Different venue for soccer

The under-12 girls had to play a "road" game in Bridgewater, it was an exciting contest with the winner coming just seconds before the final whistle. Every field is different and some just work better than others for photography, this one was great.

D60 and the trusty 70-300mm VR

That time of year - cool mornings, lots of mist

I left at the crack of dawn for the office to start processing a *ton* of RAW files from yesterday's wedding, my trusty Domke F4-AF bag is usually nearby. The D60 and 70-300mm VR were the only pieces of equipment I did not use, yesterday, they were "fresh" for work as I came along Wentzells Lake.

Playoff time

As in any sport, the post-season is where it really begins and matters. Last night's game between the host New Germany and Mahone Bay was expected to be a great match, and it was - penalty kicks were needed to decide it after regulation and overtime had concluded. Is that the best way to decide an important contest? That's the way soccer matches go.

Actually, both teams are moving on so there wasn't too much to lose sleep over, there may be a rematch down the road.

I had an opportunity to do some salesmanship - one of the soccer dads who was using a Nikon D90 borrowed my 70-300mm VR for a few minutes of shooting and decided to buy one for himself. Can you say "referral fee"? Actually, some of these files were taken with his 18-200mm VR, which is a nicer lens than I was led to believe my the Web reviews......

More late-summer soccer

The days are getting a bit shorter and the evenings cooler, probably ideal for outdoor sports. There is usually a soccer game on Monday nights at the local high school, lots of soccer moms and dads attend each game. I am learning a few things about the "beautiful game" as far as photography goes:

(1) It's best to always have the ball in the frame, and it should be frozen - which means a shutter speed of 1/1000th second and often the widest lens aperture. Although the AF-S 70-300mm VR is a consumer zoom, it's plenty sharp at f/5.6.
(2) Fast shutter speeds usually preclude using ISO 400 or 800, so there will be some modest noise issues, but far less than in the days of shooting film.
(3) It's essential to shoot RAW, lots of liberal cropping and exposure adjustments. You can be off by about two stops under the "correct" exposure and still save the file.
(4) Look for expressions of grittiness and emotion, they abound if your timing is right.
(5) There are MANY missed focus and out-of-focus arms and legs due to the shallow depth of field.

Anyway, I missed the first half of the game but came away with some decent captures.

Bridgewater Century Race

It's not often I get to see the start of a bicycle race, I was asked to do some grab shots for the event by a friend. I was able to borrow his stepladder and get some interesting angles as the bikes began their journey. Lots of colors and aesthetics.

D60 and AF-S 12-24mm.