The Endless Summer Tour
Getting Comfortable At Arena Shows
Now that it's officially summertime there are tons of big arena shows on the calendar and for the first time ever I'm feeling comfortable shooting these big shows. In the past I would pass on shooting arena shows when they were offered to me because I just never thought I'd be able to get clean photos since photographers usually have to shoot from the soundboard, which is at least 30 yards away from the stage.
Shooting in these environments wouldn't be so bad if I had, say, a Canon 1DX and a 400mm f/2.8L but I don't so I really have to push my camera's limits. But before I even compose a shot, the first tool necessary for a great shot is a stool. That will put you head and shoulders above the standing crowd and will give you a clear sightline of the stage. Then, I just have to hope that there's enough light since I'm using a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L. At times for these shots I was shooting at ISO 6400 with a shutter speed of 1/500 and f/5.6 -- that's about as far as I can push my camera and still get photos that aren't cluttered with noise. They're not perfect but for now I'm happy with them.
Dirk Nowitzki's Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game
Dirk Nowitzki's Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game is a pretty special annual charity event here in North Texas. Not only is it a great and hilarious sight to see players from the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars play sloppy baseball but they raise a ton of money. The annual game has been around for a while but for the third year in a row that Dirk has had his name on the event it was a sellout event. Really glad I got the chance to shoot it for the Dallas Observer -- it's an event I've wanted to shoot for a few years now. My full gallery of photos can be found here.
I've shot a ton of football and basketball but I haven't really shot a ton of baseball -- or any at all. It's definitely one of the hardest sports to shoot. There's so many lulls in the game then sudden bursts of action that it's tough to stay focused the entire time. Not only that, but it's pretty damn hard to track a baseball from the tip of the bat to whoever fields it and back for a tag. It's definitely a skill that needs a ton of practice and more so than any sport a camera with a high frames-per-second count is a must. If not, you'll rarely catch a good shot of a swing or even an infielder making a throw to first at peak action. Hopefully I can find some more baseball to shoot.
The Performances, Dances and Fighters of Thai Festival 2016
This was a really great assignment. The Thai Culture & Food Festival is an annual Dallas event held at the Buddhist Center of Dallas offering a wide array of Thai culture including traditional performances, dances, food, muay thai and more. The two-day affair also featured a marketplace, food bazaar and tours of the Buddhist temple. It felt great to get out and shoot something that wasn't a football game or concert. I've been really fortunate to be able to contribute to the Dallas Observer's photo section and I hope I get more opportunities to shoot an array of events. My full slideshow for the Dallas Observer can be seen here