Matt Roth » The Patuxent Publishing Co.

Sports Up Part 4! …and a little bit about the “other” image.

Matt Roth — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:30:57 +0000

For last year’s Manchester Valley football preview photo illustration the football player scheduled to ride the horse in full football regalia wasn’t too used to horse riding. So… he had a stunt double fill in. I was sworn to secrecy. I wasn’t allowed to tell who the actual rider is. So… let your imaginations go wild I guess. …but not too wild. This is a family friendly establishment, after all.

So, what in the world is a “Sports Up?”

Here’s the thing… It’s good to know your strengths and it’s good to know your weaknesses. I shoot a lot of sports at the Patuxent Publishin Co. — a lot of high school sports. While I’ve gotten a lot better at peak action photos I’m still no Sports Illustrated long glass sniper. While I can hold my own on any sports field, I’m probably not the best guy you send out to get the peak-action-game-defining-image. I’m the guy who you send to get the “other” image.

So, what’s the other image? It shows off the personality to the sports and players. It’s all the interesting minutia on the sidelines or during practice, the nervous moment before shooting a free throw, the “good-gaming” in great light, or cheerleaders braiding a basketball player’s hair before the game, for example. It’s the imagery that doesn’t typically have a place in the sports pages, yet has all the accoutrements of sports. The arena has life beyond the field and in many ways its richer.

Enjoy!

Jim McCleary, head coach of the Kangaroo Kids jump roap team, is being inducted into the Community Sports Hall of Fame. He is photographed with some of his jumpers at the Glenwood Community Center Wednesday, August 26, 2009, where the Kangaroo Kids practice.

I double-tapped the shutter, which decreased my Alien Bee’s output a ton, but gave me this nice subtle, yet contrasty light. Truthfully, I like this photo way more than the one that actually ran, but this photo would’ve suffered in newsprint.

This was at the end of a scrimmage game Bryn Mawr won 0-6 against host Glenelg Country School Wednesday September, 2 2009.

Catonsville goal keeper Kelli Beard prevents a Hereford goal attempt at Comet Stadium Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

Mount Hebron’s Jamie Schwartz readies for a foul shot during the Vikings game against North Carroll during the Big Doug Classic JV girls basketball tournament held at Glenelg High School Wednesday, December 30, 2009. Mount Hebron lost to North Carroll 29-44.

Owings Mills fans celebrate after Keylin Ortiz made a free throw shot in the fourth quarter, holding their lead over Snow Hill. Owings Mills defeated Snow Hill 44-42 at the University of Maryland Comcast Center Friday, March 12, 2010. The win will pit the Eagles against Dunbar for the Class 1A state title tomorrow.

Long Overdue, Spring Preview

Matt Roth — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:00:54 +0000

CAPTION: Last year River Hill center fielder Christian Laidley batted .448, leading the Hawks with both 30 hits and 27 RBIs. He also made the game winning hit in last year’s 2A State Championship game. He is photographed in the River Hill Dance Studio Saturday, March 27, 2010.

As some of you might’ve noticed, I prefer shooting on location. And when I’m on location I like to athletes to show off their athleticism. But for the Howard County Spring Sports Preview portraits I was relegated to the studio. …well, except for Christian’s. No sense in being all doom and gloom about it, right? I figure, hey, while I’m here, I might as work on upping my game. So, I decided to work on my light sculpting skills.

This might sound silly, but this photo series, admittedly not my best, sparked a love affair in me with grids and snoots. Here’s the thing, when I emphasize the athleticism in these kids, I need to make the lighting set up big enough so they don’t knock over the lights/hurt themselves, when they kick soccer balls at my face, for example, but tight enough so the light hits where it needs to. In the studio, these athletes aren’t moving, so I’m allowed to be as persnickety as I want. I credit this series with what I consider success in my most recent athletes of the year photos.

