Sunday, February 15, 2009

My First Swim Meet


This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my granddaughters swim meet. This was the first one I had been to. From a photographer stand point I was wondering how to get the best pictures. Every sport/event has it's own nuances.



The first one I ran into was the humidity and temperature of the pool area which caused my lens to fog, which is what happens if you don't let your camera and equipment adjust correctly. I took a few practice shots and even tried my polarizer but decided against it. What I would gain in lack of reflection did not compensate enough for the stop of light I would have to give up.



The event only had one major rule concerning photos. No flash was allowed for the start of the race but was allowed afterwords. The races were going to be quick so I worked out that the best lens for the job was going to be my Canon 100mm f/2.8 (What else), ISO 800, Auto WB (seems to work best with mixed light) and 90 second shutter non flash and 250 for flash. I just cycled back and forth between the two as I needed.



The next task was trying to figure out what would make for a good shot. As usual I take more bad ones than I do good ones but I got a few good shots. Timing is everything and since I was using flash for most of the race I couldn't just snap away. You pretty much have to anticipate the shot. If you wait until you see it, it's too late to capture.



On Your Mark Set Ready Go!




2 comments:

Jane said...

Another new area for you to explore. If you have more than one meet at the same place set up a custom white balance for that natatorium. Might be a little less work in editing.

RussDaMan said...

Thanks Jane, I'll give that a try. I think I will be shooting at least one more meet at that same location.