Take me out to the Ball Game

I haven't critiqued my work in a while. Truth be told, I haven't HAD any new work in a while. Much of this is because I haven't traveled much, and I need a big push.

Last week, my team at work and I went to a baseball game at Nationals Park. I thought, what a good time to practice using my telephoto lens! Well, I was partially right.

First, I checked the ballpark rules. Fortunately, at 7 inches, my telephoto lens passed the test. Given that I didn't know where I would sit, I also packed my kit lens.

I sat in a front section, but far away from third base. Without my lens, it would have been hard to see much of the game. These were the types of shots I'd took:



What I liked:

1) There's some action here. I understood the game well enough to look for good moments.

2) Despite the sun, these pictures aren't too bright. This is thanks to one of my filters - a neutral density filter.

3) Most of my pictures did not have noticeable camera shake. This is definitely thanks to my telephoto lens - IS is the way to go.

4) I took several test shots to make sure my settings were what I'd wanted.

What I need to do better next time:

1) If I want to do this again, I need to sit in a seat where I get a better view. It was difficult to capture much of anything from where I was.

2) The pictures are a tad too dark. I shot in RAW, so that's easy to fix, but I should think about my settings a little more next time.

3) I had to crop almost everything. This goes back to sitting in a seat that gives me more flexibility.

My settings:

F-stop - 8. Shutter speed - 1/800. ISO = 200.

Next time: photo safaris of interest.