I did not quite get the photo I was looking for. As I reviewed this photo I wish I had used a smaller aperture so the player in the batter’s box swinging the bat is more discernible. I was looking for a photo that said (screamed) of the sport…Baseball. As we found out last week, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. 🙂
Baseball cap and glove sits on a fence near the dugout as a player swings a bat waiting for his turn at bat.
Maybe a tighter crop would help. Ignore the cut off watermark, please. 🙂 Better? Worse?
A different crop of the original photo.
Views Infinitum 
It may not be the shot you were looking for, but I think the contrast between the pinsharp cap and gloves, and the player himself still makes for an effective image. You may not have hit what you were looking for, but maybe you hit something else instead 🙂
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I like this shot!
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Having the ballplayer more discernible would definitely have screamed baseball. This says baseball without being too pushy about it, in my opinion. Having the hat with some dirt on it and the glove kind of beat-up looking would have said baseball even more! 😉
-from a baseball fan
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You know, I do not remember seeing any beat-up looking equipment. The caps for this team looked new. The batting helmets did. I guess these guys are well funded (ie., parents).
I might try something with this photo when I get a few minutes.
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Yeah, I prefer the cropped version. More emphasized..
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I think it’s a well-thought-out photo composition—definitely says “baseball.” I like the cropping in photo #2.
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I like the composition in the first image, and think you are right that a little more detail in the batter would be effective. I think the problem is that the background is an action shot, and somehow action demands to be “seen.” I’m not making myself very clear. OK, here: If the background were an equally indistinct but recognizable scoreboard, for example, I think it might work better. There’s something “wrong” about the cap and glove hanging there while someone is batting.
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Interesting you feel it wrong about the hat and glove with a batter as both are not used when a player is at bat or running the bases. A batter’s hard helmet is used then. Your other points are well taken.
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You will HAVE to give this another shot because the idea is brilliant! For me, it isn’t so much the OOF player, it is the scale. The foreground and background subjects are about the same size so they compete for my eye’s attention. A little distance between the two is needed, and (IMHO) I think the player needs to be smaller. Also, give a little more room on the left of the shot. 🙂
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Not sure when I will have another chance, Tracy. These teams are on the road for the rest of their summer season.
Since I was using the 80-400VR, I shot this at 1/320s, f/5.3, ISO 900 and 280mm focal length in shutter priority mode. I had lots of room to work with the exposure settings since this was a still life and the background motion was not fast with the batter stopping at the end of each practice swing. Could have stepped down to f/11 easily to bring the background more in focus but still separated.
The size of the objects. Hmmmm…telephoto compression played a big role there. Could have backed out on the zoom. Will remember that next time I have a similar opportunity.
Thanks everyone for this discussion. You do learn from the photos we take that are not great, too.
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I agree, this would have been a better photo if you had used a smaller aperture, BUT, it’s not so off that you can’t tell that this is a player in the background.
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Thanks, Michaela. I found a better one which I posted on flickr this morning.
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I LIKE it! The first way. Don’t love the crop. Love the bokeh, all fuzzy and indistinct. The colors are gorgeous, the hat perched on top of the glove, “well spotted” to quote our British friends.
I LIKE it! But then again, I’m an oddball. LOL. 😉
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Well spotted, indeed. I like that, KD. Psst, I think most people think us photographers are oddballs. 😀
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I like the original version, I think the space in front of the boy gives room for action. 🙂
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I’m not a photographer, but I prefer the original version.
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