Sunday, March 22, 2009
Gymnastics has been an interesting sport to photograph. It is played in the Comcast Pavilion where the lighting is extremely difficult to work with. On the other hand, the gymnasts work to perfect their routines over the course of the year. That makes them somewhat predictable. Additionally, they are offered a 3 minute "touch" period where they can warm up and practice their key movements. Observing their practice period before their actual exercise helps you as a photographer anticipate what direction they will face and how they will perform.
I've gotten steadily better in photographing gymnastics this season and this evening's match was my final competition for the season. I anticipated the routines pretty well and was able to prepare for where the gymnasts would be when they finished a routine. I also worked with the available light a LOT this evening and slowed down to 1/320th at times when there wasn't very much motion.
The colors in my photos from this evening were remarkably better than before. I'm not sure how that happened or if there is any way I can reproduce it. It might've been the added sensitivity and slower shutter speeds that produced more accurate colors. Or it might've been leprechauns - I don't know. I was just happy that in post processing the colors didn't come out completely green and yellow like they normally do in Comcast Pavilion.
Julie attended the meet and wrote up an excellent article for the DC Sports Box. My photos are also included. Click over to the DC Sports Box to read about Maryland gymnastics win over Pittsburgh and view my pictures and photos.
