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Behind The Lens
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I developed an interest in photography because my daughter was a diver. I purchased my first camera about 7 yrs ago, took a basic course in photography and the rest was trial and error. This picture of my daughter was was taken at a high school swim/dive meet. She was 15 at the time.Time
This was taken taken at about 6 pm in an indoor natatorium.Lighting
As with most indoor sport events, the lighting was horrible. There were some overhead lights and, fortunately, some side lighting from an exit door. No flash was at the s allowed so I was dependent on available light only.Equipment
I used a Nikon D500... I like a cropped sensor for sports, as it eliminates a lot of the "extra" around the main subject, especially if you are far away. I was fortunate enough to be on the deck for this shot so I did not have to zoom in too much. My lens was a Nikon 70-200mm, f 2.8. This was shot at f/3.5, ss 1/1250, at 95mm focal length. I use auto ISO as the lighting varies during the trajectory of the dive: brighter at top of the dive; less light in the middle; and brighter again as the diver enters the water from the water reflecting light upward. The shots are handheld, I use group setting or 21 points for focus. I start with focus on the face and just keep clicking, tracking the diver, from the takeoff until the diver enters the water.Inspiration
My daughter inspired my entry into photography, in general, and my desire to capture her talent, specifically. I was just in awe of her ability!Editing
There was some grain in the picture because of the higher ISO, so I did a little noise reduction. Other than that a few minor tweaks in exposure based on the histogram.In my camera bag
When I planned on a diving event my bag had minimal equipment. My camera of choice was a nikon D500. Although I predominantly used the 70-200mm f/2.8 I brought a backup lens , Nikon 28-300mm, in the event that something would go wrong with my primary lens. I packed plenty of charged batteries, as continuous shooting mode takes up a lot of power. I found that out the hard way during one of my daughter's meets. And, of course, plenty of sd cards!Feedback
LOTS OF PRACTICE! It really took some time to figure out the right settings in order to keep the ISO as low as possible for an indoor event. Also, be prepared to delete a lot of your shots. I probably kept about only 15-20% of the shots taken....thank goodness for digital! Get the best high speed lens you can afford. A lens with a fixed f/2.8 and some zoom feature is indispensable, especially for indoor action shots.