Lakewood Varsity Basketball vs Jordan

This was Lakewood's last season game and my last game as well, at least for the season that is.

So enjoy the pictures and hopefully I'll see this team again next year.

Lakewood Varsity Basketball

Thought I'd share some shots from the last two games I covered for the Lakewood boys varsity basketball team.

I either need to get a new Mark IV or these dang high school need to get some better lights. Boy shooting in these dungeons really bites.

Lakewood Basketball

I've recently been asked to cover the Lakewood Varsity Boys basketball, which included a game played against Downey High in the Staples Center. Shooting at Staples was a great opportunity and experience. It was nice covering a high school game where I could get my shutter faster than 1/320 and didn't have to use a flash.

This first group of shots is from the lower class team (JV/Freshmen), who each played a 20 min scrimmage.

The rest of these shots are from the varsity game.

Lakewood Boys Varsity Basketball vs Cabrillo

This is more than likely my last basketball game for the season. I have to say that even with the terrible lighting that Lakewood has in their gym, I was very pleased with what I ended up with and learned a bit on shooting with my flash. So enjoy these few pictures and hopefully I'll be back out there next season.

Lakewood Boys Varsity Basketball vs Wilson

Just wanted to share some shots from my most recent basketball game. This game was played after the prior posted soccer game, which made for a long day. All of these were taken with the 70-200 f/2.8L IS lens with my camera on manual mode at f/2.8, ISO 3200, and 1/250. I used an on-camera flash that was bounced off the ceiling.

Lakewood Boys Varsity Basketball vs Jordan

Haaven't had any basketball in the last two weeks as the Lakewood boys had away games, so here I am back in the gym after two weeks. It was nice to get back in the dungeon and shoot some basketball. So here are a few from the game.

All of these were shot in manual mode at f/2.8, ISO 3200, 1/250, with an on-camera flash, which I bounced off the celing.

Lakewood Boys Varsity Basketball vs Compton

To view and order pictures just click on the above title for gallery.

This is my third game with Lakewood. Without additional equipment, such as strobes or off-camera flashes, this will be the best that I will get. All in all I'm happy with my results and the action I'm capturing, only wish the lighting could be a little better giving me a faster shutter, but we do with what we have.

Another great game to watch and shoot. This game came down to the last couple of seconds and was won on free-throws. The game was tied at the end of regulation time and went into a 4 minute overtime. It went back and fourth to the last 3 seconds with Compton, who was up by one point, fouling Lakewood. Lakewood took the ball to the free-throw line needing both to win the game. Two shots with both going in the bucket giving the Lakewood the win with only 3 second left. Compton made a quick drive but failed to draw a foul or bucket.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this game.

For these last two shots I tried something different. I used my 24-70, which I had zoomed out all the way to give me as wide a shot as possible. On this first one I positioned myself just outside of the key to give me a nice angle with the stands in the background. For the last shot I was just below the basket against the wall. I was initially concerned that the ref's wouldn't let me position myself there, but I guess since I shot these straight and without a flash they just left me alone.

Both of these were taken in manual mode at f/2.8, ISO 3200, and 1/250 (no flash used). The slower shutter did give me some motion blur, which doesn't look to bad at this wide shot. If I were to zoom in then the picture would be just too blured.

Lakewood Boys Varsity Basketball vs Millikan

If you wish to view and order pictures from this event, just click on the above title.

Game two and much better. After my disappointment from the first game I tried some different things and settings. For starters I used my flash, which I bounced off the ceiling. I also made sure I brought my battery pack for my flash, which helps the recycle time and allows me to fire off more shots.

Another adjustment I made was to be more selective in my shots. Instead of firring off a bunch of sequences, I watched and anticipated the action and fired off one shot at a time. The up side is a limited number of pictures to go through and edit. The down side, not a lot to choose from. So here are my favorites from the game.

This first was taken as this kid jumped out of bounds to save the ball, which he succeeded in.