I went up to my old high school today to practice some sports shooting, and had a great time roaming around all of the fields photographing whatever I felt like (such freedom!). It was a beautiful fall day, and the leaves have just reached their peak here in CT, so I tried to incorporate this into the photos whenever possible. I’ve missed New England falls…I haven’t been here during autumn for six years, and there’s really no place quite like it.

I’d never shot field hockey before (well, I’ve shot pre-season training. Not the same thing), and decided right away to stop by that game. And I can always, always use practice photographing soccer and football, so I went by those matches as well…I missed the water polo and volleyball games, unfortunately, but I’m planning to go back up to Choate later this week when they play again. Water polo should be especially fun.

Anyway, these are my field hockey photos- the field is in a little valley, so I had a great angle for shooting just by standing on top of the hill. This is a very strange sport; I don’t know how the girls don’t all break down with back problems. Plus, they’re wearing sneakers, not cleats, which I found odd (maybe it’s because they were playing on the brand-new turf field and didn’t want to mess it up? Discuss). I did find it easier to shoot than the last first-time sport I shot (lacrosse) though, which was nice.

…one of those times when you go through your take and wish you’d just stepped a foot over to the left. Argh!

I started playing a little with depth of field after a while, and I can’t decide which of these two photos I like best (I am leaning towards #2, but I think #1 definitely has merit, too). Thoughts welcome!