Finding a good position is tricky. The combination of using a DX sensor and the 70-200 f/2.8 gives me an effective reach (crop factor) of 105-300mm. That helps. Also, I shoot at continuous high speed, which is 8fps on the D300s. So one 15 minute band performance translates to 400-500 shots. I usually can find 15-30 good ones.

Some of my shots are from the first stadium level, rather than the track. That gives me a different angle, too.

I find that standing on the track around the field to be something of a gamble with all the equipment with the percussion section plus the judges constantly moving in my way. On the other hand, trying to shoot from the stands is an exercise in frustration with people randomly walking in front of me, plus excited fans/parents/siblings moving around and making the bleachers vibrate enough to make well over half my shots blurry.

Ok, actually, one equipment/technique question as well. During nighttime performances, I have noticed that fields with more modern lighting systems sometimes end up making my shots a bit washed out or flat. I think it’s something to do with the light produced by those superbright stadium halogen lights. Have you noticed this as well, and if so, what do you do to combat it? I can certainly post-process the shots back to ‘normal’ but if there is a way to correct in the original, so much the better.