Featured Photo

Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of Paul Frederiksen
Going Home
courtesy of Paul Frederiksen

A good long exposure makes for a great picture. And if you take the shot in the right light, it can become magical. Take Paul’s long exposure of traffic along the George Washington Parkway. We see traffic coming and going; the white of the oncoming lights and the red of the receding ones. But in addition to the artificial light, there’s the wonderful purple and oranges of the evening sky. Such a mixed lighting situation can be difficult to capture in a photo, because the lights of the traffic are not as bright as the light of the sky. But Paul used a neutral density filter, which reduced the overall light of the scene and allowed him to keep the lens open longer. Thus those near perfect lines of traffic and a gorgeous sky. Well done!

Featured Photo

Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington Kastles vs Kansas City Explorers | Christina McHale’
courtesy of ‘Paul Frederiksen’

A good sport shot is a hard thing to get. First, you need a good angle on the action, which is very hard to come by; the best angles tend to be reserved for the pros. Then you need patience to see the sequence that will get you the shot you want. You’ll also need a good knowledge of the sport you’re shooting; that way you can anticipate when the shot is coming up and not waste time and energy. Oh, and you have to get it quick, because the right moment in sports is measured in milliseconds.

Paul’s picture of Kansas City Explorer’s star Christina McHale is an excellent example of sports photography. The shot is right at the moment of the backhand, perfectly capturing the power of the swing. In fact, when I look at the shot, I think of this more as a wildlife photo of a lion or horse in motion, with all of the tense muscles and the look of concentration on her face. Truly, a great shot!