kits for each student. This way, everyone in the class is on equal footing when they have given an assignment.

Pat Davison, Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill creates workshops overseas to give real-world experiences to his students.

Dennis Fahringer, who runs the photo schools for the University of Nations, brings in working professionals to teach segments and takes his advanced photo school overseas for a month on assignments.

All my teaching friends work at taking those horses [students] to the water to drink. The assignments they give are typical. The problem for the student is seldom will they be as passionate about those assignments. So they need to provide a self-assignment on something they care about.

Please take what you learned in photo school and now go and apply it to your passions. Then you will have an outstanding portfolio.

What to include or leave out of a photo

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X
Nikon D2X, 70-200mm, ISO 100,  ƒ/20, 1/8 Tripod Used

I really enjoy photographing science and technology. When I go into a lab I am often having to create the photo.

Lighting Diagram

In these photos we were wanting to show the tools this manufacturer makes to help with clear retainers. The difficulty in the photo was to show the blue flame to heat up the tools so they can make adjustments to the clear plastic retainers. This is why I used a tripod to keep the camera still during the 1/8 shutter speed exposure.

I used a soft box to light the subject and tools. I used a separate light with a blue gel for the background.

The elements that I included was the square plastic which was used to make the retainer the technician is holding. I have included the different trimming tools and the Dental Burner used to heat the tools.

Nikon D2X, 70-200mm, ISO 100,  ƒ/20, 1/8 Tripod Used

I also gave the client another version without the technicians face and the background light was turned off. I had the plastic square placed to help separate the clear retainer from the background.

Every type of photo should cause the photographer to think about what to include and exclude in a photograph. You can do this by moving around the subject, your lens choice and how close or far away you choose to be from the subject.

What needs to be in the photo?  You should always be asking this question and being sure your composition helps to guide the audience to the important parts in the photo.

Anatomy of a Sports Photography Assignment

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X

First, when covering a football game, I like to stand behind the end zone, so the team I’m focusing on is facing me. That way, I am already where they are trying to go.

You can get two types of photos of a team from this vantage point — defense and offense. The great thing is you can see the players’ faces, which for me is very important.

In this photo, for example, Boston College wide receiver Kevin Challenger spins loose from Georgia Tech defensive back Avery Roberson, setting up Boston College’s first touchdown. What I like in the photo is you can see Challenger’s face, along with the defensive player he left in the dust and the ball.[Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG EX APO IF HSM, Sigma 2x EX DG APO Autofocus Teleconverter, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/500]

In sports with a ball, I am typically looking for three things: (1) peak action, (2) the ball, and (3) competition. Sometimes you can’t get all three in a picture, but if one element stands out, the photo will still work.


In this photo, Georgia Tech safety Djay Jones and teammate cornerback Pat Clark tackle BC receiver Rich Gunnell after a catch. While you cannot see the ball or their faces, the peak action of the players’ feet off the ground communicates the effort. [Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG EX APO IF HSM, Sigma 2x EX DG APO Autofocus Teleconverter, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/500]

After one team is ahead in a game, I often begin to focus on the other team to see if there is a play that changes the whole game. Of course, this can happen at any moment when the game is close. However, with a blowout, the latter part of the game is harder to cover since not much will happen to change the outcome of the game.

After you shoot a game, it’s essential not to editorialize in your captions — but to provide concise descriptions of what’s taken place. Concise but chock-full of information.

Today, databases require writing captions so the software can pick keywords from the caption so that editors can find the photos. One thing to remember, for example, is to list both teams in the caption. This way, you are informing the editor. In addition, it is common for editors to search for a few photos and then put them in a folder, and well-written captions help them with the necessary information.

Sept 15, 2007; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech is running back Tashard Choice (22) cuts on Boston College linebacker JoLonn Dunbar (40) during the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. [Nikon D2X, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG EX APO IF HSM, Sigma 2x EX DG APO Autofocus Teleconverter, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/500]

Getting a significant moment in the camera is only part of the story; it is the caption that fills in the rest.

A final note about the picture above; like all of these, it’s taken at night, which is a bit more complicated. But it communicates all three elements: He’s carrying the ball, it contains peak action, and you can sense the competitive pressure he probably feels from the defensive player pursuing him.

Team Photos

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X

Agnes Scott Basketball [NIKON D2X, 122.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Manual, ISO 400, 1/200, ƒ/16, (35mm = 202)]

GT Football Team Poster [Nikon D2X, Nikon 24-120mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, ƒ/16, 1/200]

There are many ways to approach team photos for posters. For Georgia Tech’s football team, the theme for the 2006 year is “Take Your Best Shot.” We took the photos at a boxing gym. What made the picture was the players getting into the concept.

I have always thought people look their best in portraits with pleasant expressions or smiles. However, getting male athletes to smile has proven difficult in the past years. They all want to look tough and have an attitude, as we see on MTV.

We embraced their attitude and what they wanted to portray about themselves in this photo. I think it works because it is a peek into their dreams.

Women’s Basketball Media Guide Cover [Nikon D2X, Nikon 24-120mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, ƒ/14, 1/8]

Women athletes smile much more than their male counterparts. They enjoy being the princess or queen for the day. Here they are on top of Atlanta with the Skyline behind them. It is like the last photo of the Disney movies where the Prince and Princess ride off into their kingdom. Their kingdom is Atlanta in this photo.