It was cold and dreary most of the first day of the state golf tournament at Ohio State’s Scarlet and Gray courses on Friday. I actually wore gloves all day for the first time this fall. I had to get shots of almost 30 kids spread out over the 36-hole course, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time for creativity. Here are the least boring from the day.
Generally photographers prefer shooting with the sun at their back. This puts the light directly on the subject’s face making it not only easier to expose the photo, but also providing better color and detail. Unfortunately, we’re not always able to get in a position to put the sun behind us. Thus was the case for half of my matches at the state tennis tournament.
The matches were played at Ohio State’s 12-court outdoor facility. The courts were arranged in rows of four aligned from east to west, so depending on which court the local kids were playing on, I either had to shoot across three courts to keep the sun behind me, or I could stand on the other side and shoot directly into the light.
Shooting into the light has its benefits too. Depending on how low the sun is in the sky, it can provide a nice rimlight around the players. Things like smoke, and in this case tennis ball dust, will show up better when backlit as long as the background is dark. Getting the correct exposure in this situation is the hardest part. Cameras will almost always underexpose the subject when metering automatically. Spot metering on the shadow side of the player’s face and setting the camera to manual exposure is the best way to get around this.
Here are two examples of the difference between shooting into the light and shooting with it behind me. Note the clean backgrounds, which make or break a tennis photo.
CAPTIONS:
(above) Gahanna Columbus Academy singles player Will Petrie returns a forehand shot during his first round match against Warren John F. Kennedy’s Michael Fredericka during the state tennis championships at Ohio State’s Stickney Tennis Center on May 30. Petrie won the match 6-3, 6-0.
(side) Gahanna Columbus Academy singles player Andrew Enslen tosses up a serve against Cincinnati Country Day’s Joey Fritz during the first round of the state tennis championships at Ohio State’s Stickney Tennis Center on May 30. Enslen lost 6-2, 6-0.
The third state tournament we had this past week was baseball. Canal Winchester was the only local team to make the state finals this year. Their semifinal game was far more exciting than the 6-0 loss in the finals two days later. After tying the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, Canal went on to win it on a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth. After the player hit home plate, and the ump finally got out of my way, this was the image I ended up with.
CAPTION:
After scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning, Canal Winchester coaches and teammates tackle Matt Romanowski, lower left, at home plate ending the Division II state championship semifinal game against Notre Dame Cathedral Latin at Cooper Stadium on June 5. The Indians won 6-5 to advance to the final game against Walsh Jesuit where they lost 6-0.
The state championship lacrosse game between Worthington Kilbourne and Upper Arlington provided some great shots of the players putting it all out on the line and smashing into each other. Here’s the shot I like the best.
CAPTION:
Upper Arlington’s Alex Pore (26) collides with Worthington Kilbourne’s Angelo Gutierrez (25) knocking the ball loose as Kilbourne’s Pat Riffee (2) takes a hit from UA’s Cal Case (45) during the Division I state championship game at Dublin Coffman High School on June 7.
