Photography - GaryPaulson.net

Heart & Sole 5k Fun Run & 1 Mile Lovers’ Lane

Feb 112012

During the summer of 2012, Pasco Christian Church will be partnering with Amor Ministries and Go, Inc. to send a youth led mission team into Mexico to build homes and run a Vacation Bible School. In order to raise funds for the trip, Pasco Christian Church sponsored the 1st Annual Heart & Sole 5K Fun Run. All proceeds from the event will be used to fund the Pasco Christian Church 2012 Mexico Mission Team’s trip costs.

The 5k started at Wade Park in Pasco and went east just past the blue bridge before turning around and coming back. Who runs a 5k? Seasoned runners and aspiring athletes; Moms, Dads, kids, and young children. For those not up to a 5K, a 1 Mile run/walk started shortly after the 5k going the other direction along the river. Either way, it was a nice morning along the Columbia River path.

It was good practice for me too. The overcast sky did not provide a good backdrop to the pictures but did provide a nice diffused light. The river and the Blue Bridge provided a pretty nice background for many of the shots. Sure different than shooting the indoor meet last week. I was able to turn the ISO down from 1200 to 100 and still shoot wide open on the aperture. Amazing how allowing the background to blur helps a picture.

Photo Albums:

5k Fun Run, (facebook1, facebook2)
Odds & Ends and 1 Mile Run, (facebook)

Runners Soul Open at University of Idaho

Photography, Track & Field No Responses »

Feb 052012

Track season has started. Saturday I drove 6 boys up to Moscow, Idaho for the Runners Soul Open Indoor Track Meet at the University of Idaho Kibbie Dome. Photos will be going up and I will write some posts as I get the photos processed.

High resolution copies of the photos will be placed in Runner Soul Indoor Open at the University of Idaho photo gallery in the albums listed below. I also upload them on Facebook so you can tag yourself and your friends on the GaryPaulson.net page.

Photo Albums:

Battle of the Bone – Mat Rattlers and Off the Mat Photos

Photography, Wrestling No Responses »

Jan 282012

Got some shots around the mat and then between the meets at ‘Battle of the Bone.’ I was able to shoot some pictures of the Mat Rattlers, wrestling for kids age 5 to 14. The Tri-Cities Mat Rattler Wrestling Club is a member of the Eastern Washington Little Guy Wrestling League (WLGWL). The league is for wrestlers 5 to 14 years of age. The club practice sites are at Pasco High (coach Grover Kerr 547-5573), Desert Hills Middle School in Kennewick (coach Chris Chilen 398-0647), and Hanford High in Richland (coach Andy Ashworth 591-1104). For more information check out the Mat Rattler web site.

Photos at Smugmug
- Mat Rattlers & Misc.:Mat Rattlers Miscellaneous Photos
- Kamiakin vs Kennewick: Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Kennewick
- Kamiakin vs Southridge:Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Southridge

Kamiakin vs West Valley – Girls Basketball

Basketball, Photography No Responses »

Jan 252012

Game Info
- Date: January 24, 2012
- Score: Kamiakin Braves: 80 -vs- West Valley Rams: 49 @ Kamiakin

Photos at Smugmug
- Girls Basketball: Kamiakin vs West Valley – Girls Basketball Photos
- Boys Basketball: Kamiakin vs West Valley – Boys Basketball Photos
- Around the Court: Kamiakin vs West Valley – Around the Basketball Court Photos

Favorite Shots:

Still learning how to shoot indoor sports. I am writing up my experience so that I, hopefully, won’t repeat the same mistakes (too many times) as well as to help others who venture this same path.

During first half I used only my Canon 60D in aperture mode with the 17-55mm f/2.8 lens set to f/2.8, ISO at 640, exposure compensation set to 2/3 underexposed, and the shutter speed left to the camera to decide. The shutter speed fluctuated between 1/60th of a second and 200th of a second. At the low end it was way too slow; way too many blurry photos. Many more were blurry when I accidentally bumped the aperture to f/3.5.

I decided to bump up the ISO from 640 to 1250, doubling the light sensitivity thus allowing the camera to use a faster shutter speed. The camera adjusted the shutter speed and I was amazed how much the exposure fluctuated. What this ends up meaning is that I will spend quite a bit of time in Lightroom adjusting photos since the lighting never really changed except possibly shadow detail.

