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ZAP the ZAPPERS 3: Eye on the Ball

ZAP the ZAPPERS 3: Eye on the Ball

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We line up another shot by PhotoZAP expert Jack Howard for you to swing away at!

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Here's the third of the four shots Jack made at the US Open to launch our ZAP the ZAPPERS feature. What do you think of this one?


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Tech Specs: Olympus E-620 with Olympus Zuiko 150mm f/2.0 lens. Manually exposed at 1/1600 @ f/2.8 @ ISO 100. Cropped and contrast minimized to open up shadow detail to Olympus ORF Raw file in Adobe Camera Raw 6.

Photographer's Statement: This is probably one of the better frames I shot this day. Will it make it into the next iteration of my sports portfolio? I'm not sure if I'm that happy with it now–let alone next time it's time for that exercise in self-criticism to the nth degree! I wish there was a little less distance between the ball and racket, and maybe there'd be a touch less racket and ball blur had I cranked up the ISO a little to get closer to the E-620's 1/4000 max shutter speed. But the light was really harsh at the time of capture, so I chose a slower shutter speed knowing I'd have to open up the shadow and quartertones on the subjects skin, particularly on his face below the bill of the cap, and I didn't want to increase noise, so that's a tradeoff I was willing to take. It's a nitpick, but I do wish his whole head was in frame to increase the subject/background isolation. I do love the eyes, and knowing Djokovic and his on-court intensity, am glad I have a successful frame showing this aspect of his in-action persona.

 

Now it's your turn: ZAP the ZAPPER by leaving your critique of this shot in the comments below!

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Reader Rating and Comments

11 readers rated this article. Average rating: 5.0 stars
 
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Crop in to clean up

A little cropping goes a long way. - Crop down to the point where the brim meets the hat will get rid of the objections to the top background. - Crop up to the pants/shirt line will remove the lower left corner. This leaves the image with a clean shot of those eyes!

by in Palmerton, Pa. USA on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Best of the four shots

I agree with the other reviewers concerning the DOF and bokeh. I wish the there was less dead space on the right side and more to the left in order to provide room for the anticipated flight of the ball.

by in El Paso on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Sad

Looks like a horror film. It just does not appeal.

by in Texas on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Kudos

I concur with previous reviewers...this is a great shot! Emotion, intensity, focus, attention-grabbing, good bokeh...yeah, this is an excellent image.

by in Waldorf, MD on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Finally we get to Zap the Zappers

Iv'e just been waiting for the moment that I could critique a photo from one of those guys that just shred our submitted pictures. Now I can't find anything wrong. Execellent shot, Jack.

by in West Texas on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
That's it, great shot!

We see Djokovic's intense focus on the incoming ball, we see the ball which is obviously moving as told by the very slight motion blur, and finally we see the racket poised to nail it's target. Nothing else matters and nothing else stands out. Great image!

by in Tulsa, OK on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Good bokeh

This shot has great DOF. Focus is on Novak's face (intensity) where it should be. Subject pretty much fills the frame. Blurred motion just enough to show action. Maybe subject a little to centered in frame. A little to the right might have been better (if possible). Best one of the bunch.

by in Texas on

0 of 1 people found this comment helpful
 
Better

Using a better lens made a real difference in this shot compared to the first two. Improved sharpness, and more pleasing DOF with the wider aperture. The lower left corner does bother me compositionally; if there are no photojournalism ethics issues you could clone the blue to mask out the lower left corner. The expression is not ideal.

by in Charleston, SC on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Eye on the Ball and Eye on the Eyes

Well done, this is an excellent example of how to use DOF in your favor. I don’t mind that the ball and racquet are slightly blurred from the shallow DOF because that is not the focal point. The face is the focus of this picture and it is tack sharp. It takes great skill and practice to control focus at f2.8 with a fast moving subject. My only negative, and it is minor, is the dark object in the lower left corner. It would be worth a few minutes in post to clone that away.

by in CO on

0 of 0 people found this comment helpful
 
Focus in focus

Great moment capturing Djokovic's intense focus on the ball at the moment of impact. (And congrats on capturing him not calling for the trainer!) I thought a tighter crop on the right, pulling the player rightward in the frame, made the image more dynamic. I also thought the image is an excellent teaching moment in that the photographer has decided to swap "freezing" the moment for the depth that might have got the racquethead and ball more in focus. But that in turn might distract from the focus on his eyes. Cool food for thought!

by in Waterloo, Ontario on

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