photography: April 2009 Archives

And how many sun-burned co-workers did you find at the office this morning?

It was a wonderful weekend, although a tad warm for those of us who prefer skiing to sun-bathing. Still, we got out the bikes and hit the trails for an early season warm up trail on the Union Canal Trail along the Tulpehocken River in Berks County.

Must have been hundreds of people biking, hiking or jogging there Sunday, trying not to bother the fly fishermen that were doing their best to land a trout or two.

This great blue heron was standing on a half-submerged log and didn't need the waders, fancy flies, lines or reels. He just stabbed this fish-- it appears to be a carp-- as it swam past. It didn't seem possible that it could swallow this monster, but it did.

And the heron stayed on the log for a long time. I wonder if this big, wriggling fish messed with the bird's take-off?

The picture was taken with a 500mm f8 mirror lens that was tucked onto the back of the bike bag.

Many thanks to York Dispatch ace photographer Bill Kalina, who sent this picture of me taking a splintered bat out of the protection screen. As I was taking wide angle pictures of the Revolution pitcher throwing to a teammate Tuesday, the bat shattered and came flying at me. Fortunately, I was focused (so to speak) on the pitcher, didn't see the bat and thought the sound I heard was a ball banging into the net (which is how it's supposed to work).

Only when assistant coach Jeff Barkdoll called my attention to the bat did I realize how close it came to my head and neck. 'Could have ruined my whole day. But, my gawd, I got the picture.

And that's not being cavalier about the dangers in shooting sports. It's just the way it is. Anyone who has done this for a while has been run down, knocked over, beat upon, bruised and battered by players, umps, referees, fans, or flying projectiles of one sort or another.

Many years ago, when I started in newspapers, I was a sports writer, working at a suburban Cleveland newspaper. We covered the Cleveland Indians,and the pitcher was a fast baller named Sudden Sam McDowell. This was maybe 1969, and photographers could shoot from anywhere. Access was better than in today's Central or Susquehanna League baseball games, and certainly better than high school. As long as you stayed off the field of play, you could take pictures. We even carried on conversations with first base umpires.

On this day, I lined up right behind the umpire and against the canvas padding on the old stadium wall. It was a beautiful photo, with Sudden Sam throwing the ball and the batter, catcher and ump in the foreground.

His fast ball smacked the canvas about two feet away from me, about eye level. Yes, you could stand anywhere, but McDowell made it clear he didn't want me there. I moved, and I remember a grin on his face as I shuffled off.

The moral? Be safe (for both you and the players) and be aware.

For future reference, if shooting Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, lacrosse, or whatever, remember these few (non-photography) tidbits learned over the years--

1. Watch the players, not the ball. The ball won't run you over. Players will show you where the ball is.
2. Don't take anything to the field that's going to reduce your mobility. You might have to move quickly. Big lenses are sexy and impressive, but if you don't need them, leave them in the car. Absolutely, do NOT take a tripod to the field.
3. Anticipate the game. That is, anticipate a foul ball leaving at least a bruise or welt, sooner or later.
4. Don't turn your back to the action. Be aware of the foul ball, errant pass, shanked golf shot or wild volleyball serve.
5. Forget #4. If you play it safe, you'll miss a lot of good pictures.

Shooting backlit subjects can be tricky, but it's sometimes worth the extra fidgeting. This trillium is backlit, and the sun shows through in shadows, while the white shows off detail in the petals that might have been hidden with front light. The camera meter might read the sun instead of the flower, so change the meter to 'spot' or 'backlit'.

Extension tubes are a terrific and easy way to get close to a subject without buying an expensive macro lens, close up 'filters' or bellows.

Generally, the tubes come in sets. Put the shortest one on your wide angle lens, and you can literally focus on the front element-- if you are a so inclined-- and still keep a wide angle 'feel' to the picture. Put an extension tube on a longer lens (100-500mm) to get closer than the lens would normally allow. You won't have to get on top of the bug to get its picture.

This bloodroot here was shot over the weekend at Shenk's Ferry Wildflower Preserve in Lancaster County. Thousands of dutchman's breeches were in bloom, along with a few bloodroots. Bluebells and trilliums were about to pop.

Of course, to shoot the fields solid with wildflowers, you'll have to remove the tube. But that's a minor inconvenience.