Overview

On March 8, 2018, I received an Instagram message out of the blue from a player on the Edison High School Girls Junior Varsity Soccer team, asking if I would be willing to shoot their first game against Hayfield High School.  I wasn’t sure how she found my Instagram feed, but I was impressed with her initiative, and her willingness to risk rejection in order to get what she wanted.

So, I asked her for her coach’s contact information.  And then I sent her coach an email introducing myself, providing a link to other high school sports photos that I had provided, and asking him if it would be ok if I did the same for his team this season.  He replied with an invitation to shoot as many of their games as I was able.

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Hayfield High School (March 14, 2018)

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Mt. Vernon High School (March 16, 2018)

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Stonewall Jackson High School (April 4, 2018)

I need to keep editing.

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Thomas Jefferson High School (April 6, 2018)

I need to keep editing.

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Falls Church High School (April 10, 2018)

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. J.E.B. Stuart High School (April 17, 2018)

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. South Lakes High School (April 26, 2018)

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. West Potomac High School (April 30, 2018)

I need to keep editing.

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. Wakefield High School (May 1, 2018)

I need to keep editing.

Thomas A. Edison High School vs. J.E.B. Stuart High School (May 16, 2018)

I need to start editing.

My Favorites

Here are some of my favorite photos from these shoots.

TBS

Lessons Learned

1.  Dehaze

TBD

2.  It is a good thing that I have a backup camera (DRAFT)

It was sprinkling during the last game that I shot, and just before halftime, I was shooting a burst of action when the shutter on my D850 froze, and an error message appeared on the LCD.  The warm and humid conditions could have contributed to the failure.

The Nikon D500 operates very similarly to the D850, but it is a cropped sensor camera.

Bottom line:  I can’t wait to go ‘mirrorless’.  Not that the mirror mechanism was the issue, but it is just a simpler design.

I sent my camera to Nikon for warrantee service (received in September 2017) on 5/22/18.  I shipped it UPS with $2000 of insurance, and it cost me about $75.00 (It would have been about $16.00 with no insurance.).