October 27, 2012
So I rented a big boy lens, an EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, to see if I could get some better soccer pix at today’s game, the last one. What a magnificent piece of glass. I shot this from at least 75 feet away and it feels like I was on top of it. (More on top of it than the “ref,” who apparently is unfamiliar with the concept of offsides, but whatever.) Thing is, I shot about 100 photos and only about 5 are usable. I think it’s because my consumer grade T1i has so few focal points in the frame, it got confused more often than not and ended up focusing on the wrong person or some random point on the grass or whatever. Obviously I need a new, way more expensive camera since it will make me a better photographer. That’s how this works, right? As far as the soccer goes, the kids struggled through a winless season. I thought they might get one today, after playing great and leading 1-0 at the half, but we were short two players so we had no subs. Our guys ran out of gas late and gave up three goals, two on breakaways. That said, they kept their heads up and didn’t get bummed, which says a lot about them. He’s already asking about spring soccer, so, feels like a success.

So I rented a big boy lens, an EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, to see if I could get some better soccer pix at today’s game, the last one.

What a magnificent piece of glass. I shot this from at least 75 feet away and it feels like I was on top of it. (More on top of it than the “ref,” who apparently is unfamiliar with the concept of offsides, but whatever.)

Thing is, I shot about 100 photos and only about 5 are usable. I think it’s because my consumer grade T1i has so few focal points in the frame, it got confused more often than not and ended up focusing on the wrong person or some random point on the grass or whatever. Obviously I need a new, way more expensive camera since it will make me a better photographer. That’s how this works, right?

As far as the soccer goes, the kids struggled through a winless season. I thought they might get one today, after playing great and leading 1-0 at the half, but we were short two players so we had no subs. Our guys ran out of gas late and gave up three goals, two on breakaways. That said, they kept their heads up and didn’t get bummed, which says a lot about them. He’s already asking about spring soccer, so, feels like a success.

12:28pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyW3wJy2
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(Notes: 42)
  
Filed under: photography kids soccer 
  1. sniffyjenkins said: Again, I say AI Servo mode!
  2. bananacasts said: Nice!
  3. openareas said: Lately, I’ve only been able to use my big lens with a tripod. Hands too shaky. Nice shot, though.
  4. ungracefulme said: It’s great when they still want to play despite a dismal season. Hope for next season can be a powerful thing (thankfully, I think.)
  5. penbleth said: Cool shot. Get yourself a film camera, or a Pola, get all retro on it.
  6. ron-bailey said: Set your autofocus to lock on centermost focus point only, and use focus lock to compose the shot. And don’t be afraid to use AI Servo when you are shooting active stuff like football.
  7. inmi said: The 70-200 is too much lens for me - makes my arms cramp up. What mode are you shooting in?
  8. scholvin posted this
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