My adopted grand daughter Mackenna Curtis-Collins, 12, coolly confronts overwhelming force on a Lexington soccer field last night. 

A NEW CAMERA AND A JOCK! 

My new camera, a digital, single lens reflex, Canon Rebel T3i arrived just a day before my adopted grand daughter's next soccer game so I had a few hours to immerse myself in its 300+ page manual.  Since I was transitioning from an earlier model in the Rebel line, an XTi, I went to her match with some confidence I wouldn't embarrass myself.

Here' s how I described the shoot to my friend and fellow photographer, Dave Richardson:

"Attached is a shot from last evening's soccer game with my adopted grand daughter participating.  I loitered around the goal with the T3i wearing my Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 L lens--which is 2.8 across the full range of focal lengths BTW.  Awesome.  This shot also appears on my Facebook page today.

 

I always worked sporting events in Nikon's only mode--manual--so that carried over into my first Rebel and my very few sport shoots.  Last night I did the "sports" mode thingy and it was amazing.  It selects the ISO and a fast shutter speed with the appropriate aperture setting then adjusts that stuff automatically as the light changes.  It went from ISO 100 to 400 and changed the aperture down to 2.8 as the light dropped; keeping the shutter speed as high as possible.

 

It also shoots short bursts with a slight delay of shutter release, so you can capture images all around your intended shot at something like 3+ frames per second.  How's that for a motor drive!  ...which I never owned during my working/shooting career.

 

I simply had to fiddle with the focal length and keep the shutter button half plunged to keep the auto focus engaged while Mackenna ran this way and that.  The camera did an outstanding job even when she was headed toward me.  I read about all that stuff yesterday afternoon.  And, it worked.  Can you see me scratching my head--in amazement!

 

Another thing I like about this new camera is the articulated and huge LCD screen--and it shows a live view.  Handy feature when holding the camera high above the crowd or at ground level on a rainy day.  And, with an 18 megapixel sensor you can crop a shot fairly sharply and still be left with ample resolution for good quality. 

 

The 300+ page manual will be a constant companion--perhaps forever!"

 

Congrats, Dave, on your recent success in your local photo competition, and...

Go Mackenna!!