Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is calling on Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg to drop his appeal in the case of a Louisville photographer’s First Amendment rights.Chelsey Nelson sued the city of Louisville in 2019, arguing that the city’s Fairness Ordinance violated her constitutional rights by making it illegal to refuse her services for same-sex weddings. Nelson also said that Louisville made it illegal for her to explain her beliefs against same-sex marriage on her studio’s website.In August of 2020, a federal judge ordered Louisville not to enforce the Fairness Ordinance against Nelson. The judge said that photography is protected by free speech.Watch in the player above: Federal judge sides with wedding photographer, says Louisville law violates free speech “Just as gay and lesbian Americans ‘cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth,’ neither can Americans ‘with a deep faith that requires them to do things passing legislative majorities might find unseemly or uncouth.’ ‘They are members of the community too,’” wrote the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division in their ruling.Now, Cameron is asking for Greenberg to drop the city’s challenge after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Christian graphic artist who makes wedding websites being able to refuse working with same-sex couples.Cameron’s office said that this decision is “evidence that the mayor’s challenge is an exercise in futility and will further burden the taxpayers of Louisville and Jefferson County.” He says that Nelson’s case is no different than the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case.Greenberg’s office says it will keep working to defend the ordinance and make Louisville “an inclusive city where everyone is welcome.””For decades, the Louisville Fairness Ordinance has expressed the will of our community and it enshrines our commitment to ensuring every member of our diverse city is treated with respect and dignity,” Greenberg said in a statement. “In short, it offers protections for every person in Louisville to be full and complete citizens. The arguments against the Fairness Ordinance and against treating all citizens with respect are not new – they are tired and old arguments from a past that most of us are happy to leave behind. “To read Cameron’s full letter to Greenberg, click here.

My journey into sports photography began two years ago as a 15-year-old videographer for my school’s girls volleyball team. I created a video from all the footage I got and posted it on a new Instagram account, which got a ton of love from everyone at school.

Motivated by that response, I started doing other sports, which led me to my school’s soccer team. I realized soccer was my favorite sport to cover.

With experience in sports videography, I naturally transitioned into photography, sharing my work on various social media platforms, which led to recognition from more prominent athletes and organizations and gave me a good reputation among the locals. From my humble experience in sports photography here are a few tips on how to get started.

1

UNDERSTANDING THE SPORT

Before you step onto the field, court or stadium, familiarize yourself with the sport you are photographing, Understand the rules and recognize the most valuable players. This will allow you to position yourself in the right place at the right time.

2

EQUIPMENT

Investing in a mirrorless camera or a DSLR with a fast burst rate and good low-light performance is the definite way to go. A budget recommendation would be the Canon EOS M50 II because it is easy to learn on and provides a quick FPS shooting rate. However, a camera is not enough. A telephoto lens is very much needed; grab a 70-300mm or a 55-250mm for amazing results.

3

MASTER SHUTTER SPEED

Sports photography demands freezing the action, and that’s where shutter speed comes in and plays a role. Set your camera to manual mode to get full control over your settings. Generally, a shutter speed of 1/800th of a second is recommended for most sports. However, adjust the shutter speed based on the sport, lighting and the effect you are trying to achieve.

4

APERTURE AND ISO SETTING

A wide aperture (small f-number) creates a shallow depth of field emphasizing the subject while blurring the background. Regarding ISO, choose the lowest possible setting to minimize digital noise but be ready to bump it up to correspond to your shutter speed and low-light settings.

5

CAPTURE EMOTION AND TELL A STORY

While action shots are crucial, don’t forget to capture the surrounding atmosphere and surrounding moments, focusing on the players expressions, interactions and celebrations. Also, include the fans, coaches and referees because they play a crucial part in the story.

6

POSITIONING

On the field, don’t stay in one place but be sure to move around and experiment with different angles. Shoot from low angles, sidelines or even above the action if possible. Look for leading lines, symmetry and interesting backgrounds to add depth and context to your shots.

7

ANTICIPATE THE PEAK MOMENTS

Timing in sports photography is everything. Anticipate the peak moments and be ready to capture them so you don’t miss out on anything. A special moment can make all the difference.

8

EDITING

Get your hands on editing software like Adobe Lightroom to enhance your images. Adjust the exposure, contrast and colors and crop the images to emphasize the subject. However, be careful not to overdo it; strive for a natural look.

Sports photography requires technical skills, knowledge of the sport and a creative approach to capture the essence of athletic competition. By following these tips, you can elevate your sports photography portfolio and capture unforgettable moments. Remember to stay passionate and keep refining your skills. Good luck on your journey to sports photography!

