Santa Cruz Harbor Hellcats vs NorCal Rollergirls

some photo highlights from the Santa Cruz Harbor Hellcats vs NorCal Rollergirls bout (August 20, 2011, Santa Cruz, CA).
















and a few from the Santa Cruz Derby Grom vs Silicon Valley Jr Roller Girls 2.0 half time bout

The Golden Bowl MMXI

I'm falling behind the derby photo highlights so quickly... The Golden Bowl was 3 days of double headers hosted by Bay Are Derby Girls in Oakland, August 12-14.  They invited Windy City, Texas and Detroit and it was very high level derby.    Here's some photo highlights.


day 1





















day 2



























day 3

derby action sequences with a digital rangefinder

I have a fancy digital camera... it does sport a "continuous" mode that allows the photographer to press the shutter button down and shoot a continuous burst of photos.  But it is not one of those fancy digital Nikon SLRs... it can only shoot about 2 frames a second and then after 11 frames it has to rest for about 20 seconds before it can take another shot. So, I usually don't bother with the "C" (continuous) mode.  Every shot I take corresponds with it's own press of the shutter button. 

So, when I take "action sequences" during a derby bout... it's of some sort of stationary "action" like of a coach's pep talk,



or of some sort of strategery discussion between jams.





but even then, I don't post the entire sequence, I just post the one photo with the most intense expression or gesture. So, I don't typically get the "action sequences" that some other photographers get like the back blocking major that decides the game or the ejection worthy tripping (and subsequent crash and burn) or of Quadzilla jumping a quadzillion people on roller skates.

So... imagine my astonishment when I came home from the Golden Bowl to find an action sequence!

I know what you're thinking. "Dude! How can that be? You shoot with manual focus lenses on a camera that maxes out at 2 frames a second!"

Well... if the skaters skate slooooooow enough, then I can get an action sequence.

This particular "action" sequence features some "jammer on jammer" action... Astronaughty of Bay Area vs Polly Fester of Detroit.

Now, you know the cliche.  Every picture tells a story.... but really? A still photograph is not a novel, or even a novella. At best, it's a poem. You can't really tell from these photos what the full story is... who is toying with who?... who is the cat, and who is the mouse?... and maybe this sequence is really more of what I usually capture.. an expression or gesture.... in this case Astronaughty's intensity and Polly Fester's annoyed amusement.

Maybe the best way to see the sequence is in flickr's "lightbox" (press next to see the five photo sequence)

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/nocklebeast/6052156476/in/set-72157627328431609/lightbox/

or see them here (Polly Fester's expression in the third frame cracks me up every time).