Last weekend while attending my daughters college volleyball tournament, I thought it would be fun to take my camera and try out my new lens. I played college volleyball and coached it for more than 20 years so I know the game. I know the timing of when the ball reaches the apex and when the hitter will make contact. I know the the sequencing of the passing, the setter hitter relationship, all of that. But. . . what about the indoor lighting, or the ISO, or the proper shutter speed, or where to stand so I wouldn't get run over by the players? I've got to tell you, I was stretched to the max and not feeling very confident in what I was doing. Luckily for me there were two matches!
The first match is where I made all of my mistakes. I didn't have the ISO high enough to compensate for the lighting in the gym, my images were blurry because my shutter speed wasn't fast enough. I was a bit shy and I didn't move around so my images lacked variety. I kept thinking, "Oh my gosh, I feel like I have never taken a photograph before in my life, and I call myself a photographer!?" I made some adjustments in the second match. I adjusted the ISO, the shutter speed, I got my butt off the bleachers and actually moved around to different places in the gym. At this point I was still guessing, but hoped my adjustments would help. When I got home I uploaded the images onto my computer. To my surprise I was delighted to find that the adjustments that I made paid off. In fact, some of the images were "kind of" good, for an amateur sports photographer.
This week, challenge yourself to do something new and different, even if it feels uncomfortable. You never know what great things might be gained from the experience.
Every winner has scars.
Herbert N. Casson
American Author
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