Photographer’s Choice – Stephen Hill

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Capturing the Exuberance of Youth

Stephen Hill - Bass Lake Runners

Stephen Hill – Bass Lake Runners

There have been several photographs posted in this weekly series that portray the absolute joy of the young at play but none better than this, Stephen’s capture of two lads running with complete abandon. The expressions are natural with no forced smiles for the camera. One can almost hear the laughter and feel the emotion as nothing is held back. Wouldn’t you like to feel this good and have this much energy again? The shutter setting is perfect, with just enough blur in the feet to show real motion, and the focus dead on. A wide open aperture creates a pleasant background blur. This is Stephen’s first posting – a winner.
By the way, this is the perfect occasion to use your camera’s AI Servo(Canon) or AF-C(Nikon and Pentax) setting for automatic focus of moving objects. If your camera has this feature, be sure you know when and how to use it.
Canon EOS 7D with a 70-200 mm lens
Focal Length – 120 mm
Shutter speed 1/200 sec
Aperture f/2.8
ISO 200

Photographer’s Choice – Steve Smith

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Peering Into the “Tunnel”

Steven Smith - Rugby Scrum at ASU

Steven Smith – Rugby Scrum at ASU

Rugby football is a sport few Americans know much about but worldwide it’s extremely popular. It’s been played in England since the middle 1800’s which makes this version much older than that played in the US. The photograph above takes one deep into a “scrum” which may be somewhat analogous to a “jump ball” in basketball. The football is placed into a “tunnel” with the respective teams lined up on either side and the battle begins. Steve was roaming the sideline at Kidd Brewer Stadium on this cold February day of 2011 to catch AHO Rugby of ASU in action. He managed to captured an image that does away with the peripheral and hones in on the essential. The eye immediately finds the isolated football followed by the brute strength and tension of the muscular legs as the two teams collide. One can almost hear the grunts and groans as the teams vie for the advantage, like two stags or bulls going head to head to prove superiority, a modern day form of an ancient ritual. Any photograph that can tell a story as quickly and completely as this one does must be judged a success.
Canon EOS T1i with an EF750-300mm f/4-5.6 lens at a focal length of 190mm. Shutter: 1/160 sec, Aperture: f/5.6, ISO:400, Exposure Program: Manual, Metering Mode: Pattern.