If there were ever a downside to being a former newspaper photographer, it would be the loss of access privileges now that I’m Joe Schmo, freelancer.
If you’re at all interested in sports photographer, you should know that without “access,†your chances of getting good pictures isn’t very good.
Access means you have some sort of credential that allows you to walk around designated areas. Concert photographers know the value of the venerable “Backstage Pass.†Continue reading Sports Photography–Swimming→
A firefighter coordinates with other crew at the scene of a brush fire in Box Springs mountain. Nikon F3, 28mm TriX 400 pushed to 1600, off-camera fill-flash on left.Â
F8 is a safe aperture. If you mess up on your focus, you might have enough depth-of-field to keep it sharp.
The 2nd half, “and be there,” just points to how anyone can take a dramatic picture if they were there. I believe if you had a decent camera and access, it is true. The operative word here is “access.†More on that later. Continue reading Freelancing for newspapers–Part 4→
Baseball was not my favorite sport to cover. Bases can be loaded inning after inning and no one scores. Then out-of-the-blue, all hell breaks loose and a collision at home plate occurs. Thankfully I wasn’t asleep here. Picture taken with a Nikon F4 triggered by a foot pedal. 180 f2.8 lens prefocused at home plate. Fujichrome 100 1/2000 @ f2.8 . Angels Stadium, Anaheim.
So let’s assume you’re in and you’ve gotten the nod to shoot your first sports assignment.
Sorry, those professional baseball, basketball and Big 10 college football games will be covered by the staff photographers because they’ll appear on the cover of the section.
Don’t despair, as you get better, you’ll get to the front page of the Sports section. If you have a really good picture, it may run on the front page, but  let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet. Continue reading Freelancing for Newspapers–Part 3→