At half-time I also decided to pull out my second camera, a Canon T2i with my 70-200mm f/4.0 zoom lens attached so I could get better pictures at the far side of the court. This camera I set up in ‘manual’ mode; the aperture wide open at f/4.0, the shutter speed set at 1/200th of a second to try to stop action, and ISO at 800. All the photos came out a bit dark, which was expected, but in Lightroom I just bumped the exposure up about 2/3 stop and only had to do some minor shadow filling.

Lesson Learned: In these indoor situations, it appears best to shoot manual mode since lighting is not really changing that much. When the boys play next, I will have set both cameras to manual mode and will see if I am right.

Other Camera Settings:
- Focus: AI Servo (continuous focus), using only the center dot. Camera set to use back button focus. Back button focus will be the subject of another post some day. With practice, I will be able to keep a player in focus even though others come between me and the subject. I just need to learn to ‘think’ while taking pictures so that I remember to release the focus when someone does come in between.
- Exposure Meter: Spot Metering. I think this was my problem in the earlier photos since the camera would adjust to the center spot even though the subject was not there. Using manual mode it will not matter as much, but will change the exposure metering to the Evaluative Metering mode so that I can keep an eye on my overall photo exposure while taking pictures.

Enjoy the photos!

Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Southridge Wrestling

Photography, Wrestling No Responses »

Jan 192012

Meet Info
- Date: January 17, 2012
- Score: Kamiakin Braves: 28 -vs- Southridge Suns: 48 @ Kamiakin
- Story: Tri-City Herald

Photos at Smugmug
- Kamiakin vs Southridge:Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Southridge
- Kamiakin vs Kennewick: Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Kennewick
- Mat Rattlers & Misc.:Mat Rattlers Miscellaneous Photos

I took a break when Kennewick and Southridge took to the mat against each other and came back in time to get pictures of this meet. After the practice I had from the prior meet, this one was a bit easier. It seemed the referee loved to stand in front of me, but I am sure that it is just when I have an opportunity for a great shot, that is also a great place for the ref to be observing from as well.

Will see if the wrestlers appreciate these photos (are the kids ‘tagging’ them on Facebook and are parents buying any on Smugmug).

Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Kennewick Wrestling

Photography, Wrestling No Responses »

Jan 182012

Meet Info
- Date: January 17, 2012
- Score: Kamiakin Braves: 25 -vs- Kennewick Lions: 33 @ Kamiakin
- Story: Tri-City Herald

Photos at Smugmug
- Kamiakin vs Kennewick: Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Kennewick
- Kamiakin vs Southridge: Coming Soon! Wrestling – Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Southridge
- Mat Rattlers & Misc.: Coming Soon! Mat Rattlers Miscellaneous Photos

After shooting a basketball game, I thought I should try photographing wrestling. Wrestling appears to be much harder to photograph. In Cross Country & Track, the athletes are always predictable. They will be coming from a specific direction. Every runner, every time. In Basketball, the athletes are heading towards one basket or the other. Yes you will have their backs to you at times, but the defenders will most likely be facing you.

In Wrestling, the athletes rotate around the mat, facing this way and that. Even when they are pointed your direction, the athletes’ faces may be turned away or buried in the other player’s armpit. The photographer is also fighting the same low light situation you have for basketball and other indoor sports with the added difficulty that the wrestler usually has his face angled towards the dark mat, meaning their face is always in a shadow. In basketball the players are looking out towards either the basket or other players, a much better lighting situation in comparison.

Still, it was fun to shoot, fun to remember high school, fun to see and hear the parents cheering on their wrestlers.

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Around the Basketball Court

Basketball, Photography No Responses »

Jan 162012

Game Info
- Date: January 13, 2012
- Teams: Kamiakin Braves -vs- Hanford Falcons @ Kamiakin
- Story: Tri-City Herald

Photos at Smugmug
- Boys Basketball: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Boys Varsity Basketball Photos
- Girls Basketball: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Girls Varsity Basketball Photos
- Around the Court: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Around the Basketball Court Photos

Besides the basketball game there was a lot of other things happening around the basketball court. It would not be a basketball game if there were not cheerleaders and a half-time show by the Kamiakin Dance team.

