Hi all,

I don't know if it's the right forum to post this, but last year I posted it here and it was ok so here we go :D :

http://www.nobrakes.ch/swiss_open_04.php

If you could tell me which are your favorite pictures I would be very grateful :)

Here are a few examples :

Camilla Martin
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_3017_resized.jpg

Eriksen - Lundgaard
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_2478_resized.jpg

Dan Lin
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_3154_resized.jpg

Ruina Gong
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_4300_resized.jpg

Thanks.

This is my fav.. synchronized movement :)

where is the bird? Feel the power!
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_4519_resized.jpg


Got muscles?

http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_3750_resized.jpg

Lin dans muscle definition is awesome.

Originally posted by shawntn
where is the bird? Feel the power!
http://www.nobrakes.ch/photos/swiss_open_04/CRW_4519_resized.jpg

see how loose his grip, how he prepare his (pinky) finger power:)

These are my favourites: and ATTACK!!

that guy jump smashing in the previous photo....that grip looks really loose...how does he smash it? does he tighten up, or just have amazing finger power?

A genius at work

Cooler we must have been looking at same photo at same time-great minds think alike;)

BTW great pictures, all of them. round of applause.

http://www.nobrakes.ch/swiss_open_04.php?index=99

this has to be the weirdest :)
very supple!!!

Classic mia pose there, notice how low she holds the racket, even on a difficult to reach clear.

Originally posted by jamesd20
Classic mia pose there, notice how low she holds the racket, even on a difficult to reach clear.

LOL, jamesd20, i was gonna say that about mia too. It's a mia audina trademark;)

Those are some nice photos.

Prime example of the finger power technique... notice how his pinkie finger grip the racquet(you could see most of the fingers except the pinkie) and how he wield the racquet near the end of the grip?

Originally posted by SheldonZhang
that guy jump smashing in the previous photo....that grip looks really loose...how does he smash it? does he tighten up, or just have amazing finger power?

Is it just me or does anybody else think Gong Ruina looked particularly ravishing in that pic:o?

Originally posted by SheldonZhang
that guy jump smashing in the previous photo....that grip looks really loose...how does he smash it? does he tighten up, or just have amazing finger power?

Mayb hes goin for the drop shot

Is it a wedding ring on Camilla's finger i see or is it an engagement one.
Great photos. keep them coming.

Best action photos I've seen...extremely clear! Thanks and keep up with the good work!

I'd say the photo of Gong Ruina is my favourite. The shuttle, just falling out of her hands, the beginning of a new battle, a new point.

hey.. im a fan of lee hyun il.. can u post some pictures of him?thx...

Shabok,

really very very excellent pictures. many of them have very good composition, freezes the very dynamic motion of badminton. other captures the facial expression of the players. some have very good persepctives of the players.

you seem to have found a good combination of shutter speed and exposure. many of the very fast motion you managed to freeze into still. especially the jumpsmashing ones. your exposure timing was also dead on freezing the very best moment.

i must say, one of the best set of tournament pictures i have seen. too bad the ground color isn't as contrasty as the normal green court surface.

most excellent!

what equipment did you use?

Wow, I thought these were official pictures!

Originally posted by unregistered
hey.. im a fan of lee hyun il.. can u post some pictures of him?thx...
Hi, there are 3 shots of him in the gallery ;)

Shabok, I presume you are a professional. Do you do any other tournaments or just your home tournament, the swiss open.

I congratulate you again, they are all superb pictures.

Originally posted by kwun
Shabok,

really very very excellent pictures. many of them have very good composition, freezes the very dynamic motion of badminton. other captures the facial expression of the players. some have very good persepctives of the players.

you seem to have found a good combination of shutter speed and exposure. many of the very fast motion you managed to freeze into still. especially the jumpsmashing ones. your exposure timing was also dead on freezing the very best moment.

i must say, one of the best set of tournament pictures i have seen. too bad the ground color isn't as contrasty as the normal green court surface.

most excellent!

what equipment did you use?
Thank you all for your kind comments ! :)

kwun, I was using a Canon EOS 10D with lenses ranging from 24mm to 200mm. Lenses have to be fast (i.e. have a large aperture, f/2.8 or faster) for freezing action in low light conditions.

Originally posted by jamesd20
Shabok, I presume you are a professional. Do you do any other tournaments or just your home tournament, the swiss open.

I congratulate you again, they are all superb pictures.
Thank you jamesd20 :) Actually I'm just an amateur, that's why I'm only shooting at the Swiss Open... If this activity could get me some money, I would certainly cover other tournaments, as I *love* taking photographs...

Have you contacted Badmintonphotos.com? I read somewhere on their website that they can sell you some of their webspace (and therefore customer hits) and you can post your photos on there, you may get some money from that.

Originally posted by jamesd20
Have you contacted Badmintonphotos.com? I read somewhere on their website that they can sell you some of their webspace (and therefore customer hits) and you can post your photos on there, you may get some money from that.
Yes my pictures will be on www.badmintonphoto.com in the next few days :) Hope that will help cover my expenses :)

Originally posted by Shabok
Thank you jamesd20 :) Actually I'm just an amateur, that's why I'm only shooting at the Swiss Open... If this activity could get me some money, I would certainly cover other tournaments, as I *love* taking photographs...

