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Strike!
Strike!
timfythetoo


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Action Shot II (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Location: Rochester Ny
Date: Jul 28, 2006
Aperture: 1.8
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/40
Galleries: Sports, Action
Date Uploaded: Jul 28, 2006

 OK - for those of you who like the stories on my pics hunker down cause this will be a long one I believe.

Aimee flew out of town for the week for business and I decided to drive the 7 hours to visit my family in Rochester NY with my kids in tow. While we were there this challenge came up and I had a brilliant idea. My dad owns a 12 lane bowling alley and I thought that maybe I could get a cool shot of the ball crashing into the pins. I wanted a tight shot with no blur but all the pins flying in the air. So I show up at the alley and I tell my dad what I want and that I plan to stand in the gutters straddling the lane so that I can get a straight on shot as the ball rolls under me into the pins. Because the lighting was so poor I had to use my 50mm which put me maybe ten feet from the pins. I had to squat down pretty low as well since I had forgotten how low the ceiling was over the pins. THere were some college kids there bowling that were throwing it pretty hard and straight so I asked one of them to throw. They said sure but my dad really wanted to help so he said he would throw it. I told him just shoot it straight - no gutter balls please.

So I am squatting down ready for the ball to come . My dad throws the ball and it takes out the ten pin. For those not familiar with bowling the ten pin (or maybe seven pin) is the pin furthest back and closest to the gutter. Thats the only pin that drops. I yell back at him - "Just shoot it straight down the center Dad".

The next shot I am looking back at him throwing first just to make sure it is centered. The ball is and I turn around to shoot and I shoot too fast. I caught the ball just about to hit the pins.

Try three my dad came down the alley and I set to the side rather than straight on. He could shoot it from ten feet away gauranteeing a good hit. I got the shot (which happens to be my entry) but it wasnt what I wanted. I wanted the staright on pic.

Try four we go back to the original plan and I decide to trust my dad and squat and wait so I dont have to rush to set. This time I feel the breeze by my ankle as the ball flies by and takes out the ten pin again. "Just straight down the center dad!"

Try five and I am ready to go. I hear the ball launch and then from behind I hear at least 5 people yell "Watch out". But by the time I stood up straight from my crouching position the ball hit me flush on my heel. A 16 pound bowling ball thrown by my dad whacks me hard in the heel.

I turn around and he is walking down the center of the lane (which means he has to wax it again because you arent supposed to walk down the lane) with a horrible look on his face. Probably close to the look on mine. I squat down in the gutters between two lanes telling my dad that I think I am ok. Hurts really bad but I dont think anything is broken.

Just then my dad says "Watch out for the ball return". I was straddling on my knees right over the ball return and I had just enough time (just enough!) to lift my right leg and allow the ball to shoot inches below what would have been a collision of balls that probably could have made me forget all about my heel.

Photoshoot is now over. My stepmother has the bag of ice ready for me before I get back to the bar. Dad apologized over and over and we got a good laugh out of it. It ended up not hurting to walk but I couldnt wear any shoes that had a back heel to it for several days. It bruised up pretty good but nothing grotesque.

What did I learn in the end? Standing blind in the gutter on a bowling lane while someone shoots a 16 pound ball in your direction from behind you is a really stupid thing to do - but it gives you one heck of a story.

And finally my postprocessing - crop, levels, saturation, USM, border, resize for web.

Statistics
Place: 113 out of 279
Avg (all users): 5.5690
Avg (commenters): 6.4000
Avg (participants): 5.3421
Avg (non-participants): 5.6748
Views since voting: 1288
Views during voting: 338
Votes: 239
Comments: 14
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 12/14/2006 09:54:22 AM
Well done here - pro job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/14/2006 09:25:53 AM
This is a great bowling shot...just the right ammount of blur...well done Tim
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/04/2006 05:09:28 PM
Great commentary...and photo. I think the only thing the photo lacks is a little more action (pins spinning in all directions) but who knows how many injuries you would have suffered to get that shot! Love the lighting. If you ever get the idea to try this again, I wonder if a faster exposure setting would work well with the pins flying in all directions.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/11/2006 07:08:19 PM
Trading post...
Nice action and great story! The color and lighting look good. I think it does well with the motion blur. Probably it just didn't have enough "wow" for a higher score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/10/2006 08:50:25 AM
Ouch....but you could have got a good one for Stupid Stupid by gluing the ball to your dads fingers and sending him down the alley with the ball...hehehehe....son's revenge maybe?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/09/2006 09:43:27 PM
Now that is one heel of a story! LOL

Sorry ... that was terrible. :-P
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/09/2006 09:31:47 PM
Trading Post comment

Dang, nearly died laughing reading the commentary! And your dad owns a bowling alley but can't bowl? Oh, and I want some credit for setting this idea in your head (see "2 second challenge"). As for the picture - I think it's very well done. Good color (which is hard to get in bowling alleys), great lighting (equally hard) some stopped motion with some motion blur, good angle. Not sure I would have liked the dead-on one as much, despite the pain you went through to get it. All in all, I think this worked out well. May not have been as "exciting" as some of the higher ranked scoring shots due to subject matter. And I'm sure you're more glad than anyone that the potential collision mentioned did NOT occur.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/09/2006 12:33:39 AM
Wow, and I was going to complain about how many balls I had to throw just so my "better" half could get a decent shot in for the challenge. If I heard, "just throw a strike" one more time... Grrrrrrr!

But now, I'm just having sympathy pains for you. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
08/08/2006 03:05:47 PM
well done!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 11:03:06 PM
I can hear the pins falling...great capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 05:09:30 AM
and a 'brooklyn' strike at that ;-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/06/2006 06:51:56 PM
Cool!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/03/2006 08:18:17 PM
Great colours
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/02/2006 11:21:32 AM
The ball is so in focus!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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