The Way I Shoot Derby

CRG050810_Sheep_2119.jpg, originally uploaded by jsevier14.

Here's a bonus post while I continue bringing this blog up to speed...

After the bout a couple came up to me and asked "why do you shoot so many pictures?" Good question.

I can answer that question with another question I heard from another Derby fan in Philadelphia a couple years ago. I was trackside and frustrated because I missed a shot, and from behind me I heard a someone say "it's hard, isn't it?" I turned to notice a skater from another team with her camera. I nodded my head emphatically. Yes, it is hard. Of course, that's half the fun. It's intense. I tell people "this is my golf." Some people spend money on clubs, memberships, travel, just to whack a white ball around so they can plop it in a hole. Well, okay. I like golf. Golf is fun. But, golf is not hard. At least not in concept. I have no need to shoot 72 or lower. I do have a need to make beautiful pictures.

And, I am also competitive. Not so much with others, although Jason would argue otherwise. I am self-competitive, and Derby is a tremendous challenge that I must master.

When I first got started shooting Derby, I literally had no idea what I was doing.

Blech!

I mean look at that. It's awful. The light was bad that night, sure, but, its too wide, its not very sharp. It looks even worse in draft form where the noise and blur are painfully evident. But, this was my starting place. I knew what I wanted to do but did not yet know how to do it.

I showed up in Kettering for a late 2006 bout vs. Gem City, and I had two thoughts in mind. One, shoot like crazy. If I brought lots of images home, surely I'd end up with something just out of pure luck. The other thing I wanted to do being an athlete myself was to capture the intensity of the skaters. To flatter their efforts, and present the sport for what it is. Real, intense, passionate competition. So, even though I was guessing at it is, I seem to have guessed right because even now I shoot like crazy, and I focus on capturing the intensity.

Where others may shoot wider, my pictures are intended to complement other work by getting up closer and more personal with the skaters. So I don't always capture some of the action that happens when skaters fall, or jump, or knock someone down. I get some of that. But, the point of my shots is to show off these "women at work" in such a way that you get a feel for how passionate they are about this sport.

Am I successful? I like to think so. And I like to think I can continue getting better at it. And for the sake of humor, I blogged the closest up shot ever I've made. This is Karma Krash, mugging for my camera after winning the bout against Chicago's Outfit. The Sheep had a relatively easy time of it that night, and they were rightfully happy because of it.

Two bouts, Two Wins in Grand Rapids

CRG042410_Lambs_1393-2.jpg, originally uploaded by jsevier14.

Back in April Jason and I with Missy along for the ride hopped in our Civic and headed for Michigan for CRG's first road trip of the year. And it was a productive one for certain. The Lambs scored a record 220 points handing Grand Raggidy's G-Rap! team a comprehensive beating. The Lambs skated like they were on a mission the entire night to make up for their last bout loss vs. Saint Louis.

The Sheep also had their way with Grand Raggidy's All Stars, winning their bout handily.

See the Lambs set here...

See the Sheep set here...

Saint Louis at Cincinnati - Split Decision

CRG041810_Sheep_0278.jpg, originally uploaded by jsevier14.

The second home bout of the year brought Saint Louis's Arch Rival Rollergirls to town. The Sheep handed Saint Louis a big loss, 134-68, and it wasn't that close.

The Lambs did not have their best night.

This shot shows why we discourage the use of Speedlights in our photography at the Gardens. You can see the bright light behind Sadie and Kinney. Imagine that going off in your face. That's bad enough, now imagine having that going off in your face while you're on 8 wheels. Is it a safety hazard? Well, most derby photogs use flash and there does not seem to be a big movement to eliminate it. It probably isn't a problem, so safety can not be the real reason Jason and I discourage if not prohibit flash photography during our home bouts. The real reason is aesthetics.

It is inevitable though. Most photogs are slaves to their flash. Available light photography is hard. I can tell you that from extensive experience. But the results to me are worth the effort. Even though, I am not above using someone else's flash for effect. This image caught my eye because you can see the specs of dust on my camera lens illuminated by the other photographer's flash pointed back in my general direction...

See the whole Sheep set here...

See the whole Lambs set here...

Rooks Skate their First

CRG_032710_Lambs_0036.jpg, originally uploaded by jsevier14.

Long time coming, but, here I am back on the blog. I passed this up most of last year because it was too much hassle. I started using this site as my URL in my tags so I kinda sorta probably should actually update every now and then. So here I am.

