At the Peak for Performance

Well I'm glad I got the blog started, and I'll be keeping it up, if nothing more than for my own therapy. It's a good thing to get your thoughts out "on paper", and with a solid readership of 8 people, I have a fan base to think of.
So did you get the latest issue of BMX Today magazine? If you did then you're probably not reading this, because they accidentally misprinted our web address. The question was just a lead in to brag about having a few of my images published in the mag. The last time they used my work THIS shot ran as the centerfold.
I've always thought that a small regional type of magazine would be nice for gymnastics too, something that would have a gymnast bio here and there, maybe a tip from the judges section, Club spotlight with interviews. If anyone wants to get this rolling can I be the photographer? Let me know.
Anyway since the State Championships are this weekend I wanted to throw a tip in for anyone bringing there cameras... Every venue is different, and each has it's own list of characteristics that need to be dealt with from a photographic point of view. With gymnastics however, paramount on that list at all of the venues is lighting. Your overall plan for coping with lighting is going to depend on the equipment being used, but one tip that will fit in to that plan is timing. A lot of the disappointing results are going to come from motion blur and delayed shutter actuation (shutter lag). Shutter lag is not as much of an issue now a days as it was in years past, my first digital camera would take approximately 3 seconds to prepare itself to make an exposure, now there is the Nikon D3 that makes 11 frames per second, but I digress. If you have a camera with significant shutter lag then chances are you know how to deal with it, and that is to aim and prefocus the camera by depressing the shutter part way down and waiting for the shot. The real tip is this, getting "action" shots while coping with the slow shutter speeds that are needed to cope with the low light situations at gymnastics events. There are brief moments in a gymnasts movements where their motion is slowed or even stopped for a fraction of a second. Those are the times to click the shutter..., at the top of a split leap, the end of a cast, or peak of a giant, just before the second leg comes off the beam in a back walk over. Have yourself positioned and ready for those moments and your picture will improve. As a side note related to this, it is my experience that good timing will produce better results than having your camera set to "rapid fire". The cameras we use are capable of more than 7 frames per second, and they are nearly always set to single shot mode. If you have any questions or would like more elaboration on this topic let me know.

Now, the selection From the Favorites. The vault photos were

the big hit from Sectional #2, with a tremendous amount of them making it to the favorites folder, making selecting one from there for here tougher. The range of facial expressions that get displayed during the vaulting process is a large part of the interest. We had everything from the look of fear to smiles, we got that full range sometimes from the same athlete during their series of passes.
For levels 4,5,&6 things will be winding down after this coming weekend, I hope all the athletes had an enjoyable season filled with personal bests, and growth in skills. I trust all the parents and spectators are filled with pride for their athlete and thankfulness that the "seat saving" is over, at least for this season.
Remember, if this is your gymnast let us know and we'll send you a 5x7 print of the image, if you know who it is let them know they can get a free print.
Also I will be keeping the blog going (as close to weekly as I can) year round, including selects from the favorites, and if there is no event going on while I'm posting I'll be pulling images from older events so keep checking back. As always if you have any questions or comments you can leave them here, or EMAIL them to us.

Thanks, Keith