Learning to capture motion and moments through sports

Intro to PJ student Paul Murray, front, shoots his first basketball game...EVER! He shot the Lady Rockets as they blasted Cincinnati to advance to the 3rd round of the WNIT. (Photos by Lori King)

Aaron was excited to use his new camera on motor drive, though he admits he has to get used to shooting JPGs. 

     I'm looking forward to reading what Paul has to say about covering his very first basketball game tonight. He's not a fan of sports, so I wonder if the few thousand screaming fans at the University of Toledo Lady Rocket's game influenced his lack of love for sports. Guess we'll find out when he posts his sports assignment on his blog. He's a writer, so he'll probably enjoy expressing his view on the matter than actually shooting the game, and I hope he's candid and honest.
   Aaron, on the other hand, was totally in his element when he shot a basketball game and a hockey game last week. He had the right equipment and the right attitude. Though he won't have as much fun editing his thousand (not exaggerating) or so photos down to the three required photos for his blog. Despite the work that still is to come (editing and caption writing), I could tell he was having a great time and would love to do it as a living.
   PHO245 students don't shoot sports for the sake of shooting sports. The assignment actually is a good exercise in capturing motion and moments. You know the saying: if you can shoot sports, you can shoot anything.
   Sure, it helps to have decent equipment, particularly a fast 2.8 long lens. But ultimately, sports shooters should have a basic understanding of the sport so they can anticipate the moments. But is that always absolutely necessary? Not too many of the students are sports fans, so that theory will be tested this week.
   Shooting sports is also a good lesson in storytelling. There's more to a sporting event than just a bunch of players in action. There are the fans, coaches and reactions.
   In the end, it's a LOT of work to cover sports. I hope the students had fun, too.