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.