Follow up to: I am SO bad

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

I just finished my first weekend with the 70-200. I was so worried about how big it is. Well, after seeing the picture quality, that just doesn't matter to me now. It is an amazing lens.

I took a lot of non actions photos that I will post elsewhere, but here are my first tries at the wakeboarding/tubing/waterskiing pictures. It was windy on Sat. and there was a lot of rough water, which made getting the pictures even harder. I was happy with the results considering my inexperience. Thanks to all who helped me beforehand. I really like the dynamic focusing area. It helped with the erratic moving skiiers.

My daughter's boyfriend

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My son-in-law

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A couple of nephews

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This wasn't the sharpest shot--but it was the best capture of the day in the opinion of all who were there. Their faces say it all in this one.

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All were shot with my D70 and the 70-200 with the VR turned on to active. I used continuous focus with dynamic area focusing selected. ISO was set at 400 to keep the shutter speed very fast. I used Aperture mode with varied apertures. It was a fun experience. Thanks to all who helped me last Friday. Of course any comments or suggestions will be appreciated.

More will be added to my gallery as the postprocessing is completed.

http://www.pbase.com/terrif/sports

Gale · Jul 5, 2005

Wow Terri you are our next up and coming sports shooter..

Don't know how you could have done better. Great timing. Great color.

I would say you nailed the EV well too.......

Looks great to me. That last one is a blast..

Oh WHAT FUNNNNNNNN.

Good going Gal

Steve S · Jul 5, 2005

Great job on these Terri!

The only small thing I would suggest would be to give your subject more open space in the direction they're moving with your crops, otherwise, top notch work! See, was that easy?

heiko · Jul 5, 2005

Terri,

These pictures are fantastic! Makes me want to have the 70-200 VR right away. You should get money from Nikon for these great shots and the advertising you are doing. Or the very least an assignment for a major sports event.

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

heiko said:
Terri,

These pictures are fantastic! Makes me want to have the 70-200 VR right away. You should get money from Nikon for these great shots and the advertising you are doing. Or the very least an assignment for a major sports event.

Well, I only started lusting for this lens when I saw all the great pictures that others were getting from it here. My husband says I can't wipe the smile off my face. What fun!!!!

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

Gale

Gale said:
Wow Terri you are our next up and coming sports shooter..

Don't know how you could have done better. Great timing. Great color.

I would say you nailed the EV well too.......

Looks great to me. That last one is a blast..

Oh WHAT FUNNNNNNNN.

Good going Gal

I'm not really a sports person--except for watching my kids. Probably won't be shooting too many events. But, this was fun. The EV took a little work in the raw conversion. The light was really harsh. Thanks for your comments.

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

Re: Great job on these Terri!

Steve S said:
The only small thing I would suggest would be to give your subject more open space in the direction they're moving with your crops, otherwise, top notch work! See, was that easy?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll experiment around with the cropping a bit.

eng45ine · Jul 5, 2005

Terri, I can only imagine the huge smile on your face when you loaded those images on your computer. They are awesome...great water and tack sharp. I know that you can't wait to get out and shoot some more. Keep them coming!

Gilles · Jul 5, 2005

very nice shots Terri

Pa · Jul 5, 2005

These pictures are fantastic.

Is there any way they could have been captured without VR? I would like to hear from photographers more experienced than me concerning this question.

It appears to me that these lenses open up a whole new area of possibilities.

Gale · Jul 5, 2005

Well Pa,

I can't hold a point and shoot still..

I have to have VR.. Or used the dreaded tripod. On a boat forget it...lolol

drueter · Jul 5, 2005

Great shots, Terri! Ya gotta love that lens!! I see that the lighting was harsh mid day sun, but you handled the exposure very well!

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

eng45ine said:
Terri, I can only imagine the huge smile on your face when you loaded those images on your computer. They are awesome...great water and tack sharp. I know that you can't wait to get out and shoot some more. Keep them coming!

I am very excited about the photo possibilities I have with this lens. I need to post process all the ones from the weekend, then I will be out shooting more!!!!

The entire family was here for the holiday and I took a lot of pictures.

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

Pa said:
These pictures are fantastic.

Is there any way they could have been captured without VR? I would like to hear from photographers more experienced than me concerning this question.

It appears to me that these lenses open up a whole new area of possibilities.

I sure don't know if they could have been done without VR or not. I have a very hard time avoiding lens shake, even with the VR. It costs a lot, but for me I think it is worth it.

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

drueter said:
Great shots, Terri! Ya gotta love that lens!! I see that the lighting was harsh mid day sun, but you handled the exposure very well!

Well, I shot in Raw and tried to deal with the dark shadows in Photoshop. I used ACR to edit and took the shadows all the way down when converting the nef's. I also used shadow/highlight in Photoshop CS2.

I do love the lens.

Rich Gibson · Jul 5, 2005

Wow, fabulous action shots! The reaction of the girl in the last shot is priceless. I also like the "air time" the young boy has achieved. Very nice work.

Rich

Terri French · Jul 5, 2005

Rich Gibson said:
Wow, fabulous action shots! The reaction of the girl in the last shot is priceless. I also like the "air time" the young boy has achieved. Very nice work.

Rich

Thanks Rich,
The girl in the last shot is my daughter. She is such a funny kid. I will always treasure that picture. It really shows her personality.

Flew · Jul 5, 2005

Terri,

I'm so glad that the folks here convinced you to get the 70-200VR. It is the first pro glass that many of us get, and it certainly lives up to its reputation.

I know that you will love it, and your family will enjoy the results as well.

Great pictures BTW. :wink:

TOLady · Jul 5, 2005

Wow, you've nailed this lens, girl!!! Those are fabulous action shots. Incredible lens, isn't it! It's worth its weight in gold, IMHO.

Philippe Roger · Jul 5, 2005

Hi Terri,

I'll join the gang to congratulate you on your new toy... err tool, and the great, scratch that, fantastic, results you got on your first outting! The post-processing is top notch too. That last shot says it all and I can see why it would be a family keepsake now. Well done! 8)