I was once again presented with the opportunity to shoot for the UF Women’s Basketball team as they played in the 2010 SEC Women’s Basketball tournament held at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA.  This is such a huge opportunity for any sports photographer as you gain postseason tournament experience shooting with some of the best photographers from Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, and SEC Sports.  Plus the SEC is their premier league when it comes women’s basketball and you can really catch some great games.

This time around I was prepared with the right equipment and I had a whole season of shooting under my belt.  I felt really prepared and knew coming in what shots I needed and what new shots I wanted to get.  I also had my workflow fairly perfected and that was crucial, as I was able to develop my photos pretty quickly so they could be posted right after the game.  This was a great opportunity to bring all my experience from the past regular season and apply to one of the bigger stages in women’s college basketball.

I arrived at the Gwinnett Center to pick up my media credentials and was greeted by some helpful SEC staff volunteers who took me on a tour of the facility and the media workroom.  I’ve only been to a few media workrooms in my short career but I have to say that the SEC really knows how to take care of their media staff.  There were separate work areas for newspaper media, photographers, and video editors.  In addition to the separate rooms, there was a huge room just for the hot pre-game meals that were served at the beginning of each session (a session consisted of two games).  There were also stacks of media guides from all of the SEC schools piled up against the wall of newspaper media area which I thought was pretty impressive.

I was able to get my laptop all setup and the gear all organized and then I headed to the floor.  As I was walking through the media row on the sideline I glanced at a few of the names reserving the seats.  There was the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, local Atlanta newspapers, and USA Today.  I was pretty impressed that they made these preparations for such big news organizations.  I made my way to the baseline to find that the AP and SEC Sports photographers already claimed the really good spots but I was able to grab a spot right next to the SEC Sports photographer who I remembered from last year’s SEC tournament.

I took a few pictures just to see how the lighting was and I immediately knew I was going to have a great day taking pictures.  I was pleased to find the lighting was amazing and bright and I had to tone down my settings that I’m used to at the O’Dome in Gainesville.  The great lighting in the arena allowed me to shoot at 1/1250 with only a 3200 ISO which meant that I was going to get some great clear low noise shots.  It was an hour before the game and the teams were out warming up and I was snapping away.  All shots were crystal clear and because I was shooting at such a fast shutter speed, I was able to get some great action shots.

Even though the end result of the game was not what I was looking towards, it was a good game and another great experience.  I was able to see how some of the other photographers framed their shots and also got to see some new equipment that I hadn’t yet seen.  The ability just to be on the baseline capturing this wonderful sport made for a great day.  I am truly thankful for the opportunity and hope to be able to continue with this kinds of experiences in the future.

You can see my entire set from the game here on my Flickr page.

UF's Steffi Sorensen (10) celebrates after saving a ball out of bounds.

I have been very fortunate over the past few months to have the opportunity to capture the moments (both good and bad) of the UF Women’s Basketball team as they work through their 2009-2010 basketball season.  Not only have I been able to shoot a sport that I absolutely love but I have been learning so much along the way.  I’ve also been able to see another side of the game of basketball and get really close to the action.

The photo above is absolutely one of my favorites for many reasons.  First, because I almost missed it.  I was concentrating on another part of the action as Steffi Sorensen was flying towards me on the baseline.  Your first natural reaction is to wince and protect your equipment and that reaction has happened many times resulting in missed shots.  For some reason, though, I was automatically focused the camera on the action and held down the trigger.  This amazing shot right here is the result of that reaction.  I am happy I was able to overcome the wince and protect reaction!

Another reason I absolutely love this photo is it’s just a simple shot but the amount of emotion contained within the photo is tremendous.  If you understand the idea of sport, then you can relate to the amount of emotion the player is showing in this photo.  I feel like this photo in itself conveys more than the standard 1000 words.  You definitely can feel pumped and ready to play.

It’s moment like these that make it really great to be a photographer!

The last few weeks have seen a huge improvement in the equipment that is in my Canon bookbag.  I’ve got a new body, new L series lenses, and faster high-capacity memory cards.  It’s definitely helped having this new equipment with my sports photography.  Pictures are clearer and brighter and the quality of pictures is amazing.

Here is what’s currently in my bookbag:

• Canon 5D Mark II body
• Canon Digital Rebel XTi body
• Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens
• Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens
• Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
• Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
• Sandisk Extreme 16GB 60mb/s CF card
• Sandisk Extreme III 4GB 30mb/s CF card

Looking forward to expanding the equipment more.  I definitely will have to get a bigger bag as this one is maxed out.

Happy Shooting!

Happy New Year to all my followers!  I am happy to announce that 2010 has started off on the right foot!  I just picked up a Canon 5D Mark II and I have to say that this is an amazing piece of camera equipment.  I have been using the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L USM lately and I just got the opportunity to shoot with both of them.  The experience was amazing.  Shots will crystal clear and the focusing was razor sharp.  Check out the Auburn game that I shot last Thursday (second half mainly).  Definitely some really great moments that with my old camera I would have missed.

Happy New Year and GO GATORS!

Wow!  This was one of the most thrilling games to watch and shoot.  It was the battle of David and Goliath as the ladies from Chi Omega (Sorority League Champs) outnumbered the ladies of the Tomboys (Womens League Champs) 20-5.  The Tomboys played with only five players and lost their 5th to an injury at a crucial point in the second half.  This did not stop them as they were down 13-7 and ended up scoring a 32 yard TD off some great heroics.  This gave them the chance to win on the extra point but missed by a matter of inches.  That brought on overtime and it took Chi Omega (who had the ball first) 4 downs to score and a 3rd and goal INT against the Tomboys to seal the victory.  While my favorite lost, this was definitely one of the most impressive and outstanding flag football games to watch.  The determination and perseverance of this team is quite commendable.

Check out the set from the 2009 All Campus Women’s Flag Football Championship played on Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (The Swamp) on the campus of the University of Florida.

I just finished editing and posting the last few games for my favorite intramural team, the Tomboys as they marched to their first Intramural Championship.  You can check out the photos on my Flickr page.

Games 6,7, and 8

I hope you enjoy.

I once again had the honor to shoot a UF Women’s Basketball tournament.  This time it was the FIU Thanksgiving Classic held in Miami, FL at the US Century Bank Arena on the campus of Florida International University.  It was held over the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.  This was a great opportunity as it allowed me to work with some new equipment.  I got to use a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens that I rented from www.rentglass.com and it made life so much easier.  Definitely give them a visit if you want to rent lenses and even camera bodies.

Here are the photo sets from the tournament (I will update the links as they become available:

1. Flickr Gallery Game 1 vs. St. John’s University – Gatorzone Article and Gatorzone Gallery
2. Flickr Gallery Game 2 vs. Florida International University – Gatorzone Article and Gatorzone Gallery

It was a great experience for me and I definitely look forward to more opportunities in the future.

I was presented with the opportunity to help out my favorite women’s basketball team, the Florida Gators Women’s Basketball team, with taking photos during their run at the SEC Tournament Championship.  It was a great opportunity as I was able to gain valuable experience as a sports photographer.  I was able to sit on the baseline with photographers from Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press and I was able to have full access of the court area during a pretty big tournament.  I am very thankful for this opportunity.

Take a look at the photos from the tournament on my Flickr page.

I had the opportunity to improve on my sports photography skills the past few weeks by covering an intramural flag football team at the University of Florida. The collection can be seen here.  The neat thing about this was the time that the games were taking place.  The games are played during what photographers like to call “golden time” which is right when dusk is beginning.  It allows for such beautiful photography.  Enjoy.

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