Keepers out of 25

I love photographing high school girls basketball. They're more willing to dive and roll around for a loose ball or gain control of a steal than their male counterparts. That's what happened while I covered Tuesday's game between the Trojans of Iowa City West and the Cougars of Cedar Rapids Kennedy. I pretty much fired a 25-frame burst as I watched the action unfold through my 300mm. You'd think at six to eight frames per second, you'd have many more options to choose from. Out of 25 frames, I got alot of "almosts". Photos where the ball or someone's arm is obscuring another player's face. Ones where the picture just doesn't feel right.

This was the first frame in the string. A good beginning but Kennedy's Kristin Hahn's face is difficult to see.

This one came close. Clean background. Nice moment. I really like the bent arm/straight arm thing going on. The problem is that both teams are in The Gazette's core coverage area. So, not having both faces visible is the killer for me. Although, the photo would be good to accompany a feature profile of West's Kelsey Dolder.

This was the photo that ran in the paper. I love the intensity in Kristin Hahn's face. The background isn't as clean as I would have liked but I think the cropping directs your eye where it needs to be.

I probably wouldn't have selected this photo at all but I like Kennedy's Kristin Hahn's out-stretched leg and the ball in mid bounce.

This is one of the last photos in the string. One of the previous frames shows Kennedy's Jade Rogers (left) pushing West's Kelsey Dolder (right) in the back in order to get to the ball. I'm thinking Dolder is reacting to that at this moment.

Jim