Maxwell Kruger Photography

I had asked to cover the Ravens game today, but the Ravens are stingy with their press passes so I ended up at the Redskins. This was actually more convenient since the stadium is only a few miles from my apartment. I prefer not to shoot Redskins games because Fedex Field is horrible for the press.  You have to park far away and ride a shuttle bus to and from the stadium. The parking lot is always completely filled (they don’t secure the press parking from others) and the shuttles only run every 30 minutes or so because they want to keep traffic down for the fans, which in my opinion is ridiculous.  It’s a big ordeal getting to the stadium, which doesn’t help and leaving always takes at least an hour extra.

The game started off with a little bit of action but then got pretty boring for a while except for a few sacks. It went into overtime with an interception and the Redskins winning with a field goal. I got some good shots that I’m happy with, but also missed a lot of stuff. Let me know what you think.

McNabb walks on the field before the game.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Packers tight end Donald Lee fumbles the ball while being tackled by Redskins safety LaRon Landry.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

There were many sacks of McNabb, several of which were by linebacker Clay Matthews.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Donald Lee celebrates with fans after scoring a TD.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Donald Driver fell after an incomplete pass.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/5000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Tramon Williams is knocked down with the ball.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

There are three reasons that I am posting this incomplete pass. 1. Quarless, Deloitte, almost got hit.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 70 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Redskins running back Keiland Williams is tackled by Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Mason Crosby scores a FG.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Crosby celebrates his score with teammates.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Another Matthews-McNabb sack. This time in sequence.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

There’s a lot of butt grabbing going on here.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/8000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 200)

I was so happy to get a nice in-focus shot of this long touchdown by the Redskins.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/5000, f/2.8, ISO 200)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 200)

A Packers fan is not too excited.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 200)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/2500, f/2.8, ISO 200)

Landry caught an interception in overtime, but he was facing the other way so I didn’t get a good photo.  I got some good shots when he began his long run.  However, these shots proved useless when they called the run back.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 200)

Charles Woodson was pissed when they called pass interference against him.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 200)

Graham Gano kicks the game winning field goal during overtime.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 200 mm, 1/4000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Fans celebrate.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 190 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 400)

I covered the preseason Ravens vs Redskins football game at Fedex Field. The Ravens crushed the Redskins. Here are a few of my shots that I enjoyed.

McNabb talks with teammates before the game.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 400)

I have sold quite a few of these of Haynesworth since he’s big news lately.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 560 mm, 1/640, f/4, ISO 400)

Yeah, Deloitte.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 200 mm, 1/1600, f/3.2, ISO 400)

Anthony Armstrong seemed to stare right at me as he caught the ball.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1000)

Shanahan talks to McNabb between plays.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1000)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1250)

Harbaugh yells across the field.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 1250)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 1250)

McNabb makes a hand-off.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 1250)

I loved the emotion on Heap and McIntosh’s faces.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 2000)

Pitta went sideways after he got the ball.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 2000)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 2000)

For those of you who use the Code Replacement feature in Photo Mechanic and shoot football, this should make your life easier. I have created a very simple way to generate code replacement sheets in 10 seconds or less. I know you can use StonePix to generate these for you, but I rarely trust the site and this gives you more control. If you have any skill at Excel, you can customize this to your heart’s desire.

First, start by downloading this excel file that I have created. Download here.

Because I only cover local games, this file contains the Ravens and every home game it will play. Don’t worry; you can add other teams in seconds. You will end up with a new sheet in this workbook with a custom alias (i.e. p81) and the value (i.e. Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81)) for each player. Keep reading for the following steps. (more…)

Shooting macro is really fun.  It’s hard, but you can get really cool things that you typically wouldn’t see with your naked eye.

I bought a Macro Ring Flash (MR-14EX) which works wonders at adding some fill flash because apertures have to be so high.

Here are some recents.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/80, f/11, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/80, f/10, ISO 500)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/125, f/14, ISO 500)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/160, f/13, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/160, f/13, ISO 100)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/125, f/6.3, ISO 800)

Today, I bought a new lens – a Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro IS.  It’s a really cool lens and allows 1:1 photos of objects.  I haven’t done much macro photography in the past because I haven’t had a lens capable. These are some shots from testing it out in my backyard.

