Photography class: When cameras meet Confines

Alfonso Soriano breaks a bat at Wrigley Field. April 18, 2009.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 200mm.
Shutter Priority. 1/1000 second @ f/5.6. ISO 1600.

Picturing-taking enthusiast and friend of the blog Andy Aupperlee brought his arsenal of cameras to Wrigley Field last Saturday to see the Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals. And since his field trip to the World Series of Beer Pong was such a hit last time, it seems appropriate to showcase some of his work. Aupperlee is proprietor of the very entertaining Seattle-based photography blog The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000.

Aptly named, indeed.

His words are after the jump.

Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 200mm.
Manual. 1/1600 second @ f/8. ISO 1100.

GO CUBS, GO!
BY ANDY AUPPERLEE Sports Pros(e) Contributor

Historic rivalry. That's how sports writers often describe the tradition of competition between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. Baseball inspired booze-fueled block party is how I refer to any game at Wrigley Field. I lived on Chicago's Northside for two years, and during that period I stumbled among the masses at Clark and Addison more than a few times. Last weekend, I returned to the Windy City and was able to catch the marquee event that only happens 9 or 10 times a year: Cubs/Cards at Wrigley.

An old friend found amazing seats for the game. We sat only a few rows behind first base and had a great view of all the action on the field. The seats were so good that the only real advantage press photographers had on me were their $9,000 400mm f/2.8 lenses. That said, I think my Nikon D300 with $785 Nikon 18-200mm VR lens and killer vantage point gave me the opportunity for some great shots.

The lead photo is of Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano breaking a bat. I took this shot later in the game when there was a mix of natural and artificial light. To stop as much action as possible, I set the camera to shutter priority mode and dialed in 1/1000th of a second. Since the light was fading, the camera compensated for this quick shutter speed by choosing ISO 1600 and selecting the widest available aperture, f/5.6, on my fully extended Nikon 18-200mm VR lens.

Ryan Theriot at bat. Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR @ 200mm. Manual.
1/1600 second @ f/8. ISO 1250.

I shot most of the game in manual. I dialed in f/8 as it is reasonably sharp at 200mm (on the 18-200mm VR, the maximum aperture setting at that focal length is f/5.6). To freeze the action, I selected a shutter speed of 1/1600th of a second. With aperture and shutter speed fixed, I let the camera auto choose ISO to get the best exposure using Nikon's matrix meter.

Albert Pujols fouls off a pitch. Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR @ 200mm. Manual.
1/1600 second @ f/8. ISO 1600.

As the game wore on we started losing natural light. I still wanted to get decently fast shutter speeds, so I switched to shutter priority and dialed in 1/1000th of a second.

After several lead changes, the game was tied at the end of the ninth inning. Aramis Ramirez homered in the bottom of the 11th to secure a walk-off victory for the hometown Cubs. Wrigley erupted and sang a boisterous rendition of "Go Cubs, Go!" as the delighted fans spilled onto the streets and into the local bars.