The Sharpe Image

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Richard Marshall (31) makes an interception against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

The Panthers played really well this game.  I was happy to see them win.  It was a great day to shoot, the light was just about perfect.  I really did not feel as if I was hitting on all that I could have, I feel that I could have done better than what I did.  I did get some cool stuff, I just don’t think that I could have done as well as I maybe should have………………I shot the above image after an interception.  I did get the actual catch, but the run back was very interesting.  Richard Marshall was doing just about anything that he could to gain yardage.  I love this shot.  I caught him jumping to get past some defenders.  I shot this with my 300mm f2.8.  I shot it at a shutter speed of 1250, at f3.2.  The ISO was 800, and the exposure was straight up.

This next image is of Jason Snelling attempting to catch a pass.  I really don’t know how I got this other than just hitting it right. I just thought that it was a great image when you look at the concentration in his eyes.  I had to work with it in Photoshop.  I shot it on Shutter Priority, and caught it in the shadow part of the field.  The exposure was short of a real Fuck-up, but I was able to bring it back in PhotoShop.  This image was shot with my 70mm~200mm lens.  Shutter Speed was 1000, and it was shot at f4.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling (44) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final Score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

As I have said many times before, the passing game (at least to me) is the hardest thing to shoot in Football.  I really wanted to try something different, so I went up top for part of the second quarter.  Here is a shot I got of Steve Smith catching a pass for a touchdown.  I shot this with my 500mm lens, shutter speed 1600, and at f4.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) scores a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I was walking from one part of the field to another.  I was walking behind the Falcons bench when I was this bag of equipment sitting on the ground.  I just really liked the way the light was hitting it.  I shot this with  my 17mm~35mm lens.  I shot it at shutter speed 500, at f3.2.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons equipment against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In these following images, I tried to get some of the Key players of the Panthers coming out through the smoke during the pre game show.  These guys all have something going on with them.  Delhomme has been the subject of much controversy lately here in Charlotte, DeAngilo Williams has suffered some injuries this season, and Steve Smith is always the topic of conversation.  All of these images were shot at f5 with a shutter speed of 1000.  the ISO was 200.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I really do not know what Matt Ryan is doing, I just thought that it looked cool.  I shot this with my 300mm lens, my 1.4 converter, shutter speed 1000, f6.3, and the ISO @ 200.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

These next 2 images are of the same run.  Late in the afternoon, the Bank of America Stadium has “pools” of light that gather towards the northern end zone. If the time of day is right, and the sun is shining, it can make for some interesting images.  Both of these were shot at shutter speed 1250, f5, ISO 400, and I was over eposed by 1/3 of a stop.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling (44) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling (44) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final Score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Sometimes you just need a good Tackle Image.  I thought that this one might do it.  It was shot with my 300mm lens, shutter speed 1250 at f6.3.  I thought that it rally said “football” when I saw it.

I thought that this next image of Jason Baker was somewhat unique.  I never seem to get good shots of Punters or Kickers.  To me, it is somewhat of a “let down” play.  you either did not get a chance to get the 1st down, or you are settling for 3 points instead of 6.  When I saw this shot, I liked it.  It is just a different angle of the kick that you do not see often.  Seeing the ball in the play is what makes it for me.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers punter Jason Baker (7) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

These final 2 images are just images from my take that I liked.  Both were posted to US Presswire.  I do not know if they were used are not, but I personally just liked them.  The one of Delhomme and Deangelo Williams was shot with my 70mm~200mm lens.  The other of the Teams praying was shot with my 10mm~17mm Fisheye.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) hands off to running back DeAngelo Williams (34) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Thanks for taking time to read.  I will soon be shooting the NBA…..I look forward to that.  I hope that you check back and let me know how I doing at that.

Thanks,

Sam