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| Photo by George Ponder |
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I first experienced the joy of covering Little League baseball games a lifetime ago, when I was shooting for a local newspaper. My love for it was rekindled some time later, when my son began playing. My coverage of the game has grown from taking pictures of my son to covering the entire league for the annual publication.
I'd like to share my experiences from this past season with those who cover Little League games in their communities; for family photographs or otherwise. I think covering such events is among the most rewarding photographic experiences you can have.
All in all, this past season I shot over 7,000 frames covering day, afternoon and some night games for the 12 teams in my son's league. I have no idea how many hours I spent reviewing and processing images. While shooting the games was pure enjoyment, keeping track of my son's game was tense. His team won or lost half their games by 1-2 runs, all nail-biters to the last out.
My season started with opening day. I decided to spend the entire day at the ballpark, covering the five day games over an eight-hour period. I shoot with a Canon 20D using either a Sigma 50-500mm or Canon 70-200mm f2.8L with an EF 2.0X teleconverter, all supported on a Bogen monopod. The season reaffirmed for me the necessity of shooting with a monopod or tripod when using large telephoto lenses. While I can shoot with the Sigma (weighing in at just over four pounds) unsupported for short periods of time, I need a monopod for prolonged shooting events.
I would typically set up along the first base line, which allowed me to cover the batter's box and the bases. At my son's machine pitch games, I'd focus on the batter and when I heard the distinctive "thump" of the pitching machine, I'd start shooting.
With live pitch, I tried to keep one eye on the batter and one eye on the pitcher, to gauge the batter's swing. However, with live pitch, the batters aren't so swing-happy, and they watch the pitches a lot closer. Every pitch doesn't result in a swing. So, you learn to watch the habits of the players. Some pull back ever so slightly with the bat before they swing; others' eyes get wider, some stick their tongues out, and others yell.
I try to shoot baseball with a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec and the 20D gives me 5 frames per second. Even if I hit the shutter button when I see the forward motion of the bat, I should be able to capture a portion of the swing.
Another big challenge for shooting batters is where they look as they swing. Technically, they should keep their heads up, eyes open, and watch the pitch. However, remember that these are 10-year-old boys who often forget the technical aspects of the game. They swing at pitches three feet above their heads; they close their eyes; and they keep their heads down.
Some batters photograph better than others. At the games I went to last season, there were some boys who constantly looked down as they swung, preventing any facial expressions from being captured. Others kept their heads up and were full of expression as they tried to reach the fences with their swing. It was surprising at first, the number of batters who still swung with their eyes closed. Remarkably, many made contact and found themselves with a base hit.
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