Yes, best badminton photos i have come across so far. Well done. Do u play badminton? You seem to capture the players right form and moment.:)

Great pictures.. keep up the good work :)

Originally posted by cooler
Yes, best badminton photos i have come across so far. Well done. Do u play badminton? You seem to capture the players right form and moment.:)
Thanks, yes I've been playing badminton regularly for five years :) In my opinion you get better results if you shoot something you like.

excellent pictures indeed... badminton could do with more people like you:)

Yes, totally agreed with the others. Great work! The passion for the game really shines through in your work:).

Originally posted by Shabok
Thanks, yes I've been playing badminton regularly for five years :) In my opinion you get better results if you shoot something you like.

Absolutely magnificent top class camera work Shabok - thanks for taking these shots and posting them here to share with everyone! Top stuff!

Absolutely magnificent top class camera work Shabok - thanks for taking these shots and posting them here to share with everyone! Top stuff!

Highest rating: Ayl's two thumbs up !!:D

Oops! :D

they were given "ice cream" for winner the Swiss Open? :)

http://www.nobrakes.ch/swiss_open_04.php?index=104

Originally posted by kwun
they were given "ice cream" for winner the Swiss Open? :)

http://www.nobrakes.ch/swiss_open_04.php?index=104

Peter's icecream cones? They are made in Australia if I am not mistaken! :)

No wonder the gals were laughing.. got ICE CREAM?

Originally posted by Shabok
Thank you all for your kind comments ! :)

kwun, I was using a Canon EOS 10D with lenses ranging from 24mm to 200mm. Lenses have to be fast (i.e. have a large aperture, f/2.8 or faster) for freezing action in low light conditions.

Excellent pictures, thank you. I think you could have a sticky here teaching us 'How to make good badminton pictures'. ;)

Hi Shabok,

Can you give us some EXIF data from some of the photos you took? I'm also an amateur with a digital camera (Sony Cybershot F717... - not realy a dSLR ;)) and I find taking badmintonphotos is just about one of the hardest things to do with (digital) camera's.

Thanks...

Originally posted by ayl
Peter's icecream cones? They are made in Australia if I am not mistaken! :)
Actually those are swiss Ice Cream cones : Extreme Cornets (http://www.nestle.ch/products/productline_overview.asp?lang=fr&id1=3&id2=46) from Frisco (= Nestlé) ;)

Originally posted by ajvancappellen
Can you give us some EXIF data from some of the photos you took? I'm also an amateur with a digital camera (Sony Cybershot F717... - not realy a dSLR ;)) and I find taking badmintonphotos is just about one of the hardest things to do with (digital) camera's.

First, thank you everyone for your encouraging comments, they give me motivation to cover such events even if it costs me hundreds of dollars each time (travel, accomodation, lunches, ...) :) I'm open to answer any questions related to badminton photography.

ajvancappellen, tell me which pictures you would to see the EXIF of and I'll post it.

Here are a few tips valid with your F717 (and any other camera) : you have first to disable the flash, for obvious reasons ;). Then set your lens at its maximal aperture - for gathering more light and therefore be able to use faster shutter speeds - and shoot in aperture priority or manual. In my opinion, the minimum shutter speed must be 1/200th. I try shooting at around 1/500th but this is only possible in well lit gyms. You'll quickly find that even if shooting at max aperture, your shutter speed is very slow, so you have to increase ISO sensitivity until you get a fast enough shutter speed. I shoot at either ISO 800 or 1600, your camera is certainly limited at ISO 800. Unfortunately, noise increases with ISO sensitivity.

Concerning the focusing, you have to use the prefocusing technique : focus somewhere on the ground (by half-pressing the shutter release) and wait until the player comes into that zone, then capture the moment ;) Of course the zone you choose for prefocusing is one where something interesting happens, where the player will hit the bird. In order to have the bird in your picture, you sometimes have to press the shutter before even seeing it : in an SLR camera there's a viewfinder blackout when the shot is being taken, so if you don't see the bird at all it's a good sign, otherwise it's too late... This is due to the 1/10th shutter lag between a full press and the picture actually taken. Summary : if you would like to capture the bird on the racket press the shutter 1/10th of second before :)

I hope that what I wrote above was relatively understandable, in spite of my poor English ;)

Have you contacted Badmintonphotos.com? I read somewhere on their website that they can sell you some of their webspace (and therefore customer hits) and you can post your photos on there, you may get some money from that.
Good news, my pictures are now on badmintonphoto.com :D :

http://www.badmintonphoto.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=23_99


ajvancappellen, did my tips help you a bit for your badminton pictures ? :confused:

FANTASTIC shots Shabok!!

:D

Keep up the GREAT work!!! :D :D :D

...
Concerning the focusing, you have to use the prefocusing technique : focus somewhere on the ground (by half-pressing the shutter release) and wait until the player comes into that zone, then capture the moment ;) Of course the zone you choose for prefocusing is one where something interesting happens, where the player will hit the bird. In order to have the bird in your picture, you sometimes have to press the shutter before even seeing it : in an SLR camera there's a viewfinder blackout when the shot is being taken, so if you don't see the bird at all it's a good sign, otherwise it's too late... This is due to the 1/10th shutter lag between a full press and the picture actually taken. Summary : if you would like to capture the bird on the racket press the shutter 1/10th of second before :)

I hope that what I wrote above was relatively understandable, in spite of my poor English ;)
Good tip. I use SLR camera and did take some badminton action photos before. At first the pictures came out blurred. Later used the technique similar you described - say if wanting the player to play an overhead stroke in the baseline, I would prefocus that area and wait for the player to get into the picture. I'll shoot the camera when the player starts the stroke. It worked but the quality wise are far far from yours. :(