[Igorche]

Thanks Kev

[Jimmie48]

Originally Posted by Melange

Jimmie48 i took some http://www.flickr.com/photos/7429565...7632523273794/ Do you have any advice on how i can improve my photos

I'll try

Focus looks spot on in most so you have that covered. What kind of lens do you use? I see that most shots have been made with 5.6 aperture but some are f5..can you open the lens further?

I'll ask because the more open the lens is the more you can play with depth of field and blur the background, that will make the players "pop out" much more.

One thing I notice is that you have lots of shots where half of the feet are cut off. I know this may be a personal preference kind of thing but I'll always go for either upper body shots (cutting off somewhere around the knees or higher) or shots of the whole player where you can see the feet in action as well.

But cutting them of somewhere through the feet looks like it's neither that nor the other, just like a missed shot. Generally it's best to make up your mind before taking shots whether you want to have the full player in frame or go for more of a closeup, then you won't end up with so many in-betweens

Another thing is court positioning: I understand that on bigger courts you`re stuck with your seat so there's nothing you can do. But I think some of these have been made on the training courts and I assume you can position yourself freely on the sides there? If so, making shots of returns works best when you stay around the net, then it almost looks like the player is facing you and you can do shots like this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BArKtRZCYAAraCV.jpg:large

You can capture both the ball and the player from that point, either when it hits the racket or before/after. It works from the opposite baseline as well, going over the net. You need quite a lot of focal length for that though.

Hope that helps you

FWIW, I still think TF needs some kind of tennis photography topic for discussions like these, sharing images etc

[AYUMI-GOAT]

Any advice for my pics?

[Sombrerero loco]

hey hindrance, thanks a lot for the pics

any pics of alize cornet?

also, more from legend? was she nice with fans? taking pics with them and signing autographs and so? =)

thanks in advance

[AYUMI-GOAT]

Originally Posted by Sombrerero loco

hey hindrance, thanks a lot for the pics

any pics of alize cornet?

also, more from legend? was she nice with fans? taking pics with them and signing autographs and so? =)

thanks in advance

Sorry no pics of Cornet

And Yes the Legend was nice with the fans, she was walking up the stairs out of RLA and signed some autographs and took some pics

[BH both wings]

Originally Posted by Hindrance.

Isn't Taiwan a country itself? Why is it still under China?

There are two Chinas: The Republic of China (RoC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Both claim to be the "real" China, and both claim that all Chinese provinces (including the mainland and Taiwan) are part of "their" "real" China. The RoC only governs one province, Taiwan, right now, they consider all the other provinces in the mainland to be rebel provinces. The PRC governs the mainland and claims that Taiwan is a rebel province.

That's why people both from the mainland as well as Taiwan are "Chinese", at least by passport, even though Chinese means two different things on both sides of the straight.

[SurfingPikachu]

Hi, Hindrance. I am here now. So many beautiful pictures. So many stars I like: Li Na, Dominika, Donna, Aga, Mandy.
But it's so pity I didn't see my favorite Tsveti.
Looking forward to your more pictures.

[AYUMI-GOAT]

DAY5 REPORTS
Goerges vs. Zheng
Goerges was great in the first set, Zheng also wasn't that bad, Goerges was just hitting winners from here to there. In the second Goerges was 4-0 down and you could tell she was just ballbashing her way out so she could sit because of the rain delay. After that she kept her BBB momentum until 5-3 in the last set she just started playing GOAT

Grandin/Uhlirova vs. Czink/Jovanovski
Wow Bojana is so bad in doubles She is useless and when she hits a volley she tries to drop shot it and it just sits up Czink wasn't that good either

Llagostera Vives/Zheng vs. Kuznetsova/Wickmayer
JZ and Nuria were great both were so mini though, and if you looked over the net its like your facing team bitchy Yanina was bitchmayer as usual, when like 4-1 down she smashed a ball down and it went over the fence. I was surprised she didn't get a code violation for that.

