Comments on: Line Out http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/ A daily photoblog of a photographer in Dublin, Ireland Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:23:45 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Bruce Elliott http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-2064 Bruce Elliott Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:11:41 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-2064 Thanks Ronan, It's been a while since I've popped back here. In terms of position I walk the touchline. I'm between parallel and 45 deg of play going forward until they reach the 22 and then I move round behind the posts. I just about get away with it with my 70-200mm on my D700 although I'd rather play with the latest 300mm F2.8 (currently running at around £4k+)! Looks like the touchline there isn't too crowded so you should get away with moving around if you wish. Thanks Ronan,

It’s been a while since I’ve popped back here.

In terms of position I walk the touchline. I’m between parallel and 45 deg of play going forward until they reach the 22 and then I move round behind the posts. I just about get away with it with my 70-200mm on my D700 although I’d rather play with the latest 300mm F2.8 (currently running at around £4k+)! Looks like the touchline there isn’t too crowded so you should get away with moving around if you wish.

]]> By: Ronan Palliser http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1971 Ronan Palliser Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:55:35 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1971 Thanks for the comments too Danny, Bruce and Brad. In general this shot seems to be well received, but Bruce I take your point on the action being big in the frame. Your suggestion on where to shoot from is great Bruce. If my brother-in-law allows me back to take more photographs of his games I'll keep that in mind. I may be bad luck to the team though seeing as they lost pretty badly for the one match I did go to! Thanks for the comments too Danny, Bruce and Brad. In general this shot seems to be well received, but Bruce I take your point on the action being big in the frame. Your suggestion on where to shoot from is great Bruce. If my brother-in-law allows me back to take more photographs of his games I’ll keep that in mind. I may be bad luck to the team though seeing as they lost pretty badly for the one match I did go to!

]]> By: Ronan Palliser http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1968 Ronan Palliser Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:49:17 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1968 Thanks for the detailed comments JC - your comment on the vignette is probably correct - I tend (not always, but mostly) to process images for the blog without local edits - so any changes are applied across the image. And so the vignette gets applied evenly around the image. If I'm printing later I often rework some of the processing. In this case the vignette was to enhance the moodiness of the sky. Regarding shooting position, I had earlier tried aligning myself with the linesman but got the feeling I was irritating him a little. In rugby he needs to stand centered to the line out which is where I would like to be for a head-on shot. Thanks again for the comments and your own experience... much appreciated. Thanks for the detailed comments JC – your comment on the vignette is probably correct – I tend (not always, but mostly) to process images for the blog without local edits – so any changes are applied across the image. And so the vignette gets applied evenly around the image. If I’m printing later I often rework some of the processing. In this case the vignette was to enhance the moodiness of the sky. Regarding shooting position, I had earlier tried aligning myself with the linesman but got the feeling I was irritating him a little. In rugby he needs to stand centered to the line out which is where I would like to be for a head-on shot. Thanks again for the comments and your own experience… much appreciated.

]]> By: Ronan Palliser http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1967 Ronan Palliser Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:45:05 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1967 Hi JC - sorry for the late reply. I use the Photomatix plugin for Aperture 2 for HDR merges - intuitive and easy to use. Would recommend giving it a try. I believe it's available standalone, or for Photoshop too. Hi JC – sorry for the late reply. I use the Photomatix plugin for Aperture 2 for HDR merges – intuitive and easy to use. Would recommend giving it a try. I believe it’s available standalone, or for Photoshop too.

]]> By: JC Dill http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1950 JC Dill Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:34:39 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1950 I also wanted to ask what software you use to do the HDR merge. I also wanted to ask what software you use to do the HDR merge.