So, after nearly six months of off season Derby is back. The Cincinnati Rollergirls opened the 2010 season on March 27 and I was right there at the Gardens on time with my spanky new Nikon D300s complete with a big huge new long lens with which I nearly got myself into trouble with almost immediately. But more on that later.

It was a good night for the Lambs, dressed in white. The group of rookie skaters are shown above. Looks like a good crop. They contributed significantly to the smashing Circle City on what was undoubtedly not the Socialites' best night. Then sadly the Sheep lost a heartbreaker in the nightcap. There was a record crowd of 3200 people or so, but ultimately the night was a downer because one of the Lambs skaters, Shirley Temptya, broke a leg with only 0.4 seconds left on the clock. If you squint real hard you can see the clock, fuzzy in the background, just before Pale Rider gathered the team for a last jam dedication to the team's fallen teammate.

The other one had just healed up. Carl's snakebit.

And so that brings me to my next topic: Ethics.

Behold:

I swear I don't do this stuff on purpose. And there are several photographers who might just take a shot like this and run with it. I mean, look at it... Roll R Damage has fallen down, she's sliding backwards, wheels spinning, looking back toward the camera through her legs. On top of all that, it's focused sharply. It's a good picture.

But it is also a shameless crotch shot. I swear. I. don't. do. this. on. purpose.

Most photographers quote the law in their dealings with ethical issues. This is what has given us the paparazzi. Paparazzi are leeches with big expensive lenses, and they are why photographers like me get harassed. Paparazzi will tell you the rules are clear. If you're out in public, you're fair game. But the law is not always the proper arbiter of what's right.

Happily I was able to resolve the matter quickly.

The first arbiter of decency was Missy, my wife. "Hey, uh, can you come in here a second?" She saw it and said "yes you have to post that." Yeah, it's not her name in the bottom right hand corner... But that was a good sign, my wife didn't think I was of questionable character, but, still yet... it's not my image so off I went to the email.

This little bit of decency I would like to think is what separates Derby photographers from some other photographers out there. Most of the Derby Photogs I know are doing it out of pure unfettered respect and admiration for the teams they work for and with. Oh, there's the occasional story about this or that photographer who thinks this is a money-making venture, and pulls all sorts of self-important stunts, like, say, showing up uninvited to public functions hoping to elbow in a new gig, or, perhaps... one who pulls out ownership restrictions and interferes with the girls using the pictures for their needs. For the most part though, Derby photographers are a different breed. I'm proud to be one of them. They're some of the most decent people I've met.

After posting the image privately to Flickr and setting up a guest pass, I sent a message both to Circle City's photographer and also to Roll R Damage, because thankfully her email address was easily had on Circle City's website.

It took about five minutes to get a response back from Roll R Damage saying it was okay. In fact, she said it was hysterical. So there it is. She's happy and I am not fretting an unhappy Rollergirl.

In the main event bout of the night, the Sheep lost a heartbreaker in their season opener. That was tough to watch. In last year's season finale we went out to San Diego and had a blast with a win vs. the Wildfires topping a perfect long weekend on the West Coast. For most of the bout it looked like things picked right up where they left off, but midway through the second half the Wildfires caught fire and started chipping away at the Sheep lead. Before it was all said and done they overtook CRG and snuck out of Cincy with a win...

See the whole Lambs shoot here!

See the whole Sheep shoot here!

Cincinnati Rollergirls, Black Sheep, August 22, 2009

I had a great trip to Pittsburgh over the weekend of August 22. The Lambs won their bout in comeback fashion, then the Sheep came out strong and held off a frenzied Pittsburgh offensive attack to win their bout. Pittsburgh has scored 100 or more points in 8 of their last 9 bouts. They're much improved and gave the Sheep a good run, but fell short. They've come a long long way since last year.

The Pittsburgh hosts were great and I even had a good time at the after party, the first one I've attended all year. Then after spending the night with my brother-in-law who just moved to Pittsburgh at the beginning of this year. Great town, great bouts.

See the whole shoot here...

Cincinnati Rollergirls, August 22, 2009

Every so often something happens that you remember for a very long time. Such a thing happened on Saturday night as the Cincinnati Rollergirls Silent Lambs put on an incredible comeback and won their last bout of the 2009 season. As photographer I had a hard time sticking to my task as the team became more and more excited with the result. The team put together a 27 point jam to push ahead by 2 points with a little over a minute to play. It was epic.

Click here to see the whole shoot...

Technical Difficulties

We're experiencing Technical Difficulties... Please Stand By...