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Posts Tagged ‘sports’

Personal, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

Goals and Reaching the Top – Super Sunday

What is your goal?

Today is the last day for American football fans around the world to see teams compete on the field. It is clearly defined after a 7-month season which teams overcame the most obstacles to win. After today a best team will be crowned champion, and they will enjoy that feeling for the next 6 months before they start a new season. This clear black and white demarcation of sports defines the parameters, and gives the competitors the ultimate goal for which they strive to accomplish.

American professional football player

Benchmarks

What trophy, status, or accomplishment would define you at your best? Luckily as entrepreneurs, we define that for ourselves. It is one of the lessons I have learned as I continue to work as a photographer. There are those that make more money, or shoot cooler assignments. Are projecting what they want us to see? Maybe they have the same insecurities as you. Maybe they have set different goals for themselves at different rates or times. This is very personal and unique to each individual, so it would be impossible to know. 

Parade of colonial patriots

Parade of colonial patriots

Going Forward

Do i pretend to know that this is the case for everyone? Of course not. But in talking with other photographers and business owners, this is a hot topic of discussion. Watching any documentary on championship sports teams, you will see that it is not a straightforward, walk-in-the-park for them either even during a Championship run! You may think this discouraging that even the best team did not have an easy road. However, it is comforting knowing that I share the same feeling as I find my way. There are ups and downs, but having photos to review over time, i can see my progress, and I am more than proud of what i have done. Considering I have come from making my own assignments to now being more choosy on what jobs I take, i am satisfied with what I have done so far. Now, I just continue the hunt for more challenging assignments, more visionary collaborators, and happy clients!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Event, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center

NHL Player

Back in February, I covered and appearance by Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center. He is a defenseman for the Washington Capitals. If you are not familiar, the Capitals are the professional hockey team based in Washington DC, and Alzner has been a standout player for the team since he joined them in 2008.

Karl Alzner Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center
Karl Alzner Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center

Of all the professional sports teams in the DC area, it is a popular opinion that the Capitals are the team that is closest to winning a Championship. Although the did not make the playoffs in 2014, they have made it every year since 2008 reaching the conference semi-finals 3 times. It is a popular chant in the arena to ‘Rock The Red’ so the Concourse at Tysons Corner Center was decked out with red.

Karl Alzner Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center
Washington Capitals Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center
Washington Capitals Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center
Washington Capitals Meet and Greet at Tysons Corner Center

Karl greeted a lot of fans young and old. He signed autographs for a line of people that came prepared with memorabilia, shirts, pucks, for him to add his signature. While he was there, and they had the gear, he watched people take some shots at an inflatable goal setup. He gave tips to help some people make better shots through the back of the net. He was very patient and took a lot of time with those that came out to see him.

Karl Alzner skills challenge

Hockey shooting drill on the Concourse
Hockey shooting drill on the Concourse

There were other notable people that were in attendance. Grant Paulsen from 106.7 the Fan radio station was there to emcee the event. Being a host of a daily sports radio show made him a perfect person to keep the crowd entertained. Slapshot, the Eagle mascot of the Capitals was also there! He even put on some skate to take a few turn around the ice rink out on the Plaza!

Slapshot on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center
Slapshot on the Plaza ice rink at Tysons Corner Center
Grant Paulsen directing the show
Grant Paulsen directing the show
Slapshot and the Red Rockers at Tysons Corner Center
Slapshot and the Red Rockers at Tysons Corner Center

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Event, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

Panning and Tracking | Tech Tuesday

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day holiday yesterday! It was a nice three day weekend, and it was nice to have a break from working on the computer. However, I did not take a break from the camera. I covered the last of the Tysons Corner Center concert series on Friday, helped a colleague cover a wedding ceremony and reception on Saturday, and Sunday was a track day!

I went out to Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WV to photograph cars racing in the Labor Day Double. There were lots of races throughout the warm day, and we had some rain storms come through during one of the runs.

Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media - Panning and Tracking example
Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media

Trying to photograph race cars as they speed by on the track is a fun photography challenge! As with all photos, I try to get as clean a background as I can. Around the track, there are areas where there are not too many tire barriers, but these are hard to avoid. What helps to clean up the background is to blur it out of focus by panning, or following the cars with the camera as it goes by.

If you have a slow enough shutter speed, only the car body will be in focus, and everything else in motion will be nicely blurred. This includes the wheels and tires on the car making a much more dynamic image. If your shutter speed is too fast, your car may be in sharp focus, but the wheels will be sharp. It may look as if the car is just sitting motionless on the track!

Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media - Panning and Tracking example
Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media


Set your camera’s auto focus to track subjects, then pan along with the cars as they go by and fire off the shutter as many times as the motor drive will allow. You will have a much better chance of getting at least one photo in sharp focus, with motion shown in the wheels. It takes me a few races before I really start to feel confident in getting good images. It is a fun subject to spend the day shooting!

Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media
Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media
Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media
Summit-Point-Racing-©TimeLine-Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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