Slide...

mnmcote · Jun 2, 2014

She was out... But just barely... Tough call for the official due to the base being clouded by dust...

imagemaker46 · Jun 2, 2014

I'm not sure a critique of this shot would really help.

mnmcote · Jun 4, 2014

That bad eh...?

The_Traveler · Jun 4, 2014

My guess is that Scott is saying that all the action is missed.
No faces, no hands, no ball, no drama just two people and a cloud of dust.

mnmcote · Jun 4, 2014

AH...I see... I've taken some other shots that do actually show the softball!!

I'll continue to work harder at taking shots that tell a story...

imagemaker46 · Jun 5, 2014

Baseball and softball are difficult to shoot at times, generally not games with a lot of good action and when it does happen you almost have to be ahead of it, anticipate what's going to happen. Just keep at it. Try and keep the backgrounds in mind when shooting and avoid clutter and in the case of the shot posted, everything. When people start shooting they are usually so fixed on the subject they fail to look past what is going on. Try looking past the subject when you are looking through the camera, and see if you can move a bit to find a cleaner background. It makes a huge difference.

mnmcote · Jun 5, 2014

What about this one...? Any better?

vintagesnaps · Jun 6, 2014

Better view of the action although it looks rather soft. I think with the first one if you'd had a different vantage point and been facing them instead of the background it would have been better and the cloud of dust might have been interesting.

I'm one of those rink rats who spends time in dark dingy hockey arenas, but I usually try to go early if I'm going to a new venue and figure out some good places to shoot from (and notice the background I'll be getting). I don't have nearly the experience or done sports at the level of Scott but I found too that it took getting the timing down and plenty of practice. I might get set and focused on the net for example and watch for the action to come to me.

mnmcote · Jun 6, 2014

I'll work my way around the field to get some shots of the action... Looking for a story.. Thank you all for the feedback...

imagemaker46 · Jun 6, 2014

This one is much better, and yikes that is a serious softball player. The shot does look a little soft, but I would keep this one simply because I just like the shot. Sports is all about trying to be ahead of the play. Vintagesnaps sums it all up.

The_Traveler · Jun 6, 2014

You are doing well with that bridge camera.
If it shoots multiple shots you want to start a little earlier and catch just a tiny bit earlier in the action.
The drama in any shot is in what is going to happen not what has happened.
I sharpened this up with Photoshop 'reduce shake' then darkened and slightly blurred the background to make them pop from the shot.
Exposure is right on and this is a really nice shot.