FSU clobbered Samford 59-6 on Saturday in what could have been a miserable noon game but turned out to be just a hot, humid day. Fortunately, FSU was on top of it's game Saturday. Unfortunately, I was not.
I had been given a heads up that Coach Fisher and the team would be arriving at 10:00 am outside Gate 3 and Coach Fisher would be interviewed for ESPN Gameday at 10:10 am. I arrived at the stadium at 9:30 am, grabbed my D300 with my 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 and my SB900 plus my D3 with my 80-200 f2.8.
I intended to primarily use the D300 - light was good so the aperture limitations weren't an issue and the 18-200mm gave me great flexibility in terms of focal lengths; plus, I was ready for any lighting issues with the SB900. So, the bus arrives and I start firing away - Coach Fisher and his son getting off the bus; Christian Ponder getting off the bus; Ponder walking into the stadium; and the coup de gras, Coach Fisher and his family inside the Seminole locker room. This was Seminole history, Coach Jimbo Fisher's debut in what could be the start of a new football dynasty. I was sure I had nailed those shots, just never had time to preview any.
Afterwards, I headed down to the Photo Work Room to download the card, get my laptop set up and grab something to eat before pre-game warmups. I get the laptop going, grab a card reader and pop open the back of my D300 and .... no card. In my hurry to pack for the game, I checked the D3 and the D300 for battery levels but did not make sure there were cards in the bodies. The D3 was OK, but the D300's 8GB card that I normally use was still sitting in my desktop computer's card reader from when I downloaded the soccer images last Sunday.
So, no photos. Not one. What a horrendous mistake on my part. Thankfully, other photographers were on hand to record the events so there will be images of what took place. The Fishers also posed for me just before Coach headed into the locker room for the final pre-game pep talk, so at least I have that shot. Moral of the story - don't pack for an important event just before leaving the house. Pack the night before and check even the most insignificant of things (like cards in the camera bodies) before you zip up the case.
A far as the game photos, I used the D3 with the 200-400mm f4 and the D300 with the 80-200mm f2.8 almost exclusively during the game. I used Auto Exposure and set the ISO to 200. Pre-game I had the same set up on the D3 and used the 18-200mm on the D300. I carried the 35-70mm f2.8 and the 17-35mm f2.8 in my belt pouches but they never saw the light of day. Lens choices will be different during night games, but this 18-200mm is rapidly becoming a favorite even for sports.
To view more game photos, please visit my Facebook pages (Mike Olivella or BaselineShots Photography) where I have posted a 56-image gallery.
2 comments:
Mike, there's a setting in the menu that you can change that will cause you to not be able to take any pictures when you don't have a card in the camera (that way you know something is wrong and don't think you're actually getting shots). If I remember correctly, I think I learned it from the 1st season of Kelby's D-Town TV. I'm at work now, so I can't look it up.
Thanks, Trask. I was made aware of that when I got to the Photo Work Room by a couple of friends. I've already changed the bodies so it never happens again. Still, no excuse for poor planning or preparation on my part. I should know better.
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