nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

I am sick of basketball - for the last 3 days I have shot 8 BB games a day from 9 untill 11 (average time leaving arena) All week we have had crystal clear skies.....now and for the next week it's overcast. But....I took 5000 pictures this week....shooting young stars.

One is a 7'5 junior from Bullis HS in Potomac Md. ...check out his hand which is over the rim...yet his feet are barely off the floor - this is Watara Mountari. The second picture is the number one rated HS basketball player in the nation - according to MaxPreps and USA Today. His name is Zion Williamson - this is one of his many dunks! A beast of a player will leave HS for the NBA most likely. He is from our town, Spartanburg SC. I have been following Zion since he was in middle school A good kid as well. He is 6'7 and can jump out of the gym! Zion is also a junior in HS.

Sorry for the misleading subject title but .....I just had to share my hatred for basketball of 24 games of non stop imaging.

Now I need clear skies for some real fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY HOG FRIENDS!

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Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Wow that guy is a giant! I bet you are tired of it, it's fun to get that great shot of an action sport, but that's a little too much time with a camera to your head.

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

I take close to 100,000 sporting photos yearly...and that is between August 15 and June 3 (school year)

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

We have state of the art facilities at Dorman - with the exception of shooting 1...maybe 2 NFL games and 2, maybe 3 Clemson games....I spend most of my time at this school. This one of four full size basketball courts at Dorman. The football stadium is the envy of most small colleges. It seats 22,000 - bowl shape with state of the art technology - full size jumbo tron score board - restaurant in pressbox. We are dumb as skunks but we have shiny sports stuff. :)

Spartanburg Spartanburg County is about 65000 in population with 7 districts and 7 huge high schools....though ours, Dorman is probably the biggest.

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Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

That's a nice facility! Are you holding a cold compress to your eye?

Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

Great captures, excellent clarity!
Duane

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Ya know....I rarely look through the viewfinder. I shoot manual, everything, I focus manually (pre focus on the net) - set exposure manually, and look down the barrel of the lens so I can see the play with both eyes. In basketball, I hold the camera as close to the floor as possible with a wide angle lens (14mm), and shoot up. When you look at the pic of the arena...you will see a chair nearest the closest basket to the left. That is where I sit. For 8 games a day. It is my butt that gets sore.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

LMAO! Dumb as Skunks....

You reminded me of one day boon dockin in Wyoming.
A Mama Skunk crossed the road ahead of us with her litter. And a straggler came out behind us.
So I stopped and got out and chased it back so the kids up in the back of the topless Land Cruiser could see the baby skunk.
I herded the kitten for a few passes...
Then the kitten started chasin me. Darn near got skunked!
Even a Skunk kitten knows what it has under its tail. I was lucky it was a little one and gave up quickly.

You guys spend way too much money on sports...

You need an observatory, Ed. That way when you get a few moments of time and clear sky you can get going quickly.

And a more comfortable chair...

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

A forest in my yard makes even a chain saw mass attack a up-hill battle. I have a partial window from North to East to play in....so portable I will be!

About sports - I have a theory - Most kids are going to belong to something! They want to be part of a peer group and accepted and respected by their peers. It will either be illegal gangs or legal ones (teams). I believe this is more so today than when I was a kid. So when kids take the court/field wearing their colors - they go to battle with another team - wearing different colors - governed by referees/umpires they help keep the peace while the battle for "king of the valley" plays out. The value of sports at the middle and high school level is more important than ever before! It is on these playing fields they learn respect for one another, coaches, authority, and for many - they finally find their family.

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

I like your theory and I tend to agree with your observations.
Nice photo work and good lord that boy is large.
Hang in there Ed.
Yep I have the rambles today.. ;o)
Jim