More Fitba!
Last night I had my second opportunity to attend and photograph a DC United match, this time being the US Open quarterfinal match v. Red Bull New York. I was really excited about the match because 1) how can you not be excited about shooting professional sports from the sidelines/endlines, 2) Bruce Arena's return to RFK, and 3) these teams really don't like each other.
It was an entertaining match and DC ended up winning 3-1 behind Jamil Walker. I felt more comfortable in the photo area, mostly because the Scottish Photo Mafia weren't in attendance and I rented one of these (extremely heavy) bad boys. I also figured out where they keep the padded seats so I didn't have to stand the entire match. Bonus! My photos turned out pretty well, although not as well as I had hoped, give that I was shooting with a $1400 lens. Maybe my expectations were a bit high, after all it was the first time I'd ever used a lens that had a reach longer than 75mm, but I definitely need more practice. I'm going to try and shoot as many DCU games as I can for the rest of the season.
Shooting sports is so much different than shooting concerts. The action moves much faster, it's not necessarilly happening in one place and you have to be able to change focal lengths on the fly. It's very challenging, but at the same time it's alot of fun. I have a long way to go (and alot of expensive equipment to get my hands on) but I feel like I'm learning as I go, which is all I can ask for at this point. Plus, I get to see some great soccer. DCU is on pace for the second best season in MLS history! Their squad is loaded.
Alecko Eskandarian almost ran me over last night. He was chasing down a long ball right in front of me and just did put on the brakes before taking out the endline barrier that I was positioned behind. Good times!
More photos over on DCist and of course, in my Flickr photo set from last night. A few more are after the jump as well.
Speaking of photos, what's up with the new Rebel XTi? Very interesting.
Don't forget, bluestate tonight!
interesting? mildly - 10MP is unimportant, same size sensor and higher pixel density generally equals more noise. That's just a marketing angle.
anti-dust? Nice touch but not essential - I have a blower for that.
9-point AF? Very good feature. The only thing that I really wish the XT had.
I am going for the 30D. hoping that the 400D will drive prices on that one down somewhat.