HoustonPhotog.com / LongoriaPhotography.com

Since the Houston Astros are down to their last 6 home games of the season I figured it would be appropriate to post a photo from one of their games I shot way back when. Much like I explained in an earlier post It’s All About The Details, I’m always looking for detail shots of whatever concert, sporting event or any event for that matter.

Detail shots can have a much longer shelf life in my opinion than a photo that actually has a player in the frame. Take this shot for instance. I shot this photo back in 2007 when the Astros played the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. You would not be able to distinguish what year this photo was actually taken since there are no real visible players in the photo in order to piece together an estimated season. Now had their team logo changed since the day I took this photo then it would be obvious. hehe.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IIN : Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L : 1/400th : f/3.5 : 100 ISO : 70mm : Aperture Priority : 0 Bias : No Flash

So this is just another example of a detail photo that can (and has) outlived many of the other photos I shot this particular game since most of the players photographed that day in 2007 are no longer with the Houston Astros. Maybe I should try to get in and shoot one game this week just for old time’s sake! =]

As a photographer, I am always looking to learn and improve in my photography and this constant need/drive to become a better photographer often times leaves me very critical of my own work.

For instance, if I look back at past photos from a few years ago I may look at them and think “man these suck, I can never display these to anyone”. Even though at the time the photo was taken I might have really liked it. I guess my level of acceptance in my own photography work gets stricter as time goes on and of course as I improve. I feel that it’s a good thing to push yourself to become a better photographer, I know that’s partially what keeps me going! If there was ever a point in time where I was absolutely happy (and/or content) with where I stood as a photographer then I might lose interest in it entirely.

It’s this drive to become a better photographer that makes this hobby challenging which also helps keep my interest in it.

I have a handful of photos that are several years old that I am confident to say will never fall out of my “favorites folder” so to speak. These photos I loved the day I shot them and even years later I still have the same love for them even though my level of experience has grown so much since then. It’s those types of photos that I strive to create every time I pick up my camera… photos that I know years down the road will still make me WANT to share them with others and not brush them under a rug somewhere because of my embarrassment of the quality.

Today’s photo is just that… it’s a photo I shot in September 2006 at my very first Astros game as a credentialed photographer. A fellow photographer friend of mine named Mike Fulton had shot an Astros game the previous season and he had a shot that I thought was amazing. It was a fisheye shot of Andy Pettite waiting in the On Deck Circle and it was the first time I had ever seen a wide angle shot like that. I was sold on it the moment I saw it.

So for this being my first game, I told Mike that I totally wanted to replicate that shot (in my own way of course) to add to my portfolio and he so graciously offered to loan me his 15mm Fisheye lens for the day.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IIN : Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye : 1/200th : f/5 : 800 ISO : 15mm : Manual Mode : 0 Bias : No Flash

This particular game was Roger Clemens’ last game and last start as an Astro which was the assignment I was there for. To cover the game and capture some photos they could use for the story the following day.

Whats funny is that my favorite photo from the day was not of Roger Clemens, 7 time Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer but it’s of Chris Burke which is now no longer a Houston Astro! Go figure!

Let’s go way back on this post… Here’s a few from the Houston Rockets vs Boston Celtics. Back when Bonzie Wells was a Rocket! As a die-hard sports fan and an avid photographer it was great being able to combine my two obsessions. I do believe this was the first game I used my Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye lens so to pay homage to it I’ll post 3 shots from the night that were taken with that lens.

What’s shooting a Rockets game without getting up in the stands to shoot a few photos of the Red Rowdies. These guys are ALWAYS crazy and you can guarantee that they’ll be on their feet cheering the entire night! So here’s part of the group getting a little fired up during pregame warm ups. I dragged the shutter a bit in order to get some of that motion blur in order to get a sense of movement with these guys since “still” is not a word in their vocabulary for 48min strong! hehe.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IIN : Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye : 1/13th : f/6.3 : 800 ISO : 15mm : Aperture Priority : 0 Bias : Flash Fired

Rockets pregame huddle just after the player introductions… again with the fisheye. I had a couple of shots where I held the camera down low and shot up into the huddle but I kinda favor this shot a bit more. I think the reason I favor it more is because you can’t tell who the players are, if I posted the other one looking into the huddle you’d notice that half of the players are no longer with the Rockets! Ha!

Canon EOS-1D Mark IIN : Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye : 1/100th : f/6.3 : 1000 ISO : 15mm : Aperture Priority : 0 Bias : No Flash

I must say this next photo is probably my favorite shot of the night. A nice wide angle of Boston’s Paul Pierce shooting a jump shot over Houston’s Bonzie Wells. I’m not a fan of Bonzie getting shot on like that but I am a fan of the shot itself. If that makes any sense whatsoever. =]

Canon EOS-1D Mark IIN : Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye : 1/640th : f/2.8 : 800 ISO : 15mm : Manual Mode : 0 Bias : No Flash

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat on the baselines during a Rockets game and I am sure I will find myself there again soon once my sports shooting itch can’t be ignored any longer. As a fan, it’s a blast sitting so close to the action and hearing all of the smack talk and trash that’s being said only a feet away. It really does add to the game and it’s something I’ve never experienced sitting in regular seats much less watching it on TV.

I spent a few days in Oahu, HI before my Hawaiian cruise left the island so I asked a couple of locals where I could get out and shoot some surfing/body boarding action. Their first response was that it was the off season for  surfing so the waves on the North Shore were pretty lame. They did recommend Sandy’s Beach just east of Waikiki a bit. They had others reporting like 6-7ft faces so that was definitely the hot spot for the day.

So I hopped in my pimped out rented Festiva and made my way over to Sandy’s. The water was as blue as I had ever seen! I mean I am from Houston so our beach water looks more along the lines of chocolate milk than anything else. Yuk. The waves were huge (based on what I’m used to anyways) and were breaking VERY close to the shore so my 70-200 f2.8L was the perfect focal length.

Out of all of the photos I took I favored the shots I took of this skim boarder. What was really cool from a photographers stand point was that the white wash water acted as a reflector bouncing a ton of light into the boarder which made for great fill light. The majority of my other photos were pretty harsh since the sun was directly over head and had a lot of deep shadows on the surfers and body boarders.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III : Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L : 1/2000th : f/3.2 : 100 ISO : 175mm : Manual Mode : 0 Bias : No Flash

I would so love to get back out to Hawaii in the winter months since that’s when the waves are their largest. I’ve shot all of the pro sports here in Houston and would love to spend some more time shooting some water sports ESPECIALLY if the water is as turquoise like what I saw at Sandy’s.

The Houston Astros played host to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Roy Oswalt got the start for the ‘Stros and Ex-Astros Brad Lidge got the save for the Phillies.