Preparation Is Key
Saturday, June 4th, was opening day for the Seattle Storm at KeyArena. It was also the 2010 WNBA Championship Ring Ceremony, and a nationally televised game on ABC. All of those combined meant the Key would be packed, and that it was a great opportunity to take a nice photo of the crowd watching the game.
During dress rehearsal the Thursday prior I had the idea of shooting down from the upper bowl at tip-off. Since according to the schedule of events I’d have less than two minutes to get from the court (for photos of the players being introduced) to the upper bowl I figured I’d better prepare ahead of time. First I took a test shot at the dress rehearsal to ensure I had the camera settings locked in and my shooting position sorted out. Here’s what the test shot looked like:
Canon 5D Mark II, 24-70 2.8L @ 35mm. ISO 800, 1/200 sec. @ f/2.8.
The framing looked good and the light was right. All it needed was fans. Lots and lots of fans!
On game day I did another trial run, this time with the assistance of Amanda (one of the Storm staff). We practiced handing off my second camera body on the court so it wouldn’t be bouncing on my hip as I raced to the upper bowl. She also timed my run at 50 seconds. Plenty of time!
Then it was time for the actual shoot. The handoff went smoothly. I raced to the upper bowl. Out of breath I positioned for the shot. And waited. And waited. And waited. Ah, nationally televised games! Finally ABC was ready to go, the ref tossed the ball, and I got my shot:
I think it looks much better with fans and players in it!
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