Shorthorn photographer Michael Minasi wrote:

Robby E, back, puts Garett Bischoff into a headlock during Slammiversary 2012 on Sunday night at the College Park Center. Bischoff and his teammate, Devon, turned the tide of the match later on and won the first tag team match of the evening.

It was my first time ever photographing professional wrestling, so I really wanted to get as much from the experience as possible.  Since I recently got a new DSLR that could handle more difficult lighting conditions, I didn’t hesitate to grab an extra camera body along with a wide angle and telephoto lens - I didn’t know what to expect from the performers, where I would be allowed to shoot or anything - so that I could cover every base.

When I got there, the media relations personnel explained where I would have access to (and I would admittedly bend the rules on this for brief moments to get my shots). After a pretty decent wait, the show started. After the first couple rounds, I started to figure out the routine and where my limits were.  Since it was fast-paced movement and I was limited in how close I could get, I primarily shot with the 70-200 telephoto lens and kept my aperture low (2.8) and my ISO high (2000 or so) so that my shutter speeds could be fast enough to capture the movement.

The key to not missing a moment is a mix of anticipating as much as you can, never dropping the camera from your eye, and a sprinkle of luck.

IN SUMMARY:

• Be prepared for a variety of shooting conditions including limited distance to subject, dark lighting.
• Know the rules and your limits - and then bend them within reason.
• Never drop your camera - you never know what you might miss.

Check out the rest of the photo gallery for more of Slammiversary 2012.

-Michael Minasi

Shorthorn photographer Erika Dupree said,

Senior tennis player Mindaugas Celedinas is currently undefeated in Southland Conference play. The Mavericks play in the SLC Tournament on April 27 and 28 in Nacogdoches.

Portraits - whether they are for a news, sports or features story - need to be clean, and simple.  Cluttered, messy backgrounds or poor lighting are what separate the amateurs from the professionals.

“I wanted to avoid it being high school senior portrait style with a net in front of him. I photographed him waist up instead of head to toe so that it was cleaner and closer,” said Dupree.

By using a telephoto lens, Dupree was able to clean up the already simple background.  Using artificial lighting from one side of the subject also created a more dramatic and intense tone that reflected the story - this player being undefeated in the conference.

Shorthorn photographer Ben Ohene wrote,

Aaron Stephens, left, and Will Cossin, right, sprint towards the finish line Saturday afternoon in the Maverick Stadium.  Contestants in the 2012 Special Olympics Texas competed in multiple events such as the long jump, the 50 meter dash, and the 400 meter run.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the fathers of photojournalism, once said,

“Photography is, for me, a spontaneous impulse coming from an ever attentive eye which captures the moment and its eternity.”

Anyone can pick up a half decent camera and some good lenses and shoot sports photography.  However, good sports photography is created by meshing high quality technical skill, a compositional eye, a whole lot of luck and the intuition to find the emotion that breathes life into these players.

Shorthorn photographer Ohene was there at the right moment, and he got it.

Ohene said, “I saw that the two runners were giving it their all and decided they were the two that I needed to get a photo of.”