April 2016 – Scotty Anderson Photography

Cougar Country Nadirs Premiere Softball April 20th 2016

The Cougar Country Nadirs Premiere Softball team played in the first playoff game of the Spring 2016 WSU Intramural (WSU IMs) season. The game was played at the Valley Road Playfields – Field C. We were the home team. Unfortunately we were playing very shorthanded. We only have eight players going against a team that we had not played before. As it turned out the team was a bunch of hitters. I lost count of the number of balls they hit to the fence. They also did have a couple homeruns. It made for a long night as the Nadirs were eliminated from the playoffs in round one.

I was unable to play due to my recovery. So I decided I would try to take photos. The fields were lit with field lights. It is not incredibly bright. I talked to my friend Dean Hare about shooting these photos. As far as shutter speed I had read that 1/500 is the slowest I would want to go for sports. I asked Dean what ISO setting I should use. He suggested I needed to use the one that would get me the photo. What I found was that with a shutter speed of 1/500 I used an ISO setting of 10,000. Even then the photos were still sort of dark. What’s worse is the photos are pretty grainy. This was my first attempt at doing such a shoot and I found the results are not quite what I would have hoped for. There are a few photos in this collection that I like but overall I feel like they are too grainy and too “snapshot-ish” for what I would have liked.

As I mentioned already these photos were taken with a shutter speed of 1/500 sec (mostly), ISO-10000, and various focal lengths. I used my Canon 70D with a Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens.

Manager Ryan Miller delivering a pitch and Randy Jobs looks on from Second base.
Manager Ryan Miller delivering a pitch and Randy Jobs looks on from Second base.

Brant Johnson in the beginning of his swing.
Brant Johnson in the beginning of his swing.

Jalen Barnes focuses on the ball as he starts his swing.
Jalen Barnes focuses on the ball as he starts his swing.

Curtin Calhoun as he is completing his swing.
Curtin Calhoun as he is completing his swing.

Tom Sanford in Centerfield comes towards a ball bouncing on the ground. Shortstop-Third Baseman Cam Gale makes he way out for the cut.
Tom Sanford in Centerfield comes towards a ball bouncing on the ground. Shortstop-Third Baseman Cam Gale makes he way out for the cut.

Brant Johnson starting his swing as the ball is headed towards homeplate.
Brant Johnson starting his swing as the ball is headed towards homeplate.

Tom Sanford takes a big step as he prepares to unleash great power on this unsuspecting ball.
Tom Sanford takes a big step as he prepares to unleash great power on this unsuspecting ball.

Manager Ryan Miller pitched a ball a little up and inside. The batter looks doesn't look back as Curtis Calhoun prepares to catch the ball.
Manager Ryan Miller pitched a ball a little up and inside. The batter looks doesn't look back as Curtis Calhoun prepares to catch the ball.

Cam Gale looks up at a ball hit to the fence. It bounced once on the field turf and is making its way over the outfield fence at the 298' mark for a ground-rule double.
Cam Gale looks up at a ball hit to the fence. It bounced once on the field turf and is making its way over the outfield fence at the 298' mark for a ground-rule double.

Curtis Calhoun reaches inside to catch the pitch. But the batter already caught it. I slowed my exposure time down to 1/15 sec hoping to make a nice artsy photo.
Curtis Calhoun reaches inside to catch the pitch. But the batter already caught it. I slowed my exposure time down to 1/15 sec hoping to make a nice artsy photo.

Manager Ryan Miller is swinging at a pitch. I slowed my exposure time to 1/50 sec hoping to get an artsy kind of action shot. Instead... I got a blurry photo.
Manager Ryan Miller is swinging at a pitch. I slowed my exposure time to 1/50 sec hoping to get an artsy kind of action shot. Instead... I got a blurry photo.

Bryce is floating on air as he rounds third base. The third baseman is in the act of cleanly getting the ball from the outfield on a bounce.
Bryce is floating on air as he rounds third base. The third baseman is in the act of cleanly getting the ball from the outfield on a bounce.

