Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

I finally finished up editing the third day of the 2011 USAU College Championships.

Checkout the full gallery here: http://www.scaughtyphoto.com/Ultimate/College-2010-1011/2011-College-Championships-Sun/

You can also checkout all the photos on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/scaughtyphotography

Enjoy!

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/1600, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 500iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1600iso, f/2.8, 1/1600, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Going into this semi-finals game I surely thought that Oregon was going to easily walk away with the win and I hadn’t really seen too much of Michigan throughout the year to develop an opinion of their team. The Oregon Women’s team is one of my favorite college women’s teams to shoot because of their athleticism, likeliness to huck, and big plays. They are fun to photograph. I felt like they got over confident as they knew they were a top team, and got complacent at a time where games really have to be earned. Michigan played a great game and showed that they deserved to play the next day in the finals. For this game Alex Peters, a fellow ultimate photographer, let me borrow his 40mm f/2.8. It sure did feel good to get behind some longer glass again.

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

By now you might have noticed that I shot the College Championships with a 300mm f/2.8. I usually shoot ultimate with a 400mm so making this change was quite easy. I definitely ended up with more usable shots, had to do a little more cropping than usual, and got less action on the far end of the field.

One thing that experienced sports photographers talk about is clean backgrounds. This photo below is a good example of beautiful action and athleticism that gets lost in a busy background.  Sometimes the background can tell help tell the story but for the most part in sports you want to focus on the action, which is why a lens like a 400mm f/2.8 is nice to create more of a separation between the subject and background.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

At this point in the tournament, this close to the finals, players really feel the pain of losing. It’s a feeling that most players will never forget and that will motivate them to work harder for another chance.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Burning Skirts is one of my favorite women’s teams to shoot because they are always making huge plays, dominating, and having fun. Here are a few shots from the semifinals match up between UCSB and Stanford. Lots of familiar faces in this one.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

I was in Monterey this past weekend getting my open water scuba certification so wasn’t able to work much on the photos from the third day of the 2011 USAU College Championships. Ultimate photos aren’t all about skying, scoring, and getting layout D’s. Here are a couple photos of the catch attempts that didn’t quite make it, endzone celebrations, and conflict resolution.

More photos coming soon.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 640iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

There aren’t many good photos of people spiking the disc. A freeze frame of the action usually just looks awkward…

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 640iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Talk it out. The unique thing about ultimate is the way disputes are handles. It has its pro and cons, but is definitely a pain when you are shooting ultimate because it completely stops play.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Layout catches and D’s. Those are the plays that make me want to shoot Ultimate. There is so much going on that choosing which games to shoot and which angles to shoot from is always a dilemma. Every time I go out and shoot a tournament I always end my first day of shooting a little disappointed. Its not that I get bad shots on the first day, but usually on the second day I’ve gotten into my groove and get some really good ones. A lot of it is has to do with being in the right place at the right time.

Below are some of the layout plays that I got from Saturday (Day 2) of the 2011 USAU College Championships.

Check out the full Saturday (Day 2) gallery here: http://www.scaughtyphoto.com/Ultimate/College-2010-1011/2011-College-Championships-Sat/

Check out the full Friday (Day 1) gallery here: http://www.scaughtyphoto.com/Ultimate/College-2010-1011/2011-College-Championships-Day/

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 320iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 320iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 320iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 640iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 800iso, f/2.8, 1/1250, manual