People opening up their hearts

[Mike Buckley]

I was a volunteer photographer this past Saturday at the Washington, DC area Heart Walk of the American Heart Association. The Heart Walk is their largest fundraising event and this particular walk was held at Nationals Park, which is the stadium of the local major league baseball team.

My shot list included product photography, graphics on tee shirts, group photos, signage, posed and candid close-ups of people, images showing thousands of people congregated at the start of the walk, etc., etc. My personal favorites, which I'm happy to share with you, show people participating in the event.

C&C encouraged, as always.


Photo #1: This woman was thrilled to be photographed carrying the sign provided by her employer.




Photo #2: The Jenny Craig company is a sponsor of Heart Walks throughout the U.S. After taking a photo of a Jenny Craig employee at this sign, I felt a tug on my pants. This little girl then asked if I would take a picture of her. She couldn't see the sign because it was behind her and had to trust me when I positioned her hands. She provided the smile and upward look without any assistance from me.




Photo #3: This young person was proud to be a member of a fundraising team and was carrying a sign in each hand to demonstrate his enthusiasm. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Everything came together spontaneously in less than 5 seconds.




Photo #4: Every fundraising event requires volunteers and one of my requirements was to celebrate them. This young woman was selling the paper torches. In one of the very few moments that I had the opportunity to take the time to carefully choose the background (in this case, the baseball stadium), we walked about 50 feet from where I first encountered her. I asked her to strike different poses and she was terrific. Both of us had a lot of fun, which ended in a warm hug at the end of the three-minute photo session.




Photo #5: An area was set aside that allowed the children to have their faces painted. Considering that the name of the event was "Heart Walk," I couldn't resist this particular photo opportunity. I simply asked the little girl to look straight toward me without moving her head. She complied, while adding just a slight smile that makes the image for me.




Photo #6: Considering that the event is a Heart Walk, I have to end the series with people participating in the walk itself. A major attraction of the walk is the opportunity to walk through the baseball stadium. Part of that included walking the ramps of the stadium to get to a high vantage point. I took a position at the top of a ramp and let the walkers ignore me or play to the camera. In this case, the walkers chose to play to the camera.

[rpcrowe]

Excellent and creative coverage of a worthwhile event!

[dubaiphil]

Great coverage, Mike. Were you shooting RAW or jpg? I only ask as you were riding the EV from image to image.

My favourite is #5 - it's a shame she was moving during the shot though. I'd personally have my auto ISO on and a min shutter of around 1/125 or 1/150 in situations like that.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks to Richard and Phil!

Phil: I always shoot RAW and with the Auto ISO on (well, when shooting handheld). I don't see any motion in #5 even though I was hoping to get some motion in the brush. Where do you see the motion?

You mentioned that I was "riding the EV." If you mean that I was changing it, that's likely because I'm constantly monitoring the histogram. That's because I try to get the capture as close as possible to "correct," though when working as fast as I was in this event, I make more mistakes than I prefer.

[dubaiphil]

Thanks to Richard and Phil!

Phil: I always shoot RAW and with the Auto ISO on (well, when shooting handheld). I don't see any motion in #5 even though I was hoping to get some motion in the brush. Where do you see the motion?

You mentioned that I was "riding the EV." If you mean that I was changing it, that's likely because I'm constantly monitoring the histogram. That's because I try to get the capture as close as possible to "correct," though when working as fast as I was in this event, I make more mistakes than I prefer.

I meant 'riding' as in using to good effect - working it.

I'm seeing a tiny little bit of blur, especially around the eyes, horizontally. As if the girl's head was moving around to her left slightly.

[Mike Buckley]

I don't see the blur, but my shutter speed of 1/80 was probably a mistake rather than by design, even though I would have liked motion in the brush. I try to remember to shoot at no slower than 1/200 when capturing people but probably forgot to change it from 1/80 when doing product photography. Darn!

As I reviewed the shutter speed of a lot of images just now, I see that I made that mistake often. I probably should just shoot at at least 1/200 all the time when switching back and forth between people and products. That way I don't have to remember to change my Auto ISO setting. Lesson learned. Thanks for pointing this out!

[Bobobird]

Glad I stepped in here normally not on my visit list.

Excellent shots you captured the exuberance very well. Congrats, I am sure the organisers will be pleased with your contribution.

As for settings - I rarely will go below 1/250 for people shots, more often preferring 1/500, auto ISO and only adjusting the aperture as needed but usually f8 if I am closer or f5.6 if the subjects are further off.

[Maritimer1]

What a rush it must have been to be there and soak up all the good energy. Wonderful shots! The organizers will be happy they contacted you. 1,4 and 6 appeal to me for the happiness that is radiating from these folks, but they are all equally wonderful technically.

[Donald]

My compliments as well, Mike. A good day's work.

[Rhoads238]

An excellent series. Really well captured images. I especially like number 6.

[groovesection]

Some great captures, my only gripe would be pic #3, the lady behind the sign is a tad distracting but still a great image

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to everyone for your observations!

[Sergio M.]

Great series of photos, Mike. Beautifully captured.

Thanks for sharing this event with us.

[dan marchant]

Simply great work. Well done.

[AB26]

Well done Mike.
No 5 is my favourite. Jost love the soft light, shooting in shadow.

[Mike Buckley]

Than you, everyone!

Andre mentioned the soft light. In the four hours when I was shooting, the light was harsh only for about 20 minutes and the type of photography I was doing at the time wasn't hurt by it.