HS football.

[ronlane]

Hey @kathyt. Thanks. I still have some stuff on there. Things are going well here. Hope you are doing well also.

 

[ronlane]

I have parents that buy all three types of shots and the bonus is I have some that buy them just because their kid was in the shot and not the one I was focused on (mostly linemen that were blocking for the RB I was shooting).

The linemen are the hardest for me to shoot. Alot of the time, the kid I am trying to get a shot of disappears in the pile.

Before the snap, except for the center, most of the center of the line is pretty well blocked from view. Though you can pick them between the opposing team.
Once the snap happens, you are right, it can be tough to pick out linemen.
If the play happens right, a hole gets knocked open in the line and you can get the center linemen.

One of my better shot was on a defensive play. Head-on shot with no one blocking my view. The defensive tackle intercepted the pass, and got to carry the ball. I tell the yearbook kids, that is the kind of picture/story you want to put out. A kid/lineman who is NOT expected to carry the ball, has the ball and is headed for the goal line. He did not make the TD, but he must have felt good to have intercepted and carried the ball. I sent the intercept picture to the coach.

After looking at some of Ron's pix, I got the idea to go further downfield from the scrimmage line. I used be to about 15 yards in front, now I am 40-50 yards in front. This gives me a more of head-on view of the line, and a better shot at the linemen. But at that distance, you need a longer lens or better glass. In my case it was better glass, so that I could crop in without loosing IQ.

That is why sports photography is expensive. Need that 300 or 400mm f/2.8.

You should try laying down from about 20 yards away to shoot a lineman. I have even layed on my stomach out of the back of the end zone to get some good shots.

 

[Scoody]

One of my better shot was on a defensive play. Head-on shot with no one blocking my view. The defensive tackle intercepted the pass, and got to carry the ball. I tell the yearbook kids, that is the kind of picture/story you want to put out. A kid/lineman who is NOT expected to carry the ball, has the ball and is headed for the goal line. He did not make the TD, but he must have felt good to have intercepted and carried the ball. I sent the intercept picture to the coach.

A brief personal story. I played high school football at a small 2A high school in Texas. I managed to play well enough to get a scholarship at a Division II University. My dream was to play at Texas A&M but I would never have made it there. In fact I was pretty much over my head in Division II. I learned that blazing speed in 2A high school was average speed in college. I was moved from corner to safety because I needed the 15 yard head start. I pretty rode the bench.

One game our starting safety had his bell rung and the coach put me in. We were in the shadow of our own end zone and down by three points. Our opponent lined up at the seven seeking to put the game away with a minute left. At the snap of the ball I started falling back in coverage and I saw the fullback slip off a block and drift out into the flat. In high school I played ironman. Played on both offense and defense. Besides playing corner on defense and was outstanding at, I played fullback on offense. My school had an airshow style offense. There was not a single play in the playbook where the fullback was handed the ball. But I did run a lot of pass patterns out of the backfield and would catch about 4 or 5 passes a game. When I saw the fullback sliding out I knew what was up. I broke off my coverage and went to cover him. My plan was to light him up when he caught the ball. The QB never saw me, instead of zipping the ball over to him, he tossed it. The ball hung up in the air like a balloon. I snagged it, was already running full speed and no one was left in their backfield. It was my only interception in college and only pick 6. It was a school record setting 97 yard interception return for a touchdown. The record stood until a couple of years ago when a corner pick one off at the goal line and ran it all the way back.

The very next series the starting safety was back on the field and I was back on the bench but I really didn't care.