MAC2008 Photos

[JohnEdwardFarmer]

These photos are from MAC2008. I had fun taking them.
Enjoy.

http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/BallroomPics/MAC2008%20Album1/

Although I'd rather be dancing its a great competition to spectate and
support. The venue was excellent. Plenty of good seating both at floor
level and up in the balconies.

[reb]

Great pics. The dancers' actions in photos 21 and 22 are exceptional!

[star_gazer]

Wow..some really great ones there.

[Brush Tap]

Great pics! What kind of camera and settings do you use to take good ballroom pics? I just got a new digital SLR but haven't been able to try any dance pics yet. Any hints you'd like to offer would be appreciated!

[White Chacha]

Well, for starts, it says at the bottom that John's using a Nikon D80...

[danceflower]

John, you did such a nice job!!! :)

[Lorelei]

All the fotos are amazing

[JohnEdwardFarmer]

Thanks for all the great compliments. I switched from film to digital in May of last year but for various reasons have not attended many competitions since then.

MAC was my experiment session with shooting ballroom on digital. I'm happy with the result as well.

[JohnEdwardFarmer]

Well, for starts, it says at the bottom that John's using a Nikon D80...

..and below that if someone clicks the show details buttons (on the large image not the thumbnail) you can see how I actually had my camera set for each of the shots.

Although there's always exceptions I usually shoot between f6 and f3.5. I like the crowd in the background to be slightly blurred so that the eye is drawn to the main subject which is hopefully in focus. On my camera/flash setup I usually shoot whatever the meter recommends or I force the flash to add 1/3 of a stop (more light) to the picture being taken. This formula will vary by camera and flash. With my older flash it was mandatory for me to add 7/10s of a stop to flash photos or they were not bright enough for my tastes.

f2.8 is usually too shallow a depth of field for anyone other than the standard dancers unless you are a distance away (say in the balcony). As distance from subject increases so does depth of field - even at f2.8. What will quite often happen with the latin dancers is that due to the shallow depth of field one partner will be in focus and the other will not be. f2.8 can work for the standard dancers because they are perpetually physically close to each other.

Depth of Field refers to the zone of focus. The smaller the aperture (larger the f/number) the greater the depth of field. At really large apertures such as f1.7 the zone of focus may only be a few inches (depends on distance from photographer to subject however).

[JohnEdwardFarmer]

John, you did such a nice job!!! :)

...thanks so much. And by any chance were any of your dresses in any of the shots??

[xingminlu]

thank you for the pictures. Xingmin Lu

[star_gazer]

John - Would you mind if I used a couple of the photos in the Dance Forums ad section?

[latingal]

Welcome to DF Loreli and xingminlu!

[JohnEdwardFarmer]

John - Would you mind if I used a couple of the photos in the Dance Forums ad section?

No problem with that whatsoever. Go right ahead. I do appreciate that you asked first.

John

[Kitty]

Very nice colorful pictures!

Especially like how the pictures of Alex and Ilana, and Anton and Lia came out.

[Brush Tap]

Well, for starts, it says at the bottom that John's using a Nikon D80...

Which isn't helpful if your screen is too small to see the bottom, is it?

[DaMa]

Great work! And thank you for sharing the "secrets of the magic" with us :)

[Standardesque]

The photos are awesome--super sharp! Thanks again for sharing! :D Lia

[tunape]

thanks John for the photos! (My partner's in the black standard dress).

[Joe]

Which isn't helpful if your screen is too small to see the bottom, is it?
That's what the Page Down key is for. ;)

[IlyZislin]

thank you for the pictures. Xingmin Lu

Welcome to DF!

[contracheck]

Very nice colorful pictures!

Especially like how the pictures of Alex and Ilana, and Anton and Lia came out.

Boy, Oh, Boy, My Boy Anton is back! Isn't he the handsomest dancer there?

[contracheck]

thank you for the pictures. Xingmin Lu

Better late than never, but What took it so long to join us?