Bob Pizzano  

100mm finish by Bob Pizzano

January 2018 - 100mm finish

January 2018 - Bob Pizzano

Original

About the Image(s)

Sony A77II, Tamron 70-200 (105mm on zoom), f2.8, 1/640, ISO 3200
Shoot in raw, developed in Lightroom and Photoshop
Boston University indoor track meet. I had pretty good access about 20 feet from the end of the track and was head on to the runners. I shot about 8-10 heats at 12 fps hoping for good action/expressions. Got other shots with 5 or 3 runner with all feet in the air. I chose this one for the intensity on the runner’s faces. In the processing I took what I had which was very noisy and went with an old newspaper look. Very poor light, so shot at ISO 3200 to get at or above 1/500th.
Processing (Lightroom): Shadows, highlights, whites, black to add contrast. Brightened exposure. Noise reduction.
Processing (Photoshop): Burn in some of the whiter areas in the background. Dodge/Burn the eyes for a little bit of pop. High pass sharpened.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
6 comments posted

Bruce Benson   Bruce Benson
Choice of newspaper look was good, and you really got the intensity of the scene. Muscle definition is great. Low perspective and intensity on faces really make this one. Well done.   Posted: 01/15/2018 13:59:55
Gerald Emmerich Jr   Gerald Emmerich Jr
I like the old newspaper look; the background crowd adds to the story and, for me, does not distract; and the expressions are great. I think this photo has great impact, especially initially. Great shot.
When I look at people in action for more than a couple seconds, however, I sometimes see things that start to bother me, especially when it's my photo. I like to see all four extremities clearly, both legs and both arms (plus the head as a fifth extremity). In this photo, for lack of a better term, there are two "stumps" -- the left leg of 1684 and the right leg of 1522 both appear to be cut off at the knee. I was wondering if you had a shot where all six legs are fully visible.   Posted: 01/21/2018 22:17:59
 
Great points on the legs. I will watch out for it. I think it come with the head on angle as any powerful front lunge of one leg typically has a backward lunge on the other.

As an aside I just shot this event again this weekend and "wandered" on to the infield this time. Much more interesting angles there. I shot some sprints adjacent to the starting line and was practically on the mat for the high jump.   Posted: 01/28/2018 08:05:55
Karl Hokanson   Karl Hokanson
I like the B&W look.   Posted: 01/29/2018 12:52:35
 
I like the expressions on their faces, it is an interesting point from Gerry with the stumps, never thought of that before. I am not a fan of the yellow look of the image, when I first saw it, the color tint bothers me, makes it look old, but to me does not fit the image. Since the rest of the group likes it, it probably does not matter as much. I think a plain black and white works better. Nice shot.   Posted: 01/29/2018 15:07:57
 
Thank you for submitting the two versions of this image ... It's a great example of taking a second look at images that you would normally discard during an original edit from a shoot.

The body positions, facial expressions and strain evident in each athlete is great. You've effectively captured the peak moment of action. Well done!   Posted: 01/30/2018 18:35:40