Bryce rounded third and the third baseman cleanly got the ball. He is crouched and ready to strike.
Bryce rounded third and the third baseman cleanly got the ball. He is crouched and ready to strike.

WSU Football Spring Practice – April 7th

I made plans to get some photos today but I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. I was thinking possibly some sunset shots, but it was far from sunset. I wanted to go to the CUB on the WSU campus for lunch and to work on my column. I figured it would be a great excuse to be on campus and get some photos of some buildings. I would like to get pictures of buildings and views that will be going away. For example the old WSU Fire Station (currently used as a police station) will be razed (partially) for an expansion of the Fine Arts building. The Stadium Way/Main Street entrance to campus was updated with new rock walls and signs. It is very nice.

I digress.

I walked out of the CUB towards the roof of the Terrell Library. It has some pretty nice views and happens to overlook the WSU football team’s practice field. As it turns out they were practicing. I grabbed my camera and started to take photos. After a few minutes a guy shows up and lets me know that I am okay to come to the field and take all the photos I want but they are asking I do not take photos from the roof. Live and learn. The man said they were going to be going to Martin Stadium soon. He gave me a roster and invited me to come on to the field and get some action shots.

I went down to Martin Stadium and started to take photos. This was my first time using my camera to do sports. I was learning as I was there. Due to the lighting on the and the low sitting sun I had to change my settings a lot. My goal for the photos was to have action shots that froze the action. My camera can do 1/8000 of a second for a photo.

Overall I found when I was taking a photo of action taking place in the bright sunlight I had my exposure time between 1/1250 sec to 1/2000 sec with ISO-400. Some of them were taken at with an exposure speed of 1/1000 sec to 1/1250 sec with ISO-640. Most of the photos I took in the shaded areas had exposure settings of 1/640 sec to 1/800 sec with ISO-800.

The majority of my photos were taken using my Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM. A couple wide angle shots were taken with my Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM.

The photos in the gallery are a sampling of the photos I captured. I hope that I can get better at getting the good angles for sports shots in the future. Unfortunately several rad shots were ruined because I wasn’t in the right spot when the photo was being taken so I didn’t get the detail I wanted.

Looking East-Southeast from the west endzone of Martin Stadium. Used my Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM with settings of: 10mm, F/4.5.
Looking East-Southeast from the west endzone of Martin Stadium. Used my Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM with settings of: 10mm, F/4.5.

Martin Stadium Pressbox as seen from the field.
Martin Stadium Pressbox as seen from the field.

A view of the scoreboard in Martin Stadium from the west endzone.
A view of the scoreboard in Martin Stadium from the west endzone.

Martin Stadium scoreboard as seen from the opposite side of the stadium.
Martin Stadium scoreboard as seen from the opposite side of the stadium.

Coach Mike Leach with #21 R. Cracraft in the background.
Coach Mike Leach with #21 R. Cracraft in the background.

Coach Mike Leach watches over the Offensive as it runs drills.
Coach Mike Leach watches over the Offensive as it runs drills.

#32 J. Williams makes a move as #51 F. Luvu falls to the ground. #29 P. Henry is in pursuit.
#32 J. Williams makes a move as #51 F. Luvu falls to the ground. #29 P. Henry is in pursuit.

#32 J. Williams got away from #51 F. Luvu, who is on the ground. #29 P. Henry is coming from the backside and #18 S. Luani is attempting to make the stop.
#32 J. Williams got away from #51 F. Luvu, who is on the ground. #29 P. Henry is coming from the backside and #18 S. Luani is attempting to make the stop.

#32 J. Williams sees #18 S. Luani preparing to make a tackle. , #29 P. Henry and #47 P. Pelluer in pursuit.
#32 J. Williams sees #18 S. Luani preparing to make a tackle. , #29 P. Henry and #47 P. Pelluer in pursuit.

#32 J. Williams being tackled by #18 S. Luani. #29 P. Henry and #47 P. Pelluer are closing in.
#32 J. Williams being tackled by #18 S. Luani. #29 P. Henry and #47 P. Pelluer are closing in.