Makarova/Vesnina vs. Minella/Moulton-Levy
Mandy and Megan had to wait like 5 mins for Makarova/Vesnina and it was cold and they were sitting there with their towels wrapped around them and they were laughing and smiling all the time it was great to see Makarova/Vesnina will be one to watch for the title, I thought they played great today. Mandy/Megan also didn't play that well and Mandy had some good hands at the net at times.

Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova vs. Kops-Jones/Spears
I didn't see much but a group of guys walked pass Lucie/Pavs at the changeover and said something to them and they smiled back and it was great to see

Yan/Gonzalez vs. Paszek/Peya
Only saw a glimpse of this but didn't realise that Yan has 2 hands both sides She also has a new haircut and looks very fit

Wow i realised i didn't see much matches today

[AYUMI-GOAT]

Oh and btw Uhlirova fell 3 times

[chingching]

Originally Posted by BH both wings

There are two Chinas: The Republic of China (RoC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Both claim to be the "real" China, and both claim that all Chinese provinces (including the mainland and Taiwan) are part of "their" "real" China. The RoC only governs one province, Taiwan, right now, they consider all the other provinces in the mainland to be rebel provinces. The PRC governs the mainland and claims that Taiwan is a rebel province.

That's why people both from the mainland as well as Taiwan are "Chinese", at least by passport, even though Chinese means two different things on both sides of the straight.

Very well said

[Beat]

Originally Posted by Hindrance.

those arms, those shoulders, those legs ...

[saul1333]

Great report and pics

[Igorche]

Kev will you go on Sunday?

[moodin0931]

Thanks!

[urklerlay]

Originally Posted by Jimmie48

I'll try

Focus looks spot on in most so you have that covered. What kind of lens do you use? I see that most shots have been made with 5.6 aperture but some are f5..can you open the lens further?

I'll ask because the more open the lens is the more you can play with depth of field and blur the background, that will make the players "pop out" much more.

One thing I notice is that you have lots of shots where half of the feet are cut off. I know this may be a personal preference kind of thing but I'll always go for either upper body shots (cutting off somewhere around the knees or higher) or shots of the whole player where you can see the feet in action as well.

But cutting them of somewhere through the feet looks like it's neither that nor the other, just like a missed shot. Generally it's best to make up your mind before taking shots whether you want to have the full player in frame or go for more of a closeup, then you won't end up with so many in-betweens

Another thing is court positioning: I understand that on bigger courts you`re stuck with your seat so there's nothing you can do. But I think some of these have been made on the training courts and I assume you can position yourself freely on the sides there? If so, making shots of returns works best when you stay around the net, then it almost looks like the player is facing you and you can do shots like this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BArKtRZCYAAraCV.jpg:large

You can capture both the ball and the player from that point, either when it hits the racket or before/after. It works from the opposite baseline as well, going over the net. You need quite a lot of focal length for that though.

Hope that helps you

FWIW, I still think TF needs some kind of tennis photography topic for discussions like these, sharing images etc

I'll chime in too!

I agree with everything that Jimmie48 wrote above.

I'll add that my own personal opinion is that the eyes of the players are very important. This can be very difficult when it is very bright and the sun is high and the players are wearing a visors, which almost every player does wear nowadays Your camera will adjust the exposure for more or less the entire scene, resulting in nothing but black under the visor. (See your image 0954). In this instance, you can bump up your exposure adjustment to overexpose the shot and give more exposure to under the bill, hopefully lightening up the eyes. However, let's face it, it is best to just avoid that situation if you can and shoot when their face is in better lighting.

A perfect example is your photo 1361 vs 1375. Because I can see the eyes in the first photo, I connect to it much more.

Another tip for photo 0840. Dark, right? Well, you can do two things: overexpose the shot so you are exposing for the body which is all shadow or ... move to the other side of the court where she is hitting forehands in the sunlight. I realize that moving around at a Grand Slam is definitely easier said than done.

Your "Allez" shot of Bartoli is great! Perfect example of why you keep shooting after the point has ended b/c that is when you get the reaction. The MELBOURNE logo in the photo is an extra added bonus that only adds to the composition.

Just practice and you will be turning out even more killer shots!

(Sorry for the long post. But I also agree w/ Jimmie48 re: a Photo Topic)