]]> By: JC Dill http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1949 JC Dill Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:33:45 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1949 I love, love, love the processing on this shot! Most HDR shots are instantly obvious but this shot is not obvious, it just looks perfectly lit and exposed. The only processing change I could suggest would be to lighten up the vignette effect on the sides, especially the right bottom corner - it's a bit too dark for my taste. Or balance it with some dodging (or gradient burn, or vignette effect) on the bottom edge so you don't have such a dramatic change from dark muddy grass on the sides to bright grass on the bottom middle. As for your shooting position, I've often found that the perfect place for the photographer is where the judge or ref or ump is standing. :-) The trick is finding a way to be near their location, but not interfering with their job (if they are outside the field of play) nor having them block your view of the play. For shooting youth soccer (association football on your side of the pond) I like to shoot just around the corner from the line ref, sitting or kneeling ~2-3 yards/meters outside of the "end zone" end of the field. Because the line ref has a good view of this side of the field, the field ref usually stays more to the center or far side of the field and is less often in or blocking my shot of the action. If the ref is in the shot they are more likely to be behind the action (from my view) showing them keeping a close eye on the action, which can make for a dramatic shot. I have no idea how this would apply to rugby, but share it in case it gives you any helpful ideas, or for when you get a chance to shoot football. I love, love, love the processing on this shot! Most HDR shots are instantly obvious but this shot is not obvious, it just looks perfectly lit and exposed.

The only processing change I could suggest would be to lighten up the vignette effect on the sides, especially the right bottom corner – it’s a bit too dark for my taste. Or balance it with some dodging (or gradient burn, or vignette effect) on the bottom edge so you don’t have such a dramatic change from dark muddy grass on the sides to bright grass on the bottom middle.

As for your shooting position, I’ve often found that the perfect place for the photographer is where the judge or ref or ump is standing. :-) The trick is finding a way to be near their location, but not interfering with their job (if they are outside the field of play) nor having them block your view of the play. For shooting youth soccer (association football on your side of the pond) I like to shoot just around the corner from the line ref, sitting or kneeling ~2-3 yards/meters outside of the “end zone” end of the field. Because the line ref has a good view of this side of the field, the field ref usually stays more to the center or far side of the field and is less often in or blocking my shot of the action. If the ref is in the shot they are more likely to be behind the action (from my view) showing them keeping a close eye on the action, which can make for a dramatic shot. I have no idea how this would apply to rugby, but share it in case it gives you any helpful ideas, or for when you get a chance to shoot football.

]]> By: brad. http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1939 brad. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:06:33 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1939 The sky is a little over-cooked, but I think it looks great! Who says it has to look exactly as it did live? The two ruckman might benefit from a bit of a dodge in PS or LR to give their arms and faces just a touch more pop from the background. What a great capture though. Love the action in this shot and the ominous sky helps the scene quite a bit. The rugby throw in is my favorite part of the game (though I must admit I'm primarily a Aussie Rules fan). Cheers! The sky is a little over-cooked, but I think it looks great! Who says it has to look exactly as it did live?

The two ruckman might benefit from a bit of a dodge in PS or LR to give their arms and faces just a touch more pop from the background.

What a great capture though. Love the action in this shot and the ominous sky helps the scene quite a bit. The rugby throw in is my favorite part of the game (though I must admit I’m primarily a Aussie Rules fan).

Cheers!

]]> By: Bruce Elliott http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1938 Bruce Elliott Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:03:15 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1938 Hey Ronan... HDR is so divisive! What I would say is that if you want to use it for any sort of sport you want your action big in frame. I know you were probably at this match primarily to watch it. Had you been there solely to get photos, in this scenario, look straight through the ref's head to the railings beyond. That would have been the place to be. Even with a 70-200mm you would have had the 2 jumpers and also the lifters' torsos in frame and a load of moody sky. I haven't played much with RAW or HDR, but I'm certainly looking to have a play with it after a few other blogs I've read recently as well as this one. Cheers. Hey Ronan… HDR is so divisive! What I would say is that if you want to use it for any sort of sport you want your action big in frame. I know you were probably at this match primarily to watch it. Had you been there solely to get photos, in this scenario, look straight through the ref’s head to the railings beyond. That would have been the place to be. Even with a 70-200mm you would have had the 2 jumpers and also the lifters’ torsos in frame and a load of moody sky.

I haven’t played much with RAW or HDR, but I’m certainly looking to have a play with it after a few other blogs I’ve read recently as well as this one.

Cheers.

]]> By: Danny http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/2010/02/04/line-out/comment-page-1/#comment-1936 Danny Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:15:13 +0000 http://www.ronanpalliser.ie/blog/?p=2669#comment-1936 It works extremely well for me Ronan. I think the key to good processing is not to make the image look "false". This looks pretty damn realistic to me even if it increases the range of the human eye. I like it a lot! It works extremely well for me Ronan. I think the key to good processing is not to make the image look “false”. This looks pretty damn realistic to me even if it increases the range of the human eye. I like it a lot!

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