Sports
August 23, 2009
One of my favorite events to shoot in D.C. is the yearly ATP tournament, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. It's one of the first hardcourt events of the season and while the event doesn't pull in the the likes of Federer and Nadal, Andy Roddick and many of the second-tier players are regulars. The rest of the field is filled with unknowns, many of whom advance farther than the pros. As a self-proclaimed tennis geek, it's a lot of fun.
It's also a tremendous amount of work. The main draw plays Monday through Sunday and this year I made it Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. I couldn't make the final on Sunday because I was shooting the D.C. United and Real Madrid match. Ah, scheduling.
Tennis is probably my favorite sport to shoot because you have so many chances to snap a great frame. I tend to like shooting backhands because you get a more dramatic pose due to the exaggerated shoulder turn. I generally had the opprtunity to shoot three matches a day and saw plenty of players; Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Lleyton Hewitt, Ivo Karlovic, John Isner, Thomas Berdych, Donald Young, Benjamin Becker, Fernando Gonzalez and a few others. Gonzalez was a lot of fun to shoot, he is very demonstartive and emotional when he plays and that makes for good photos.
Shooting the same players for a week also makes you take notice of the player's tendencies. Andy Roddick always puffs out his cheeks as he exhlaes while striking the ball. Sam Querrey curls his off hand when he hits a forehand. John Isner does this weird Dr. Spock/ Live long and prosper" type things with the fingers on his off hand when he strikes a forehand. Oh, and did I mention Brooklyn Decker (aka Mrs. Andy Roddick) was there each night?
I shot most of these frames with my 70-200mm/2.8. I rented a 100-400mm for the weekend matches and that came in handy during the day. It allowed me to move up to the upper deck and get some different perspectives as opposed to sitting courtside all day.
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading "[Photos] 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic"...
August 10, 2009
On Sunday I braved the oppressive D.C. heat and headed out to FedEx Field to shoot the D.C. United and Real Madrid exhibition match. Real Madrid made headlines all summer by spending exorbitant amounts of money to bring in Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and many other big-time footballers in an effort to return to prominence. This was also a big game for D.C. United, a chance to prove that they can play with the best teams in the world. The final result, a 3-0 Real Madrid win, doesn't do United justice, as the locals played their more expensive counterparts to a standstill in the first half. Real scored twice in a two minute span in the second half and eventually both teams cleared their bench. But it was a thrill to shoot the last two Footballers of the Year in a stadium with 70,000+ people.
I rented a 100-400mm/f4-5.6 IS USM lens for the game, thinking that the zoom would give me a little more flexibility focal length wise. I had rented the 300mm/2.8 and 400mm/2.8 the last few weekends and quite frankly was not looking forward to lugging one of those around all day. So I went with the smaller lens and I was very happy with my results. I cropped some of these photos quite a bit since I wasn't able to blow out the background like I wanted due to the aperture I was forced to use, but overall it performed well and I would rent that lens again for a daytime event. I also used it to shoot Saturday's daytime action at the Legg Mason tennis tournament. I'll have those photos tomorrow.
More photos after the jump!
Continue reading "[Photos] D.C. United v. Real Madrid @ FedEx Field"...
July 25, 2009
Who says Americans don't like soccer? Last night close to 72 thousand people filled M&T Stadium in Baltimore to watch Chelsea and AC Milan, two of the best football teams in the world, square off in the World Football Challenge. The match was incredibly entertaining, especially given it was just a pre-season friendly. World-class players like Ronaldinho, Didier Drogba, Frank Lamprad, John Terry, Alessandro Nesta and John Terry absolutely wowed the crowd with their football skills. Ronaldinho in particular looked very sharp, making defenders look downright silly as they chased him. He has an amazing array of stepovers and change of pace moves, not too shabby for someone that is reportedly washed up. Didier Drogba was the other standout player of the match. He opened the scoring in the seventh minute by hitting an absolute laser from about 35 yards out. It was INCREDIBLE.
The best part of the night was at the very end of the match, in stoppage time. AC Milan had a free kick deep in the Chelsea half of the field with one last chance to tie the match. Everyone in the stands stood up and started cheering, not wanting the match to end. After the match, both coaches remarked that they were very impressed with the passion of the crowd.
I can't wait for the D.C. United v Real Madrid match in early August!
If this is your first time visiting, you can check out my Gold Cup photos as well as my other sports photos.
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More photos after the jump!
Continue reading "[Photos] Chelsea v. AC Milan @ M&T Stadium in Baltimore"...
July 21, 2009
You might have seen footage of last week's Washington Kastles and New York Sportimes match on Sportscenter. There was a dust up between the men's doubles teams after two players (neither of them John McEnroe) hit each other during the course of play and exchanged words. I won't get into it because it overshadows the tennis.
After the doubles match was done, McEnroe went on to beat Scott Oudsema, a kid over half his age, in singles. It was a sight to behold. McEnroe deployed his entire arsenal of angles and spins, completely befuddling his young opponent. I'm a huge Johnny Mac fan and it was a special thing to see. McEnroe played Oudsema last year and was blown off the court by his power. It was quite a turnaround.
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading "[Photos] World Team Tennis Featuring John McEnroe"...
July 15, 2009
Shooting the US Men's National Soccer Team has long been a goal of mine, so naturally I was quite chuffed at the chance to do it when the USA faced off against Honduras at RFK Stadium as part of the 2009 Gold Cup. The US team had just come off a tough 3-2 loss to Brazil in the Confederations Cup so head coach Bob Bradley switched up his roster a bit, calling in, amongst others, D.C. United's very own Santino Quaranta. Needless to say the RFK crowd went crazy when 'Tino scored the first goal of the home team's 2-0 victory.
Head over to DCist to read a recap of the game and see more photos.
More photos after the jump!
Continue reading "[Photos] Gold Cup: USA v. Honduras"...
July 13, 2009
Last week, hot off of her runner-up finish at Wimbledon, Venus Williams took the court here in Washington D.C. as part of the 2009 Word Team Tennis season. Her Philadelphia Freedoms were in town to play the Washington Kastles. Her sister Serena is the pro on the Kastles roster. She is in town tomorrow night and followed Thursday by John McEnroe.
More photos after the jump!
Continue reading "[Photos] Opening Night at Kastles Stadium with Venus Williams"...
July 9, 2009
Last night I had the chance to photograph the US Men's National Soccer Team during their Gold Cup match against Honduras. It was quite a thrill for this soccer/fitba lover. It was quite a treat. I'll have some photos for you later, but in the meantime, head over to DCist to read the game recap as well as a post focusing on D.C. United's Santino Quaranta, who scored the first US goal last night.
June 14, 2009
This match was definitely the best United match I have seen all season. It had everything a soccer fan would want, lots of goals, skilled play, some tough tackles and a very hyped up crowd. Check out the full photo set and the official recap over on DCist.
Continue reading "[Photos] D.C. United v. Chicago Fire @ RFK Stadium"...
