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Field Technique for Drum & Bugle Corps

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April 06, 2001

Will you be able to get out there a few days before? If you can, you can test to see if 135mm is long enough to get the shots you want. You can also "tell" your camera what speed film you are using and see what kind of shutter speeds you are getting with it. (From memory, keep hitting the bottom button on the back plate until the lcd displays the word "ISO" on it, then scroll until you have the speed film you want to test out.)

I also recommend that you get a tripod with a pistol grip or at least a 360 ball mount swivel head. This will give you the ability to move very quickly, but still have the requisite stability. IS should eliminate any residual vibration from having recently adjusted the tripod.

If you want to hire a lens, can I recommend to you the 70-200 f/2.8? It's big and bulking, but I love it for this kind of thing.

Cheers.

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April 06, 2001

Ken's right . . . get out there in advance if at all possible . . . under similar night lighting conditions if that's possible too. A reconnaisance in advance can let you plan good locations.

In addition . . .
If you cannot get to that field, try to go to a similar one. At the least it will give you a "feel" for distances and what to expect. Take an "assistant" with you. If the assistant can get onto the field check out the distances at which you will get about a 1/3rd shot, a 2/3rd shot, a full shot, and any other size you want of someone, both vertical and horizontal. These are about 4, 6, and 8 foot "fields of view" respectively.

Here are some approximate subject distances for both 135mm and 200mm lenses that will give you these vertical "fields of view:"

=== 135mm lens ===
--- Camera Horiz. ---
4' vertical = 23 feet
6' vertical = 34 feet
8' vertical = 45 feet
--- Camera Vert. ---
4' vertical = 15 feet
6' vertical = 23 feet
8' vertical = 30 feet

=== 200mm lens ===
--- Camera Horiz. ---
4' vertical = 35 feet
6' vertical = 50 feet
8' vertical = 67 feet
--- Camera Vert. ---
4' vertical = 23 feet
6' vertical = 37 feet
8' vertical = 45 feet

I think you'll probably want a 200mm, at least f/4, and f/2.8 is even better, but it depends on how close you define a close-up and what your subject distances will be. A 200mm is about the limit hand held.

See what apertures you need at about 1/125th for various film speeds, assuming you can get yourself well braced, use a monopod or a tripod ball head. Also take a look at how much of the entire field you can take in from different locations in the stands with your zoom at the 35mm focal length. You may want some elevated shots of large formations on the field.

Stadium night lighting will affect color balance. Most stadia lights are sodium or mercury vapor. There's not much way to correct for this using filters without experimenting. You wouldn't want the light loss either! I suggest using color negative and a good print processor who can do color balancing well.

-- John

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April 06, 2001