I figured while in the stagnant confines of Patuxent’s small studio, I’d also exercise my “subtlety muscles,” too. I’m really good making big, overt, and to some degree, epic, images. Subtle, quiet moments are usually too …well, subtle, for me to notice while I’m shooting, so, why not force it out of some teenage athletes?

hehehe. lesson learned: I haven’t quite figured out how to keep the kids from being bored in my pursuit of making quiet images. And kinda like how you hear a smile through the telephone, I think most people can sense uneasiness or boredom in photographs. And while the photos I’m showcasing don’t really exude those qualities, there are plenty of outtakes that do.

So, admittedly, I let the lighting do all the heavy lifting in these photos.

Marriotts Ridge center fielder Kelsey Fuller batted over .500 with the Mustangs last year. She also has one of the better throwing arms in the county, able to hit home from the center field wall. She is photographed in the PPC Studio Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

Glenelg goalie Alex Taylor led the Gladiators to the 1A state semi-finals last year. He plans to play for Salisbury University next Spring. He is photographed at the PPC studio Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Wilde Lake midfielder Beth Glaros scored 90 goals and had 10 assists last year. She will be playing for Maryland in the Spring. She is photographed at the PPC studio Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

Corinne Zahlis, junior, and J. Guzzone, senior, were fourth in the states for mixed doubles last year, second in counties but won regionals. Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Repelling for Kidneys!

Matt Roth — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:00:09 +0000

The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland is using skyscraper repelling as a way to bring kidney donation to the attention of younger people.

Here’s the Howard County Times article.

Kidney transplant recipient Gordon Nahas, 68, from Ellicott City, goes through rappelling training, led by Justin Britcher, left, from Hamilton, and Caleb Vesely, from Flagstaff, AZ, on the 24th floor of the Legg Mason Tower in the Harbor East area of Baltimore Saturday, June 19, 2010. Participants who raised over $1,000 for the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland were eligible to repel down the skyscraper, from the 23rd-floor balcony to the fourth-floor balcony.

Here’s the big jump.

After getting passed the first ledge, Kidney transplant recipient Gordon Nahas, 68, from Ellicott City, yelled up to the rope handlers on the 23rd-floor balcony Legg Mason Tower, “This is a piece of cake!”

Greg Jacobson, 30, from Ellicott City, is next.

Watch out for that first step! Greg Jacobson, from Ellicott City, goes head over heels on his way down the Legg Mason Tower Saturday, June 19, 2010. Sight safety supervisor Brian Dickerson, from Houston, TX, and Zeb Severson, from Aberdeen (black shirt), keep Jacobson steady while regaining his composure. All this drama, twenty-three stories in the air, is for the National Kidney Foundation. The thirty-year-old, who serves on the NKF of Maryland board, has kidney disease in his family. His mother, Cindy, of Timonium is a transplant recipient. Dickerson was joined by several dare devils who raised over $1,000 for the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland.

The Strobist for The Howard County Times

Matt Roth — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Sometimes photographing another photographer can be intimidating. …sometimes it can be annoying. But I felt neither emotion when I got to photograph David Hobby last week.

It was fun! It helped that we already knew each other.

(20 cool points to whoever can guess what David’s drinking.)

So, why was I photographing Mr. Hobby? Time Magazine named his blog, The Strobist, one of the top 35 of 2010 and The Howard County Times (where I work, and where David used to work before the Sun) is profiling him. I’m not sure the rank is in any significant numerical order, but he’s #18 on the list.

My original idea was to make a wall o’ lights. Like, bring out all of his strobes. Then I saw his backyard and realized it was too hilly. But I’m not saying I don’t want to try it at some other time — hint hint, David.

