As previously noted, we bought the Pentax DSLR because we already had some Pentax lenses around the house. Except for, we stuck the general-purpose zoom on it and that’s about all we’ve used, until this weekend. The kid plays soccer and baseball, and I thought I’d try out the telephoto and make like one of those Sports Illustrated photogeeks. Yow! This could be addictive.
Worth enlarging.
At the soccer game, I set up in a folding chair at a nice angle to the goal our side was attacking, and took about 60 shots in a half-hour, of which 17 were good enough to keep; way better than my typical batting average. Lauren bought the telephoto years ago; it’s a Tamron SP, 70-210mm 3.5, and you know, I think it’s got some sort of reality-enhancement feature, the pictures just explode off the screen in a way that I’m not used to. Maybe the zoom that I’m used to working with every day is somehow subtly sub-standard?
As a matter of policy the kid’s face doesn’t appear here at ongoing, which is a pity, because I’ve got some wonderful shots of him bearing down on goal. He’s shown no particular signs of special athletic talent, but in soccer, with the ball at his feet, he develops this crazed hyper-focus on the goal and runs right through kids who are apparently bigger and stronger and faster.
There’s a lot of technique to this sports-photog thing, but mostly in the left wrist: you get a grip on the barrel and twist to focus as you push or pull to zoom. And of course, every DSLR in the world has what we used to call a motor drive, albeit only 5 or so shots deep. I could see getting seriously addicted to this sports-photography thing. In the unlikely event that the kid has serious talent, I anticipate many happy hours crouched at various sidelines.
