My week in photos, Dec. 6-10

Mavs Man and other representatives from the Dallas Mavericks visited an elementary school.


A preview concert for middle school students on a holiday concert.


An SMU basketball clinic for coaches of middle school teams. Love her expression!


A high school musical adapted loosely from "The Wizard of Oz." The wicked witch is recast as Lady GaGa.

My youngest son turned 4 on Saturday. He has some of the best expressions!

NASCAR Cup Race @ Texas Motor Speedway

Inside Cowboys Stadium

We went to part of a high school playoff game today at Texas Stadium, but I don't have any photos. Well, I didn't take many and didn't take any of my camera gear (we had my wife's point-and-shoot). The rules weren't strictly being enforced, as it was high school football, but the published rules at the Stadium Web site say that still cameras are allowed if the lenses are 3 inches or smaller in length. Sad to say, but I no longer own a lens that fits that spec! Maybe Santa can bring me one for Christmas so that I don't have to feel guilty about taking a camera the next time I get to go.

The place was awesome. From a photography standpoint, at mid-day with daylight-balanced artificial lighting, it would've been dream conditions to shoot in. There were several credentialed photogs on the field with monster lenses having a good time of it, I'm sure!

Court trials

I shed some of my sports-shooting rust on Saturday during an invitational volleyball tournament. I've got a long way to go before I'm back in the swing of things. Seems like my days many years of ago shooting film were actually easier, but that just might be the cloud of time fogging my memory. Volleyball is incredibly difficult to photograph anyhow (at least for me). I learned a lot from Saturday's trials on the court:

• Zoom in to isolate players. You can tell I did that on the first shot but not the second. That second image is way too cluttered!
• Find different angles. I was somewhat limited because there were five games going on next to each other. I stuck to the very ends, and it shows in my photos. Should be easier when it comes time to photograph a single game without all the distractions and balls whizzing past my head.
• Machine-gun it. I'm not used to that at all, preferring to take maybe a few shots in quick succession during a portrait session to catch expressions. But with sports a quick burst could yield the money shot that taking your time makes you miss.
• Study others' sports photographs for ideas and to see what is pleasing about theirs.
• Read, practice, lather, rinse and repeat! Practice is usually the best medicine.

Cold play

Saturday morning was about 40 degrees, but the windchill made it feel like it was in the 20s. I photographed a girls U14 soccer team that morning, kicking myself that the timing hadn't been better. The previous week was about perfect for being outdoors ... 70s and sunny. Either way, the girls on the team (blue jerseys) played really hard and didn't let the cool air stop them. The other team won, but they had to fight to get the victory.

These girls are tough. I sure don't remember soccer being as aggressive, but maybe because I stopped playing at age 12.