nocklebeast

some photo highlights of Westerns 2012
(final update: 7 October 2012)

bout 1: Wasatch vs Angel City

Wasatch 162
Angel City 172
the full flickr set
and on facebook.

bout 2: Sacred City vs Arizona

Sacred City 242
Arizona 126
the full flickr set
and on facebook

The Craneway Pavilion as a venue for the 2012 WFTDA Western Regional Tournament. It was a little odd to see the venue with half the seating of a normal Bay Area double header.

bout 3: Rocky Mountain vs Oly Rollers

Rocky Mountain 92
Oly 157
the full flickr set
and on facebook

bout 4: Rat City vs Bay Area

Rat City 177
Bay Area 229
the full flickr set
and on facebook

randy pan says, "not touchin' you!"

I knew her when she skated for little ol' Santa Cruz

I'm not a big fan of the passive offense during power jams. With so many power jams, it just feels like the score is arbitrary. This sequence is from an angry "what-the-fuck" impulse I had at the time. Imagine me thinking "grrr" with each shutter press. The focus on all of these is a little soft. Apparently, I was too angry to focus precisely.

Still, a THIRTEEN frame action sequence taken with a camera that maxes out at 2 frames per second with manual focus lenses!!!!! That's a new record for me. My previous record was 5 frames.

The "shock and awe" in the fifth frame is another photographer's flash going off.

bout 5: Angel City vs Rose City

Angel City 147
Rose City 194
the full flickr set
and on facebook

bout 6: Sacred City vs Denver

Sacred City 86
Denver 339
the full flickr set
and on facebook

oh, this is kinda scary. I'm going to go down now, just as soon as I catch my breath.

bout 7: Arizona vs Rocky Mountain

Arizona 76
Rocky Mountain 279
the full flickr set
and on facebook

a referee abstract

bout 8: Wasatch vs Rat City

Wasatch 172
Rat City 244
the full flickr set
and on facebook

the life of a roller derby fan is always intense!

The thing about shooting many thousands of photos in one weekend it that you don't actually remember taking them all when you're editing them. So imagine going through photos to find a passive offense photo that is not that boring.... hey! this is kinda interesting! Almost, exciting even!

my most non-boring passive offense derby photo! (In fact, this photo may be in the running for most non-boring passive offense derby photo WORLD-WIDE!)

And then imagine me going through the rest of the sequence of boring passive offense photos. Arg! Make it stop!

Another 13 frame action sequence taken with a camera with manual focus lenses and a top frame rate of two frames per second! This sequence is actually in focus. Apparently the novelty of photographing these "action sequences" has worn off, and I'm better at taking care of the technical things like turning the focus ring of the lens and verifying focus by looking at the little focus patch in the rangefinder's viewfinder.

bout 9: Oly Rollers vs Rose City

Oly 188
Rose City 121
the full flickr set
and on facebook

Gotta keep the track clean.

Hey! Look up there!

At some point during the weekend, I finally gave in and embraced the direct sunlight from the glass ceiling as an interesting and fun challenge.

And this happened.

bout 10: Bay Area vs Denver

Bay Area 167
Denver 187
the full flickr set
and on facebook

bout 11: Angel City vs Rocky Mountain

Angel City 126
Rocky Mountain 172
the full flickr set
and on facebook

bout 12: Sacred City vs Rat City

Sacred City 115
Rat City 243
the full flickr set
and on facebook

I may have to stop taking these photos of passive offense

bout 13: (9th place bout) Wasatch vs Arizona

Wasatch 245
Arizona 134
the full flickr set
and on facebook

On the morning of the third day at Westerns I had a little epiphany on how to approach the bright naturally lit venue during the day. The exposure paradigm is more "sunny 16" and less "f2.8 fast glass."