From what I’ve learned in the hour spent with Macro photography, is that it’s incredibly difficult.  Depth of field is SO shallow that you have to shoot at high apertures to get anything in focus. Shooting at those apertures requires low shutter speeds which means both you and the subject need to remain still.  In addition, most tiny critters don’t like to stay still for very long.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/100, f/8, ISO 400)

This guy was less than 5mm long.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/100, f/9, ISO 200)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/400, f/5, ISO 640)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/500, f/5, ISO 640)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/500, f/6.3, ISO 640)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/500, f/6.3, ISO 640)

I don’t know what this insect is, but it scares me. Also, I didn’t notice when I took it, but it looks like eggs to the right.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/500, f/5, ISO 640)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 100 mm, 1/250, f/5, ISO 640)

I celebrated the Fourth of July this year with some friends on a rooftop in downtown Baltimore. Pretty good view. We were so far away from the fireworks that we heard the finale once there were no fireworks in the sky.

These are shot with my 1D Mark IV and a 24-105 f/4. I hooked up a cable release and shot on Bulb most of the time and timed the exposure for the beginning and end of each firework. I wasn’t in a great location to get a good scenic background of the city or something that was lit up enough.

To add exposure to the city backdrop, I exposed fora  longer time (while maintaining clarity in the fireworks), but that resulted in messier looking photos with multiple fireworks in each exposure.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 58 mm, 1″, f/5, ISO 100)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 80 mm, 2″, f/7.1, ISO 200)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 24 mm, 4″, f/5, ISO 100)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 85 mm, 2″, f/5, ISO 100)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 80 mm, 4″, f/5.6, ISO 200)

Here are some photos of my friend Ian‘s radio controlled plane.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 24 mm, 1/1600, f/4, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1600, f/4, ISO 200)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 105 mm, 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 105 mm, 1/50, f/5.6, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 105 mm, 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 105 mm, 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 400)

Update: Here is a photo taken from the plane on an earlier flight. Click here for full resolution.

This past weekend, I covered the 2010 Preakness Stakes.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 70 mm, 1/8000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

After a late night covering the rain-delayed Oriole’s game and hanging out with friends, I had to wake up early to set up remotes at Preakness.  I got rid of most of my extra cameras after college, so I only had one extra to use as a remote.  The other guys covering the event for US Presswire were already setting up remotes under the rail, so I decided to stick my 40d with a 50mm f/1.4 lens on a close-by ladder to get shots of the finish line.  The remotes had to be in by 10 so that they could be checked for safety.  The rest of the day was sitting around waiting for the big race.

Here are only a few of the dozens of remote cameras that photographers set up.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 100)

I had my 400mm f/2.8 to cover the race as it turned the corner for the final straight.  I was going to switch to a borrowed 70-200 on another camera body once the horses got close enough.  This is what it looked like shooting down the track with the 400. Pretty cool stuff.  This shot is from an early race.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 400 mm, 1/1250, f/2.8, ISO 100)

When it came time to shoot the race, I was ready with all my cameras.  The horses were let off and I aimed my camera with the 400 down the track.  All of a sudden it wouldn’t focus.  I missed the horses coming around the first time because my lens wouldn’t focus.  I had just a minute or two to fix it.  I fidgeted around with it and couldn’t get it to work by the time the horses came back around.  I switched to the 70-200 and covered the finish as much as I could. I later found out that the focus limiter switch had moved to only focus the lens from a close distance.

Lookin’ at Lucky made a last minute move to secure a first place finish.

Here he is pulling ahead.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 200 mm, 1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 400)

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 190 mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

Crossing the finish line.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 70 mm, 1/8000, f/2.8, ISO 400)

I was excited to see my remote images.  When I pulled my remote down, for some reason it had missed the finish.  It got the horses the first lap and about three horses back from the finish. That’s what you get with remotes; it’s hard to depend on them.

This one is from the first lap.  Pretty cool shot had it captured the finish.

(Canon EOS 40D, 50 mm, 1/1600, f/4.5, ISO 640)

Lookin at Lucky jockey Martin Garcia gives a thumbs up after the race.

(Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 200 mm, 1/250, f/4, ISO 400)

A lot of my images were picked up following the race.  Click the jump to see a few clippings from the weekend.

(more…)