art and context in documentary photos

[ampguy]

I took some RF photos with film and a 50 yesterday of a competition.

It turns our group won some awards, so they trotted down to the middle of the gym for their trophy twice.

The first time, I stayed in the bleachers of the h.s. gym and got a lot of context, the hundreds of spectators, the presenters, etc.

The second time, I went down to the sidelines and got good facial expressions but still ~30 feet away.

Some folks think I was too far away with just a 50. But when I crop them, I lose what I think is context and perspective.

I've since have performed focal b/w keeping the kids in color, the surroundings in b/w for the teacher and other parents.

I hope they like art. And if they don't, then the bozo dad with the DSLR will have to provide all the team photos, probably so close, that it looks like the kids are just hanging out at recess.

sigh.

 

[monochrome_joy]

Huh?

Sports photography is mostly about capturing action. Action, action, action and more action. Capture face and ball, face and ball. Sometimes these rules can be broken, but rarely. Go pick up a Sport Illustrated, er, visit their site and you'll see what I mean. (better yet, I'll do if for you: http://siphotos.tumblr.com/?sct=hp_bf1_a5 )

The context is the ball (game) and the face, which will contain innumerable contexts in joy, relief, fear, anxiety, surprise, etc.

Furthermore, if you really want to shoot sports, the Leica is the wrong tool. Can it be done? Sure. Can it be done well, and consistently? No, don't kid yourself.

And whats wrong with "bozo Dad" with the DSLR? Stop worrying about other people and, if you're actually interested in the craft and art of photography, learn how to get better.

I'm not sure what you were hoping to accomplish by posting this here. LOL, I'm not sure what I'm hoping to accomplish by responding.

 

[ampguy]

huh?

huh?

It was not a sports event. It was a west coast masters academic event. Just happened that the awards were presented in a gym, there are few venues for state and international academic award presentations.

I'll tell you more about my concept of "context" - if I saw a photo of a known athlete or olympic winner, who's been shown in the media a lot before, a close up of them holding their award without the presenter or spectators would be fine. It would be a portrait.

Now if I didn't know or see the person before, I think I'd like to see them getting their award presented, with other teams, and attendees in the photo cheering for them, with them still seen smiling and absorbing the glory in a year long multi-event international competition.

I'm saying both types of images can be good, but to only think the close ups are good is near-sighted. The close up of these folks could just as easily be re-taken in a nice studio if you're going to eliminate the environment and context.

Huh?

Sports photography is mostly about capturing action. Action, action, action and more action. Capture face and ball, face and ball. Sometimes these rules can be broken, but rarely. Go pick up a Sport Illustrated, er, visit their site and you'll see what I mean. (better yet, I'll do if for you: http://siphotos.tumblr.com/?sct=hp_bf1_a5 )

The context is the ball (game) and the face, which will contain innumerable contexts in joy, relief, fear, anxiety, surprise, etc.

Furthermore, if you really want to shoot sports, the Leica is the wrong tool. Can it be done? Sure. Can it be done well, and consistently? No, don't kid yourself.

And whats wrong with "bozo Dad" with the DSLR? Stop worrying about other people and, if you're actually interested in the craft and art of photography, learn how to get better.

I'm not sure what you were hoping to accomplish by posting this here. LOL, I'm not sure what I'm hoping to accomplish by responding.