But it was not all fun and games. When the Kamiakin Leadership Class heard that a fellow student, Alfredo Barajas, was suffering from an inoperable heart condition and was receiving hospice care and the family was in need they did not just sit around. Instead they looked around and found some ways to raise money, money for their classmate’s pending burial costs. Besides placing collection cans at some local businesses, Kamiakin’s KANO club passed coffee cans at the last two basketball games. My understanding is they raised well over $2,500 at the two games. Great job Kamiakin! Our prayers are with Alfredo and his family.

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Boys Basketball

Basketball, Photography No Responses »

Jan 152012

Game Info
- Date: January 13, 2012
- Score: Kamiakin Braves: 62 -vs- Hanford Falcons: 35 @ Kamiakin
- Story: Tri-City Herald

This was still my first day of shooting both basketball and indoor sports but after taking photos of the 2nd half of the girls basketball game I felt a little more confident shooting this game. I decided to let camera choose the best ISO setting and manually set the shutter speed and lens aperture. I chose a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second to try to stop the court action and not have too many arms or legs ghosting. My primary lens for the game was my Canon 17-55mm zoom and I set the aperture to its widest setting, f/2.8, to allow in the most light. This is the first time I had set both my shutter speed and aperture settings. Usually I set just the shutter speed if I am worried about ghosting or the aperture if I want to set the depth of field. The camera set the ISO for a majority of the photos between 1000 and 2000. The pictures look fine if you don’t try to zoom in 100% but would like to see if I can keep the ISO below 1000 next time.

Besides the girls game, I have some shots from around the court that you may want to check out as well.

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Girls Basketball

Basketball, Photography No Responses »

Jan 142012

Game Info
- Date: January 13, 2012
- Score: Kamiakin Braves: 61 -vs- Hanford Falcons: 37 @ Kamiakin

Photos at Smugmug
- Girls Basketball: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Girls Varsity Basketball Photos
- Boys Basketball: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Boys Varsity Basketball Photos
- Around the Court: Kamiakin vs Hanford – Around the Basketball Court Photos

The Kamiakin girls basketball played a great game against their cross-town rivals, Hanford High. This was my first attempt at photographing a basketball game. My son asked if I could get some photos of their student section as part of their effort to raise money for Alfredo Barajas who is under hospice care for a terminal heart condition. Since I would be bringing my camera, figured it would be a good opportunity to shoot some indoor sports.

Due to some prior commitments I wasn’t able to make it for the first half of the girls game but tried some photos at various locations on the court. Basketball moves quite a bit faster than Cross Country and in Cross Country you can almost always set yourself into a position where the athletes will be coming right towards you. In basketball the player is changing posistions constantly though he is rarely facing you directly and if by chance he does, more likely than not, a ref will block the photographers view.

2011 Cable Bridge Run

Events, Photography No Responses »

Dec 122011

I was asked to take some photos of the Cable Bridge Run this year for the Port of Pasco to use in some publicity pieces.
A nice blue sky would have been perfect.
Instead the day was cold and overcast.
If I get a chance I may teach myself how to ‘replace’ the ugly gray sky with a nice blue sky from earlier this year.

From my vantage at the Port’s building I would not see the 1 mile runners since they would not run this far.
The 5k runners ran along Ainsworth in front of the Port property while the 10k runners ran along the river on the back side of the Port property.
I went back and forth bewtween the front and back to try to get some shots that would highlight both the river trail and the rest of the Port of Pasco’s property.

All the photos can be found at my SmugMug album: 2011 Cable Bridge Run

1 2 Older Entries

GaryPaulson.net

Heart & Sole 5k Fun Run & 1 Mile Lovers’ Lane

Runners Soul Open at University of Idaho

Battle of the Bone – Mat Rattlers and Off the Mat Photos

Kamiakin vs West Valley – Girls Basketball

Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Southridge Wrestling

Battle of the Bone – Kamiakin vs Kennewick Wrestling

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Around the Basketball Court

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Boys Basketball

Kamiakin vs Hanford – Girls Basketball

2011 Cable Bridge Run

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