Here’s an extended caption: This image of David Hobby, made in his Dorsey Search backyard, Friday, July 9, 2010, was made with a Nikon D700, a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and shot wide open with an aperture of f/1.8, with a 1/25th shutter speed and an exposure speed of 200 ISO. A neutral density filter (which belonged to David) was used over the lens. Five lights were used: three Alien Bee 1600′s — two off camera, one, on my right, modified with a beauty dish at 1/4 power, one to the far left, modified with a magnum reflector, at full power, and the one seen in the background, bare-bulb at full power — one Alien Bee 800, at his feet, at 1/16th power, and one Nikon sb-800 speedlight, on the right, for a little rim light, but mostly for show. The set up (except for the sb-800) was powered by two Paul C. Buff Vagabond II’s and the lights were triggered by a combination of Pocket Wizard II’s and utilizing the lights’ optical slaves. This info might seem like gobbledygook to most, but the followers of Hobby’s “The Strobist” blog know it as “Strobist Info.” Former Patuxent Publishing Co. and Baltimore Sun staff photographer David Hobby’s blog was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 blogs of 2010. The Strobist blog demystifies off-camera lighting while maintaining a budget-minded populist ethos for the non-professionals who just want to make their photos better.

And since I love outtakes…

photo by David Hobby

we were having problems with his new Einstein strobe, seen right behind me. Notice how it’s not going off?

Flippantly testing the pocket wizards.

Here’s the final product/what I turned in.

and here are my CYA shots.

and here’s one he shot of me!

Jordan Maisel: Howard County Girls Tennis Player of the Year

Matt Roth — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:00:30 +0000

Glenelg junior Jordan Maisel was undefeated throughout the year, clenching the county and Region V championship titles. She suffered her first loss of the year at the state championship match. She is photographed at Glenelg High School Sunday, June 13, 2010.

John Healey: Howard County Boys Tennis Player of the Year

Matt Roth — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:57 +0000

Atholton graduating senior John Healey was the County champ and placed third in the state. He is photographed at Glenelg High School Sunday, June 13, 2010.

Kelli Pease: Arbutus Times Female Player of the Year

Matt Roth — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:00:56 +0000

Left-handed lead off hitter for Lansdowne High School Kelli Pease maintained a .500 batting average during the season. The two-sport junior also played volleyball for the Vikings in the winter. She is photographed at her school’s softball field Friday, June 11, 2010.

A little about how this photos was made, for all you nerdy types. All the Howard County Athletes of the Year photos ran together. …well, they ran in two installments. So, they needed to have a consistent look.

Kelli’s photo is for the Arbutus Times. It’s a totally different paper, run by a totally different sports staff, for a totally different community. So, I decided to give my back a break and bust out the small lights. …er, light.

Yup. I made this with one Nikon SB-800, zoomed to 105mm, shot through a white Lastolite TriFlip, and Craig Clary. Craig’s the writer. He held the Lastolite and strobe.

I used the focal plan (FP) high speed sync mode on my D700 and the super inexpensive Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens — which, by the way, I love. As you can see, it has a really creamy bokeh and, because its made for DX cropped sensors, it has a nice, uh, I guess you could call it “natural” vignetting to it. The FP mode allows me to jack up my shutter speed to 1/8000th, so I can expose for the ambient light while not adhering to the limitations of a traditional sync speed like 1/200th and the subsequent stopped down aperture.

Paige Hanson: Baltimore Messenger Girls Athlete of the Year

Matt Roth — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:00:15 +0000

Bryn Mawr graduating senior Paige Hanson played top-level field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse for her school. She chose lacrosse as her collegiate sport of focus. Next year she will play for the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is photographed at St. Paul’s School Thursday, June 10, 2010.

Andrew Barton: Towson Times Boys Athlete of the Year

Matt Roth — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:00:48 +0000

St. Paul’s graduating senior Andrew Barton is the boys athlete of the year. He will be playing lacrosse for Providence next year. He is photographed at St. Paul’s School Thursday, June 10, 2010.

Robbie Creese: Howard County Boys Runner of the Year

Matt Roth — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:00:57 +0000

Glenelg junior Robbie Creese set a 2A two-mile record at the state championships. He is the 2010 outdoor track of the year. He is photographed at Glenelg High School Monday, June 7, 2010.