Long Beach Middle School Flag Football Championships

Still trying to get all caught up with all of the sporting events I covered over the last few days.

Before the volleyball championships were over I had to head on over to the football field for the flag football championships.  This is the first year volleyball has gone first, which made being outside for football at 1pm made for a much hotter day, but once I'm on the field shooting I forget about it all and simply get caught up in the moment, or I guess I should really say moments.

As volleyball there is a division I and division two game, with the second game ending at about 4pm, making it a long day.

Here are some of my favorites from those two games. 

Long Beach Middle School Div II Flag Football Championships Lindsey Falcons vs Cubberley Cubs

Here are some shots from the Division II Flag Football Championships.

Long Beach Middle School Div I Flag Football Championships Hoover Highlanders vs Stanford Hawks

And finally here are some shots from the Division I Flag Football Championships.

Stanford brought their own cheerleaders and I was able to grab this shot between plays.

Long Beach Middle School Division II Flag Football Championships

Robinson Dolphins vs Lindsey Falcons

To view and order pictures from this event, just click on the post heading.

This game was the beginning of a very long day. Kick off was at 9am under an overcast sky, which had the look of rain. Throughout this game the sun would peak hit's head through the clouds giving me some great light, but then it would leave as quick as it came.

The championship games are played in reverse order, which is why I have Division II posted first followed by Division I.

All of these shots, including those from the Division I game, were shot with the Canon Mark IIn and 300 f/2.8 on a monopod.

Here's the pass for the below attempted reception (next picture)

This is the attempted catch from the above pass, which was fumbled and incomplete.

Long Beach Middle Division I Flag Football Championships

Hamilton Wolverines vs Stanford Hawks

To view and order pictures from this event, just click on the post heading.

The game was great, it was very close up to the end with a lot of action, but what made this game the best was the fact that it rained a bit during the game. Now let me say when I say rained, I mean it came down hard for about 10 minutes. Now normally I don't worry about my Canon Mark IIn and 300 in the rain, or at least when it's light, but this was very heavy rain, but there was salvation. I did bring my Aqua Tech cover for my camera and lens and just put it on. It was rather funny watching all the people in the stands running for cover while I just continued to shoot and in between plays I just put the cover on and continued shooting. It actually felt great being out in the rain shooting some action.

So here are a few action shots to share from the game.

A day of Championship Games

Last year I was asked to shoot all of the Long Beach Middle School Championship games for their various sports, which include flag football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, and track. I don't do this for the money because the Athletic Director I'm dealing with has no budget but I do make sales to the parents of the players.

This last Saturday I spend the entire day at Wilson High School shooting four games. I started out at 9am shooting the Div II Flag Football Championship game, then at 11am with the Div I Flag Football Championship game, which was followed at 1pm with the Div II Volleyball Championship game, and ending at 3pm with the Div I Volleyball Championship game.

I did make a few contacts and passed out some cards, so hopefully I'll make a little bit on money for my time.

For both flag football games I used my 300 f/2.8L lens. Now during most of the first game the sky was overcast with a little bit of high fog, so during the first game I started with an ISO of 800 and brought it back down to 100 as the day progressed.

For the volleyball games I started with the 70-200 f/2.8L lens and stood along the side where the players sit. When along the side I pretty much stayed just off center so I can focus my attention on one team. I also took some shots from the balcony and along one of the far end walls. When at these two positions I used the 300 f/2.8. For all four games I keep my aperture at f/2.8 to isolate the athlete from the background.

Div II Flag Football / Hill Huskies vs Lindsey Falcons

Div I Flag Football / Hughes Owls vs Lindbergh Eagles

Div II Volleyball / Powell Eagles vs Monroe Tigers

Div I Volleyball / Stanford Hawks vs Bancroft