The easiest sport to photograph

Someone once said that mankind's successes are printed on the sports pages, and its failures on the front page.

I like shooting sports.

And most are fairly easy to photograph, once you understand the game and anticipate the action.

But I have a tough time shooting volleyball. Getting a picture at the net is easy, much like under the net in basketball. But to get a truly strong, interesting and different shot is another story entirely. Anticipation is important while shooting sports, and despite my eons of covering volleyball games, I just don't get it. Field hockey is another-- the whistle blows and play stops every seven seconds.

But without question, the easiest sport to shoot is auto racing. The cars are always in the same place, same speed and light. Just crank up the shutter speed to stop the action, and shoot away. The only way to make a racing picture interesting is to slow the shutter and blur the background. Or be lucky enough to be standing where some poor soul will wreck. It's like hockey-- everyone goes to see the fights, or wrecks.

Maybe that's why when Tony Stewart showed up at Williams Grove on Tuesday, everyone had a camera, sometimes two.

Next time you buy a camera, take it to a track. You can't help but get superb photos, and the cars roar past so often you can experiment all night.