Taking action sports photos challenging

Is it possible that five full months have passed since the categories for the 2018 Van Wert County Fair Photography Exhibit were first posted? Those were: Sports in Motion, Living Creatures, Transportation, Shapes, and Night Time/Low Light.  If time should continue at this pace, it will soon be the end of August and our pictures are registered at the Fair Board Office!

With that thought in mind, let’s explore some of the details of each category, starting with Sports in Motion. This means you’re going to have to show a person, people, and/or an object or multiple things moving during a sporting event. OK, how do you do it?

This is where a more expensive camera body is an advantage. It will most likely supply higher ISO settings with less digital noise, faster shutter speeds, higher resolution, and faster burst speeds.  Likewise, a 300- or 400mm telephoto lens rated at f28 or f4 with a tripod mount will get you closer to the action.

If these are more than your budget can bear, a good software program can reduce or remove the digital noise created by 400-plus ISO settings and a 75-200 zoom lens can help you to get closer to the subject. But also consider a slower shutter speed and panning to keep the subject fairly sharp and its background blurred to create the appearance of the subject’s movement.

As a point of safety, if you are positioned along the sidelines, court, track or whatever, don’t take your eyes off the action to check your pictures or something else.  In that moment of inattention, you may be injured because you didn’t see someone or something flying at you, or possibly miss an incredible moment during the event.

Next week’s topic will be Living Creatures.