dSLR Dad

I mentioned Rod Mar before in this blog.  Rod is a Sports Photographer and is covering the 2008 Olympics for the Seattle Times.  His blog, the Best Seat in the House, has provided great insights into how one prepares to capture these events.  In his latest post, The Usain Asylum, Rod details capturing Jamaica’s Usain Bolt breaking Michael Johnson’s 12-year-old world record in the Mens 200 meter final (A record that I thought would stand for at least another decade):

Gotta love this guy.

A photographer’s dream.

Poses before he races.

Poses while he races.

Poses after he races.

Heck, in the prelims, I think he did more posing than racing.

Really. Dude is ridiculous fast, and photogenic to boot.

You can read the rest of the article over  at The Seattle Times.

All you dSLR Dad readers out there have probably figured out that I prefer when camera reviews are conducted by photographers using photographs from real situations to judge a camera’s performance. While a resolution chart or a photo of a bottle and a box of crayons can tell you some things, it definitely should not be the end of all discussion. That’s why I really love this reviews like Rod Mar’s reaction to the Canon EOS 1D Mark III.

For you dSLR Dad regulars, Rod Mar is a Professional Sports Photographer for The Seattle Times. I’ve mentioned his articles on How to Freeze the Action on Friday Night Lights and Shooting Your Young Athletes Like a Pro tutorials. So when somebody who earns a living photographing the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday’s, posts a review of Canon’s latest Pro Fast Action Body, we should all listen:

There are many many great things about this new camera — improved imaging, a “live-view” option that lets the shooter see through the viewing window (like a point-and-shoot camera), and, very important to sports photographers — amazing ability to shoot in very low light…..

With the last version of the camera (the Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN), shooting at ISO 1600 was a tricky, and barely palatable solution. Pretty amazing, if you ask me…… The Mark III shot at ISO 3200 looks like the older cameras at ISO 1000.
So what’s not to like about the new camera?
Actually plenty.

You can read the rest of the Mark III Misses the Mark, Part I here.

Part II details his frustration maintaining sharpness during the Seattle vs. Pittsburgh NFL game last Sunday.

Last weekend, I introduced you to the Best Seat in the House. Photography, sports and life as seen through the lens of Seattle Times photographer Rod Mar.

This time, Rod has posted an article on shooting a high school football game and the lack of available light compared to a pro stadium. Good insight on how to use on camera flash to properly get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action. You can read it here.

Fall is finally here. It’s the middle of the day, and temperature has finally dropped below 60 degrees. It can mean only one thing… it’s good hitting weather.

All apologies to the hardcore Baseball fans, but Football is our National past time.

Since this is dSLR Dad, to give you some inspiration for when you are at your Son’s Pee-Wee game next week, trot on over to the Best Seat in the House. Photography, sports and life as seen through the lens of Seattle Times photographer Rod Mar. I’ve been reading Rod’s blog for over a year now, and he’s got some great insight into what it’s like to be a Pro Sports Shooter. His Shooting Your Young Athletes Like a Pro tutorials (part 1 and part 2) are just fantastic. (note: use this link if you want to subscribe to his RSS feed)

Enjoy.