Tonight marked about two years since I shot an OU Men's Basketball game. So, naturally, I was a bit nervous, but at the same time I felt really comfortable shooting in Lloyd Noble because I've been there so many times. I was also surrounded by a lot of photographers I've shot next to during the football season, so I felt extremely comfortable when I finally got settled before the game. I kind of felt like I was a part of that group that has done it so many times that they are almost bored with it. Well, I know for a fact that almost all of the regulars (photogs from The Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Norman Transcript, AP and Icon Sports) really are bored with it. Half of them rock the ipod during both football and basketball games.
The LNC is a far cry from the last thing I shot (gymnastics). This was quite a nice place to shoot. I got a pretty good seat, I was able to use the whole range of the Canon's 70-200, and I was able to experiment with my D200 on a remote cord and tripod. The LNC's new lighting set up was great. I ended up stopping down the ISO from my initial estimation (from 800 down to 650 and even 500).
Let me explain more about my D200 set up. I brought two cameras - Canon Mark IIN and Nikon D200. The Canon was mounted with a 70-200 2.8 and the Nikon with a 18-70 3.5. The Canon was hand-held for 90% of the night. The Nikon, on the other hand, was set up in front of me mounted on a small tripod that is really built for compact cameras. My sister bought one of those sets with lens filters and such, and the tripod came with it, so I try to use it whenever I can (even if it looks dinky and weak when supporting a D200 with vertical grip). The Nikon was then hooked up with a MC-36 remote shutter release cord (Christmas gift - thanks mom!). The cord allows me to setup the camera and release the shutter from the cord without physically pressing the shutter button on the camera. This is key because it allows me to shoot with the Canon on my right hand while pressing the shutter release button on the cord with my left hand. Double the shooting? Double the fun.
Tonight was rewarding overall, and I'm kind of excited to shoot another basketball game at some point in the semester. I think the back-and-forth nature of the game allows for a lot of experimentation and ample opportunity to get a good shot of every player.
Here are two examples of what I shot tonight. These photos courtesy OU Student Media Features.
Junior forward Taylor Griffin rebounds a Texas shot in the second half. The Sooners fell to the Longhorns 64-54.
Canon 1D Mark IIN, 70mm, 1/800 at F/2.8, ISO 640, Exp. Comp. -0.3, WB Auto, Contrast -2, PS CS3 Level Edit.
Junior forward Taylor Griffin takes it end to end and finishes with a dunk in the second half of Wednesday's game against Texas.
Nikon D200 on MD-200 grip and set on compact tripod with MC-36 Remote Shutter Cord, 18mm, 1/250 at F/3.5, ISO 640, Exp. Comp. -0.3, WB Auto, Contrast Auto, PS CS3 Level Edit.
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