Safe? ... Again?

[Mr. Pickles]

Oh no, not again

Just to prove that I am the resident king on head first slides into 1st base, here is another...

IMG_5222_800.jpg

[Chris Talley]

Great timing, sharp pic, and I love the colors. Too bad you couldn't get the first base coach to move.

[keblerelf11]

He is safe for sure this time. No question about it. I think.

[Mr. Pickles]

The 1st base "coach" was a complete waste. Apparently the official "block the view" person of the day. If I was the Ump, I'd give them a "balk" for his inability to stand near the coaches box.

When runners were on 1st, guess where he stood?

[KABeach]

From a photography point of view, I don't like the shot - I see more backs than faces... personally I think this shot would be much stronger if from the 3rd base line shooting cross field...

Cheers,
Ken

[jfrancho]

Good point. There are more plays at first base, so it may make more sense to be on the 3rd base side, but the plays at third may be more spectacular or game altering. Its a toss up .

[Mr. Pickles]

Other than the fact that them shadows there are pretty long, thus at third, you'd be shooting pretty close into it.

[Chris Talley]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

Good point. There are more plays at first base, so it may make more sense to be on the 3rd base side, but the plays at third may be more spectacular or game altering. Its a toss up .

Plays at first are boring. All the good action happens at second or third.

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Chris Talley

Plays at first are boring. All the good action happens at second or third.

Apparently not, at least for Pickles. Two days, and two slides into first!

[KABeach]

Actually, you can get good plays at 1st from the 1st base side.. For me, my favorite example is the pitcher throwing to first to hold back the runner and the runner diving back to the bag... if you are positioned correctly, you can get the faces of both the fielder and the runner and the tension of the play...

Normally when I'm on the first base side, I'm looking for fielding plays - typically third, shortstop and at the plate . Occasionally the 2nd baseman if I have a good position.. for running plays I look for third, second or the toss back at first.

Truthfully, I wouldn't have even tried to capture this image - I would have been trying to pick up the grab in the field...

Cheers,
Ken

[jeffro20]

Those first base coaches are in the way all too often.

[Mr. Pickles]

Originally Posted by KABeach

Truthfully, I wouldn't have even tried to capture this image - I would have been trying to pick up the grab in the field...

Yeah, me too, but every now and then, I'm odd like this

Besides, if I didn't do this, who would?

[jfrancho]

Truthfully, I wouldn't have even tried to capture this image - I would have been trying to pick up the grab in the field...

If the shot was to accompany an article that either described the specific play or featured a specific athlete, I would agree 100%. Sports photography can be a little dry sometimes without knowing the sport, or knowing the player, or knowing how the play went down - it's all the same, often tightly cropped, depicting the critical moment.

In the case on these latest pictures, I find the extra information and unorthodox viewpoint more interesting. No, I wouldn't send these to the local paper and hope to have them published, but they have certainly sparked some great interest and conversation, and I even learned new subtleties about the rules in the first thread.

So, while you may not find them very useful at all, the fact is they are thought provoking an interesting (to a baseball fan anyway) and I think they succeed as valid photographic fodder, and are definitely worth sharing.

[Mr. Pickles]

The comments in this one, and in the other one for that matter, are exactly what PhotoCamel is all about. We post, look, and comment on the images. From all of that, discussions form and develop.

So what JF said above is true, and pretty much wanted here. if the image is great, good, or barely acceptable, if it sparks some thought, it is good. If it is "thought provoking is an added bonus, and they are good photographic fodder.

When I am at third, there is very little to no action at 2nd or third. When i am at 1st, there is very little or no action where it needs to be. So, I get what I get, and post what I got. One of these days, the stars will align, but the PhotoCamel will be closed by then

[drkranger]

Originally Posted by KABeach

From a photography point of view, I don't like the shot - I see more backs than faces... personally I think this shot would be much stronger if from the 3rd base line shooting cross field...

Cheers,
Ken

Or farther down the right field line. Catch the runner going into first rather than across the plane of vision. If you like the shots of the first base action, farther up the line could catch pick off plays too.

I've been known to tell officials to move especially when I'm doing basketball. It helps that they're mostly high school students and 20-somethings and I've been working with them for years, but I still tell them to move.

As for sharpness and color and stop action it looks good. I didn't see the first shot, so this is the first of these for me.