CPWC, and VFL Thunder event

Okay, I've got a few minutes where my wife is looking after Erik for me. I've got some photograph (highlights) from CPWC that happened June 3rd in Lancaster PA.

The day after I shot at Yankee Lake Brawlroom in Ohio, a bunch of my team was on that card. I'll get those highlights up next, but I wanted to touch upon what happened last evening in Maryland.

I photograph a lot of the VFL events. I was there to photograph this event for the media. That said, if any of you have ever photographed anything media-wise, you are generally told where you can, and cannot be. In this case, the hired help for the fight company knows me pretty well, and one of them told me my location. I figured from the get-go that this would be a tremendous problem, but you do what you're told. The reason this was a problem was, I was to photograph with my back to the main majority of the crowd that is in the stands/bleachers at this baseball stadium. Generally, I am out of site, and I hug one of the posts, that way, my body does NOT distract from the view. The best way to put it is, I'm about as wide as one of the padded posts for the cage. So if I'm up against one, you're not missing anything because of me. In this case, I certainly wasn't up against a post...I was in the middle of a fence section.

If any of you have ever seen a UFC event, you'll see that the UFC's HOUSE photographers (the ones that contribute directly to zuffa) are in the middle of a cage section, and if they are in the way of you...too bad, they aren't to move. While I was nervous about being up there, I also do not want to disobey the promotion and be thrown out on my ass.

On top of that, these fans were made to wait about an hour for the action to resume, after the first fight was stopped at the end of the second round because of the cage being rained in. The fights resumed, and though it was done raining, the rain had done its damage to the cage.

So after the rain stopped, a lot of the cage side fans had to move their chairs back off of the grass. So naturally they are upset, because if I spent that kind of money I would be mad at anyone who would listen to me complain. Now after this, I seen one of the staff members, employed by the ball field speaking with the police and he said, and I quote "if anyone is on the grass, throw them out, they are being assholes. No warnings".

So what I'm getting around to is, I was in a position where not only was I afraid to move because I could get into trouble by the promotion if they felt that way, I was afraid to move because EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE 30 or so people on the grass, I didn't want to be that lucky one that was arrested for it. So I asked one of the hired hands, "could you get me a ladder so I can go to the other side?" He went to get me a ladder, but the crowd was extremely restless and naturally they are angry, so who gets it? I did :(

Well the athletic commission decided that it was too dangerous for the fighters to continue...so they canceled the event. Now...the problem with this is, the fans are even MORE ticked off and they are ready to start a riot. The announcer gets smacked with a beer cup (or can, I didn't see the impact, just the result). It's like, it's not the announcer's fault! It's not the promotion's fault either, and it definitely isn't my fault.

When I was able to get down and speak to some of the fans, they understood where I was coming from. I said that I was told to be here, and I didn't want thrown out or in trouble for moving. Believe me, I sympathize with every single person there that night. I truly do. There was one guy who was saying he was going to "kick my ass", but after I explained to him and his crew, they understood that I wasn't trying to be a jerk. He even said "why didn't you move", and it's like...you see that guy coming with the ladder? I asked for that!

So to everyone that didn't get to hear it from me yesterday, I truly am sorry. If it was a show where I wasn't afraid of being thrown out or arrested for going on the grass, I would have moved IMMEDIATELY. I was in the process of securing a new location when the commission halted the fights.

The only thing I can say is, it sure took the heat off of me when the fights were canceled. I honestly didn't think I was getting out of there in one piece. I just want you to know that it wasn't my decision to upset you fans. It wasn't my decision to be in your way and I was trying to get into a new position. I just couldn't do it in the middle of the round, because that's what I was there to report on.

Okay, enough of that. Here's the photo highlights from CPWC on June 3rd.

Fight Night In The Cage II

On 5_28_11 I photographed Fight Night In the cage II. Aside from a few lighting hiccups from their lighting crew, it went pretty darn smooth. (The hiccups were for the first 2 fights, the crew had the lights off...)

Good night of fights, and a great crowd. I'll definitely photograph that production again. Here are some highlights.

PS I'll post more before long. I've got to get some new photos of Erik on here (If You've been following me on facebook, you've seen that my son has been all over my page). It's hard, balancing all of my time, and updating the blog. Obviously, my son will come before uploading pictures.

Anyway, here's the fight photos

Beatdown for Berwick Youth

OKay, so I thought that photographing in Chambersburg was bad...Holy crap, I never, ever, ever have photographed fights in lighting SO BAD in my life time.

Honestly, and only my photographer friends will get this. There were spots in the cage that f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 12800 was 2 f/stops under exposed. That is just not suitable for covering sports. Even though the higher ISO on cameras is looking much better, 6400 in my mind is the usable ceiling, and even at 6400, you've got to get the exposure close.

This is a set that I'm almost ashamed to put up. It's one of the times I wish you could use flash during a fight.

The only reason I'm posting it, is because if I'm the only professional there...and this is all I've got to offer...then that's all the fighters have to represent these fights. These photographs are PURELY journalism. They are not any indication of talent, equipment or photographic examples of anything that I need to put in my portfolio.

It really bums me out, because I strongly dislike offering a product that I'm not proud of.

I wish that it was law that all event promoters had to have well aimed lights in their rings, unless the location had ample lighting. This was not the case. I did have fun though, and it was a good time checking out the fights.

Ugh, just like...it's a shame when you can't set the exposure for something nice. Here, you've got to completely waste highlights to get anything in the face, or you've got to just hope that big blobs of shadow are "okay". Just another day in the life of an event photographer, another hurdle to cross. As a professional, I shouldn't complain. I don't mean to complain, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. A lot of people use my blog not only to find links to their photographs, or to learn of up coming/past events. But fellow and aspiring photographers use it as a learning tool.

I guess the lesson here is, do the best you can do and just know that even if you feel like you're offering crap, if you're offering the best of the bunch, doesn't matter I guess.

Yankee Lake Brawlroom 27

I went with my fight team, for one of my teamates to fight. His fighter backed out, but I photographed the night.

To my photographer buddies, they will understand what I mean when I say this.
ISO 6400 1/320, and the lights were fluorescents. You can color correct an image that has even color throughout it, but without making multiple layers of the same image, it is damn difficult to color correct one that has multiple color casts to it.

Fluorescent lights cycle, so when you use a shutter speed faster than the light, you catch part of the cycle, and it either has a color cast, or a band of color in the photo.

I was not pleased with how my photographs turned out as a result of this.

You can see the full gallery here.
http://roblynn.smugmug.com/Mixed-Martial-Arts/Yankee-Lake-Brawlroom-27-43011/16858977_545XhK#1272854089_3w2qTbL