And Now a New Sport
My older daughter graduated and is now at UCLA. But my younger daughter, Emily is now in the color guard for her marching band. So it was back to crappy lighting and fast action. But there was a new twist: I now had eight to ten minutes to capture the action, not an hour. At first, I used a D300 and Elizabeth’s D90 to shoot, but shifting back and forth between two dissimilar bodies was often distracting. So last month, I ordered a D300S body.
Using two bodies, with two different lenses, has been a bit of a learning curve unto itself, but it’s also made life a lot easier. I’m not switching lenses as often. The autofocusing speed of the D300S and 70-200 VR combo is stunningly fast, and more of what I shoot is in sharp focus.
When I added the second body, my trusty LowePro Reporter Stealth Reporter D550 became too limited. Lugging a large shoulder bag, sometimes several miles at band tournaments, left me with sore shoulders. Plus, it was just awkward with the added body.
That meant a new bag; in this case, a LowePro backpack, the Vertex 200 AW. It’s just about the right size, and is much more comfortable. I recently hauled it around the Bands of America regional tournament in Santa Clarita, probably covering a good five miles that day.
So that’s where I am now as an action photographer. There’s still much more to learn, and none of it has been cheap. But I’m having a blast, and finally have a kit together that I don’t feel compelled to upgrade.
For now, anyway.
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4 comments
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Elizabeth says:
November 6, 2009 at 3:23 pm (UTC -7 )
This is great dad!
I’m looking forward to part II.
Neil says:
November 8, 2009 at 1:33 am (UTC -7 )
What do you find yourself using continuous mode for, in general? Do you make slide shows, or low-fps movies? Obviously for sports shooting it’s great so as to not miss a crucial action shot; But is there anything to do with all those leftover exposures than let them succumb to the recycle bin of oblivion?
YS says:
November 8, 2009 at 9:58 am (UTC -7 )
Yes, it goes to the bin. This what the process known as “editing” is for. Professional photographers do it. So should you.
Jon Lusty says:
November 10, 2009 at 8:31 pm (UTC -7 )
Loyd, I very much enjoyed this post, perhaps because it closely mirrors my own progression, tho I’m about 2 years behind. Instead of a Dimage 7 it was a Z1, a Dimage A200, a Nikon D50 and now, a Nikon D90. I am grateful you steered me towards the D90 at this point in my path. I’m not ready for the D300s yet. I’m loving the Nikkor prime lenses as most of what I shoot is nature-based thus far. I have a 3.5 year old on the way up so I’ll need a big fast zoom before I know it. For now, I’m learning.
Thanks again for an excellent post. It is encouraging to read what another guy has been through in this mad trek.
Jon
uberVU - social comments says:
November 9, 2009 at 6:00 pm (UTC -7 )
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