Collage of four photos showing #32 J. Williams running. In pursuit are #51 F. Luvu, #29 P. Henry, #18 S. Luani, #47 P. Pelluer. #18 S. Luani is making the tackle in the lower right-hand box.
Collage of four photos showing #32 J. Williams running. In pursuit are #51 F. Luvu, #29 P. Henry, #18 S. Luani, #47 P. Pelluer. #18 S. Luani is making the tackle in the lower right-hand box.

The O-Line is preparing to do battle!
The O-Line is preparing to do battle!

#23 G. Wicks is looking for the hole the O-line is working to create.
#23 G. Wicks is looking for the hole the O-line is working to create.

#23 G. Wicks finds the hole provided by the O-Line.
#23 G. Wicks finds the hole provided by the O-Line.

#25 J. Morrow shows intensity as he works to get past #49 T. Brock. Photo color desaturated to better highlight #25 J. Morrow's intensity.
#25 J. Morrow shows intensity as he works to get past #49 T. Brock. Photo color desaturated to better highlight #25 J. Morrow's intensity.

It ain't over 'till the whistle blows.
It ain't over 'till the whistle blows.

#4 L. Falk waiting for the football after the snap.
#4 L. Falk waiting for the football after the snap.

#4 L. Falk grabs a high snap.
#4 L. Falk grabs a high snap.

#3 T. Hilinski throws a pass.
#3 T. Hilinski throws a pass.

#4 L. Falk watches his pass caught by #38 K. Fossum as #3 T. Hilinski looks on.
#4 L. Falk watches his pass caught by #38 K. Fossum as #3 T. Hilinski looks on.

#83 K. Sweet tries to outrun #29 P. Henry for the corner of the endzone for a TD pass.
#83 K. Sweet tries to outrun #29 P. Henry for the corner of the endzone for a TD pass.

#83 K. Sweet and #29 P. Henry in one of their many battles throughout the practice. #83 K. Sweet wins this one.
#83 K. Sweet and #29 P. Henry in one of their many battles throughout the practice. #83 K. Sweet wins this one.

#83 K. Sweet pulls down another pass with #29 P. Henry playing defense.
#83 K. Sweet pulls down another pass with #29 P. Henry playing defense.

#83 K. Sweet goes up for a pass with a defender on his back.
#83 K. Sweet goes up for a pass with a defender on his back.

#29 P. Henry successfully defends #83 K. Sweet. Incomplete pass!
#29 P. Henry successfully defends #83 K. Sweet. Incomplete pass!

#21 R. Cracraft reaches out and pulls in a pass one handed.
#21 R. Cracraft reaches out and pulls in a pass one handed.

With great concentration and speed that pass will soon be in the capable hands of the Cougar receiver.
With great concentration and speed that pass will soon be in the capable hands of the Cougar receiver.

#83 K. Sweet catching a pass while the QB's are warming up at the beginning of practice.
#83 K. Sweet catching a pass while the QB's are warming up at the beginning of practice.

#21 R. Cracraft walks on thin air. How in the world are the other teams supposed to defend him?!
#21 R. Cracraft walks on thin air. How in the world are the other teams supposed to defend him?!

#15 R. Lewis in full stride as he watches the football prepare for landing in his outstretched hands.
#15 R. Lewis in full stride as he watches the football prepare for landing in his outstretched hands.

Why do football players practice? Practice makes perfect.
Why do football players practice? Practice makes perfect.

Field goal practice. "Just Do It" comes to mind.
Field goal practice. "Just Do It" comes to mind.

#49 B. Schafer practices kicks.
#49 B. Schafer practices kicks.

Snake River Canyons and the Palouse Hills

This afternoon I took a trip to Lewiston, Idaho. I decided to take the scenic route home and get some photos along the way. I drove on Wawawai Road up to SR194 and into Pullman. Along the way I stopped to get some photos of the canyons and rolling hills.