Catching the action

At a guard competition this summer, I tried to catch the action of diving in at the beginning of the race.  Even with a 200 lens, I did not catch great images.  

Next time, I will make sure that I am closer and a shooting with a burst to ensure I catch the action.

Planning the Angle

I enjoyed taking photos during the Barnsley Lifeguard Competition.  I also was able to plan some photos.  I made these photos by working the bulkhead at the other end of the pool.  While I captured the action, it is relatively boring.  A better shot would have been much closer to the swimmers, but on the side of the pool.  Head-on, there is very little to see of the entry.  If I was at the side, I would have gotten some great profiles while diving.

Moving Targets

With my previous photograph bringing up the 20 lb brick, the guard came straight up.  With this shot, the guard swam sideways.  It is not unusual to do this but making a photograph when this happens requires a changing plan.

Helping the camera deal with a subject moving (and moving out of the frame,) you move the camera at the same speed of your subject.  If this is new to you, you can also make sure you are zoomed out more so that you can capture the event.  In post production, you can crop out excess space to compose the photograph better.

Being Playful

Being a photographer for any event is a challenge to 'capture' the event.  If you ever leave one spot, you may miss the action there, but by being different, you have other opportunities to capture the essence of the event.

When you start taking photos, those that are natural comedians will often 'act out.'  The nice thing is that you can capture these moments with our new technologies.

While this shot was not framed, or arranged, I planned on getting images like this.  So.... this is another way of making photographs.

Pretty Amazing

At the LG competition, there is a fitness component.  Bring a 20lb brick off the bottom at 6 feet or more, then swim with it for 15 feet.  Sounds easy - but try it.  

I have been doing this activity for almost 20 years.  When I was at Rolley Lake, I was 'playing' by picking up rocks off the bottom.  It was fun to watch others try as well.  

Catching this on film was exciting.  Again I had to plan watching when she was going to break the surface and take the shot just before she broke the surface.  Having done this activity gave me an opportunity to have a good idea when she would break and the breath she would immediately take.

Catching the action

Catching the action used to be so much harder.  With my old Pentax Super ME, I could only take one image and then manually wind.  I never moved to an auto winder.

With the Nikon D60, I can take 3 to 4 snaps per second.  It is still not fast enough to catch action with unless it is planned.  You need to plan your shot, ensure your shutter speed is enough to not just make a blur, then breath out slowly and depress the shutter just before the moment you want.