The MIL Finishers

Recently I attended my first company softball game to cheer on the MIL Finishers. Our company’s softball team is something new that just started this year and thus far, hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. They had only played two games previously and lost both; it was time for this team to get their spirits up and get a cheering section going.
When I got there I was really excited to see a lot of the player’s families there in support! I really had a great time watching my co-workers come together as a real softball team and WIN their first game!
From a photography standpoint, I have a whole new respect for sports photographers. Holy cow, is it hard. Sports photography is the culmination of so many difficult photographic situations into one. Let’s see….there is very low light, fast action, and long distance. This proved to be a tad overwhelming for the level of equipment that I have, despite the fact I broke out the rarely used monopod for help to steady my shots at such a long shutter speed. I knocked my ISO way down, opened up the aperture…still, had a very tough time. Many many shots came up blurred in action and very grainy, but I still had fun experimenting and learning. At least the team photo before the game came out great!

More images from the game are available as a slideshow here:
http://mtsphotography.zenfolio.com/finishers/slideshow