What makes a good track photo?

i laughed loudly at that one.

 

Jake,

Two things. Please keep in mind these are only my views, and others may disagree.

First, the focus in your first shot isn't a bit off, it's way off. There are certain images which, while not tack sharp, are acceptably sharp. I would not consider this one of them. That said, newsprint is the great equalizer and it might not look so bad in the paper.

My second issue is one of ethics. While the discussion of a photojournalist's code is perhaps left for another day, your second photo is a blatant misrepresentation of the scene you recorded, and a poor one at that.

Again, just my observations and others are likely to disagree.

 

Is the old man just cold, or getting ready to hurl?

 

he's watching the board for a foul

 

That third one is awesome! Nice job!

 

I hope that's the triple jump, otherwise she just sucks.

 

Uh, look where the board is. It's the long jump, and there's no way to tell if it's a bad or good jump, distance-wise.

 

The nice thing about track for photogs is you know exactly where the play will be before it gets there. You can get creative with your camera angle or what type of exposure to use. The down side is that it is a brief moment until the next event. That all said, give me a shot that I have not seen before. Get creative.

I do like the mohawk kid in the sand because it shows a tough kid (hair) at a vulnerable moment.

Thank god for those stretch/pants/shorts that are worn now. No jocks!!!

I have always respected a good soccer or hockey shot because I have heard (and tried for soccer) to get a good ball in frame shot, and it is damn tough.

I also think the digital camera has made the quality of what comes back into the newsroom significantly better.

 

girl is all freaked out over this exposure.

 

Didn't that thread get closed?

I guess when she sets foot in college (Cal, right?), the exposure will go up and the rules will change.

By the way, that really is a crappy photo. A "This is best you got?" response about the meet in general might have come from the editor.

 

She is 18, she is a woman.

I remember we had a thread about a photo of a police officer consoling a dad whose kids had just died.

That is a much greater invasion of privacy than a pic of an adult willingly competing a track-and-field meet.