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Back in the Saddle

2019 is off and running! I take a break from shooting after the Arkansas high school football State Championships end in December. It ends up being a couple of months, which is nice since I spend so much time working races, baseball games and football in the fall from March through December. The break from shooting racing was almost 5 months, so I was really ready to get back out there and get dirty!

I kicked off 2019 shooting 14U baseball in Conway, Arkansas. It was a cold day with temps in the 50's with wind. Yes, tt was cold, but honestly, I would rather shoot in those conditions than 100 degrees in July.

Just some background on some of these images I am sharing. I have been capturing images of some of these kids since they were 8 years old back in 2014. That team of boys on the Bryant 8's All Star team are now spread around to different teams. Two of them, the Arkansas Drillers and the Proformance Dodgers played on Sunday. I've included some images of them from back then and now.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/3200, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY 300 F2.8 Lens

Gage Horn slings a fast ball during a 14U tournament game in Conway, AR. Gage is how I got started photographing these boys back in 2014. His sister was in my stepson's class at school. My wife Robin and his mother Lori became friends. Lori found out I was a sports photographer and the rest is history!

NIKON D3s, F2.8, 1/800, ISO 3200, MANUAL 300 F2.8 Lens

Gage Horn was so little!

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/3200, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

Grant Johnson in 2019.

NIKON D3s, F7.1, 1/1000, ISO 1000, MANUAL, 300 F2.8 Lens

Grant Johnson in 2015.

NIKON D4, F5.6, 1/1600, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

I am not a fan of artificial surfaces. I like dirt with dusty smoke! You get some pellet spray but still not as cool as dirt flying!

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/4000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

I try to watch for portrait opportunities. I thought this would look nice in black and white with the differing contrast.

DIRTY 30!

This past weekend I kicked off my 2019 racing season at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had originally planned to start my season in Texas with the World of Outlaws last month, but mother nature won that weekend. The weather Saturday night was perfect. Nice and cool! Devil's Bowl rained out so there were several ASCS National Tour drivers on-hand. It was a great nice of racing!

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/2000, ISO 800, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

I always try to capture driver portraits in the warm light prior to hot laps. I caught Derek Hagar enjoying a conversation with some fans.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/4000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

As everyone that follows me on Facebook is aware, I love backlight. Here is a nice image from hot laps.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/4000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

More nice backlight. I tell people all the time to push the boundaries. Make uncommon pictures.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1600, ISO 400, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

I shoot Shutter Priority a lot. I just like to keep a target speed and let the camera work. Sometimes when shooting from this angle, the camera will focus on the tiny pieces of dirt rather than the car. It's a bit frustrating, but produces interesting images.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1600, ISO 400, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

This is the exact same shot with the same settings. The camera found the car in this shot. Shutter Priority is a gamble, but I prefer it when you get images like this one.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1600, ISO 1000, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

Losing ambient light. I added a develop preset in Lightroom CC. Pretty nice image.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1600, ISO 1000, SHUTTER PRIORITY, 300 F2.8 Lens

Taking advantage of a light pocket. It's so fun to play with light. Once again, I encourage you to look for these situations and use them. Light pockets are a great tool to make cool images. If you miss a little on the exposure, play around with it in Lightroom.

NIKON D4, F3.2, 1/250, ISO 400, MANUAL, 70-200 VRII F2.8 Zoom Lens

Nice racing action.

NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/250, ISO 1000, MANUAL, 70-200 VRII F2.8 Zoom Lens

It was pretty dusty during the feature on Saturday night. I still managed to grab a nice photo of Howard Moore coming through the dust.

The Man Behind The Camera

Jimmy Jones, 47, is a freelance photographer based in Benton, Arkansas. Specializing in sports photography, Jimmy frequently covers the Arkansas Razorbacks, Arkansas State Red Wolves, high school and professional sporting events in the state of Arkansas and surrounding states.

 

The Kentucky Derby, the Breeder's Cup, the BCS Sugar Bowl, AT&T Cotton Bowl, The Southwest Classic, The Knoxville Nationals and the Indycar Grand Prix of Birmingham, are some of the notable events that Jimmy has captured through his lenses. Jimmy has covered the NFL, PGA Golf and NASCAR as well.

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Jimmy shoots exclusively Nikon bodies and is a strong supporter of the brand. He currently owns the D4, D3s, D7100, D300s and the D60 along with a wide-variety of Nikon lenses and accessories. He also uses THINK TANK bags / harnesses, Manfrotto Tripods / Monopods, Lexar Media Cards and GO PRO cameras.

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