The Sharpe Image

Carolina finally won!!!  I am so happy!  It had to happen, if they had not won, shooting the rest of the season would be like getting a tooth pulled every time I would have had to show up at the stadium.  I think that they are a much better Team than what they have been playing like, it just seems as if it has taken them some time to really find and turn up the intensity…………Like I wrote in my last post, shooting Football is hard for me.  I really don’t consider myself a “great” football shooter, it is something that I really have to work at all the time, and really put a lot of thought into when I am off the field.  I have been trying to shoot other things other than the “plays” themselves, and this is what I came up with from this game.  I was really happy to see them win, and I think that helped in my outlook while shooting.  All of these were shot with my Nikon D300.  I love the camera, but I am excited to see the D300s come out.  Can’t wait to try one.

In the image below, I wanted to show the Breast Cancer Awareness logo on the goal post.  I would have preferred to be more in front of it, but security was all over me as it was.  This was shot with my 10mm~17mm fisheye lens.

It was Breast Cancer Awareness day at the Stadium, so I wanted to try and pop off some images that showed that.  Something that was different, but still had the “NFL” flavor to it.  Here are 2 images that were published:

I sometimes tend not to get as much “celebration” or “let down” moments as I should.  I really have made it a priority to get these kinds of things.  These images sell bigtime, especially if it is a player that is a marque name, or a Team that is really on top or in the dumper. I tend to forget about these moments after the play happens.  I attribute that to racing……….the only time there is really any kind of celebration is in Victory Lane, and you are looking for it there.  But here, I really have to step up the plan on this.  Here are some images that I shot

This image below is of Dante Rosario after he missed a pass. I shot this with my 70mm~200mm lens, f2.8 at 1250 of a second.

This nect shot is of Coach Fox on the sidelines.  I really have to concentrate on Coaches.  They are big sellers.  I just get lazy and forget about them since it is really hard to see them on the sidelines.  This image was shot with my 300mm lens at f4.  The shutter speed was 500

I love this next image.  I know what the criticism is going to be already………..the players blend into the background.  I agree with that somewhat, but when I looked at it on the computer screen blown up big, I just really did not get that effect too much.  I just love how high they are in the air, and it just seems as if the are suspended there.

This next shot is of Steve Smith after he caught a pass for the 2 point conversion.  He did not get all crazy with the celebration like normal………just clean and simple.

In these next images, I was really just trying to capture something different.  In the shot of Steve Smith coming out of the tunnel, he knelt down and was telling the crowd to “hush up.”  Kind of a strange thing to do……but it made a very cool shot.  I really liked it.  This was shot with my 300mm lens across the field at f5.6.  The shutter speed was 250.

In the next image, John Kasey was leading some of the players in prayer after the game.  It was very interesting moment.  One that I was not expecting, but was able to capture it anyway.  I shot this with my 10mm~17mm fisheye…….I held the camera over the players and shot it.  I got lucky on it.

In this next Image, I wanted to get the Redskins taking the field.  I have shot this image of the opposing Team often taking the field, but it really has never been a shot that has thrilled me.  This one is different.  I was able to get the quarterback Jason Campbell (17) coming out.  That is way I chose to publish it on US Presswire

This next image is of Albert Haynesworth (92) of the Redskins.  He got shook up on a play and was slightly injured.  Normally, I can NEVER get a good shot of a player that has been injured, but I think that I did OK with this one.  You can see his face, and that is what I really like about it.  Most of the time I get an image of a bunch of guys huddled up around the player.  That does no one any good……only good for the “delete” button.

I vowed to work on my passing game, so here it is.  It is something that I have to CONTINUALLY work on and think about.  Both of these images were shot with my 500mm lens.  They are from the same series. I really nailed it this time.  I am proud of them.  Believe me, I am still going to continue to work on it……….I have a long way to go!

This next image is one that I took with my 300mm next to the end zone.  I has just walked out of the tunnel from the Media Room after posting some images, and the play started to develop right in front of me.  I slung my camera body up, aimed and fired.  This is what I got.  Jeff King (47) is actually in the end zone in this shot.  I did not like it at first, but I received compliments on it from other shooters……so you be the judge.

In this next shot, Julis Peppers (90) to me really stands out.  He is the defensive player with his arms outstretched tackling Clinton Portis (26).  I really got lucky with this one.  Julis Peppers has been the subject of much controversy here in Charlotte.  He is getting paid 1 Million dollars a game………….That’s right……..1 Million.  His performance on the field has been less than “par” according to some……….so this image is good from a “sales” point of view.  Besides that, I just thought that it was a cool image.

In this next shot, I was really worried about the outcome of the game.  This shot was taken early on, and the Panthers did not score.  In this series of downs, they kept trying to get DeAngelo Williams (34) up over the top and into the end zone.  As you can see, it was basically useless.  this is as close as he came before they had to settle for a field goal.  This image was shot with my 70mm~200mm at f2.8.  The shutter speed was 1250.

I just liked this next image.  I missed the reception, but I stilled liked it anyway.  Dante Rosario (88) had a good game this day, so it was also important that I include images of him.  This is one of the better that I took.  This was shot with my 70mm~200mm at f4.  The shutter speed was 1000.

My editor keeps on me to stay on top of images of quarterbacks.  They are always good sellers……….but you want to try and get something that is a little different with them.  I get tons of shots of them throwing the ball, so I want to do something different. Here are some of the shots that I published from the game.  The image below was shot between the legs of a line judge with my 70mm~200mm lens.  It was shot at f4 with a shutter speed of 1000.

This next shot of Jake seemed to just tell the story of how people have hammered him for not taking enough “charge” of the offense. With the Victory, I liked this, because it seemed as if Jake had finally got his “command” back.

In this next image, I opted to publish something that was play action instead of the typical “pass” pose.  I think it worked out pretty well.

Well, that is it for now.  My next game is November 15th against the Falcons.  It will be all about auto racing for the next couple of weeks.  As always, thanks for reading

Sam