'It Was Herky-Jerky'

If you love baseball, or sports photography, or long lenses—or are wondering whether it's good to chimp or not—you are gonna love this story.

Great stuff. Wonderful little article.

Mike
(Thanks to Chuck Albertson)

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Comments

[Kevin Purcell]

Sort of the inverse story of Debby Wong's (non-)photo of Ichiro Suzuki 4,000th career base hit in August of this year that ended up with her loosing her work agreement with USA Today Sports Images.

She missed the real image chimping previous images (and blocked out another photog doing it). But then she "published the photo" and the other photogs smelt a rat ...

https://nppa.org/news/swing-and-hit-and-miss

It's a tough life being a sports photog.

[Rod S.]

Thanks, Mike. I liked this best:

“I come from a news and human rights kind of background. I’ve made pictures all over the world. Getting so much attention sort of makes me feel weird, because things that are more important in the world, like famine, the Syrian refugees, no one cares about. But at a baseball game, they do.”

Yes, 'twould feel weird. Like on another planet.

[Jeff Grant]

I'm sorry Mike, I tried but to read it but my mind rebels at the onslaught of sport trivia. To a non-American this is akin to Vogon poetry.

[stephen]

Oh, being a teacher, and a reader...very tough, occasionally. Like with this article. Nice. Touching. And then...."honed"?!? He "honed in"?!? Do runners cross "hone plate"? Do pigeons "hone"? Do aircraft return to "hone base"? M.o.G.! Why can't people get this right? It's "home"!

Sorry. I'll go take my meds now.

[Kosch]

I like the fact that of the (probably) 10,000+ frames shot at the game, and the five HD cameras filming as well, one photo makes the news.
Still photography has not died yet; vive le moment gelé!

[Long live the cold moment? Maybe you need to translate that for me. --Mike]

[Peter Spurrier]

Nice story. I'm new to reading the Theonlinephotographer [dipping in for about a month]

I thought Mr Grossfeld's, surprise at the publicity surrounding the image - refreshing. We are likeminded as news/sports/current affairs photographers our job is to report the news, not make it, although credit where credits due - a great see plus the experience and knowledge of his sport helps, as does the familiarity with his toys to capture the moment.

"But the mirror can obstruct, ever so briefly, a photographers view of what he’s actually shooting. “You wonder what the hell you’ve got,” says Grossfeld."

But digital offers you near instant gratification turn the camera over and look at the LCD - Walah. I feel sorry for many photographers who never experienced film in the BD [Before Digital] days. The mechanics of the DSLR and SLR cameras haven't changed, the mirror always blocks your view at the precise moment of exposure, with film there was the time between exposure and development, I remember regularly, after an event, driving back to the office, thinking have I got it, is it sharp, the anticipation built and built and then you put the dev’d neg's on the light-box, that brief moment of elation; “BELTER” YOU HAD GOT IT, the elements had conspired after all. All photographers had a different celebration; little dance, a bit of shouting, punching the air - fist clenched, pre “high five” days.

A nice reminder of them days, I won’t say good or bad.

Peter Spurrier

[Marc Rochkind]

It's a great shot, true. But I'm not sure it required all that much skill. With a seat in a luxury box, an 800mm lens, 12 fps, and the luck of the positioning of the subjects, maybe anyone could have gotten that shot. As Grossfeld says, “You wonder what the hell you’ve got.”