As a baseball player you're told until you hear ringing in your ears, "Know what to do with the ball before it gets hit to you!" The wisdom here is that once the ball is in play you don't have time to figure out what the play is. The same holds true for photographing baseball, or any other sport for that matter. Knowing about the sport you're working is key to creating good images. In this image that I made in Chickasaw, Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago, we see this going on. Here the shortstop is making a diving stab at a hard hit line drive. Had I been focused on the batter, or just sitting with my camera unfocused at my side I wouldn't have had a prayer at this. However, there was a runner on first, with one out. Knowing that if the ball is hit on the ground, the cool image is at second base where the double play is being turned I've prefocused my camera at second and have it just below eye level. When the ball was hit on a line to short I didn't have to swing the camera very far, nor did the focus motors have to turn very far, thanks to a little luck, I've got a good image.
The idea here, is that in sports photography the best thing you can do to improve your shots is be ready for them, not arriving after the play is over. Because, "If you saw it, you didn't get it." If the mirror wasn't up and blocking your vision when whatever it was that happened happened, you've got nothing. So be ahead of the play on the field, and know what to do with the photo before it gets hit to you.