I follow a decently minimalist mindset when it comes to landscape photography, yet this is something I never leave home without. In some situations, this photography accessory single-handedly makes an image possible.

Polarizers, ironically, are not a very polarizing topic in the world of landscape photography. The blunt fact is you should have one, and I personally believe you cannot photograph some scenes without them. Currently living full-time on the road, I have been exploring the eastern region of the United States, which has resulted in photographing a lot of waterfalls. In that time, I’ve recognized how often my camera permanently has a polarizer attached to it and truly believe many waterfall images just don’t work without one.

Why?

So, what does a polarizer do exactly, and why is it so important in a photographer’s kit? It allows the photographer to manage and control reflections on surfaces such as water, enhance colors and contrast in foliage, and even cut out atmospheric haze in the sky. It’s an incredibly versatile tool that cannot be replicated in post-processing. You can find an in-depth look into everything it can do right here on Fstoppers, but for this article, I want to focus mainly on its strengths when photographing waterfalls. 

Polarizers almost feel like magic when you’re capturing waterfalls. Notice the difference in these two captures, which is caused just by enabling the polarizer to 100% (more on this later). Pay close attention to the foliage and how much saturation, contrast, and life gets added back into those areas. 

Notice how nearly every aspect of this image changes using a polarizer. Unlike the first example, we have wet rocks within the image, which you’ll notice just how much clarity and detail comes out when enabling the polarizer. The pool of water also drastically changes, although we don’t gain much detail, considering the result is a pretty dark area. The idea is to showcase another variable in your creative expression as a photographer.  

How?

Using a polarizer is simple, but there are a few things I’ve learned over the length of my career that will help you understand both its strengths and limitations out in the field.

Polarizers typically also act as a 1-stop ND filter, meaning they’ll bring your exposure down by a single stop. Many times, this is helpful for photographing waterfalls, as I want a shutter speed between 1/5th of a second to half a second, but it might not be in other scenarios where you’re trying to capture as much light as you possibly can. 

Something to keep in mind when using a polarizer is that it will have varying results depending on how you position yourself between your subject and the sun. Typically, if your scene is facing away from the sun, you’ll have great results. But if you’re ever shooting in the direction of the sun, you won’t be able to cut out as many reflections. This is the case because polarizers essentially cut out reflected and refracted light at specific angles.

I find this occurs most often closer to sunrise and sunset because the angle of the sun is lower on the horizon. Thankfully, sunrise and sunset also tend to mean far less harsh light, so your polarizer isn’t as critical. This does not imply that you need direction light on your scene for a polarizer to function, though. Many times, my best results come from mildly overcast light, where enabling the polarizer cuts out a lot of reflections within the foliage of my scene (the first example in this article is overcast light).

Keep in mind that if you’re working with a very-high-contrast scene, you might not want to use the maximum amount of polarization. This was a mistake I made for a long time: approaching my polarizer like an on-off switch rather than incremental adjustment. Sometimes, polarizing to about 50-70% and leaving reflections on dark spots of water or rocks can help keep those areas from disappearing into darkness, but this will totally vary based on your scene and lighting situation. 

A great tip when using your polarizer is to make sure you are always rotating it counterclockwise or “left” when you’re adjusting the polarization from behind the camera. Make sure to reverse this if you’re standing in front of the your lens! This will ensure that you’re never accidentally loosening the filter from your lens. This works especially great with magnetic filters, because it’ll also never over-tighten the filter because your only force on the actual filter ring is the magnetic force between the ring and the filter. Speaking of magnetic filters, you might be asking what polarizer you should pick up yourself?

Which is Best?

There are a lot of options out there for filter system. The first you’ll likely encounter is a filter that simply screws on to the front of your lens. Then, you might dive down the rabbit hole of filter systems and discover square filter systems like the one above. I’ve used them all, and magnetic systems are, by far, my favorite type of filters to use in day-to-day shooting. Every system has strengths and weaknesses, but overall, a magnetic system is what I recommend to most people. 

The kit I’m currently using is made by Maven and is my current favorite filter system. Their magnets are more secure than any other magnetic system I’ve used. They’ve innovated filters in really smart ways with color coded rings, lens caps with 50% gray on the inside of them to set proper white balance, and even deliver in a convenient 3D-printed case to keep everything organized.

Regardless of what system you decide on that is best for you, just make sure you’re buying something of high quality. You don’t want to invest lots of money into taking high-quality photos and then put a cheap polarizer in front of your lens to potentially ruin your image quality. 

I’d love to see your waterfall shots in the comments or your own words on polarizers in the comments. Am I wrong? Do you ever shoot waterfalls without a polarizer? Let me know!

… after the festivities today it was back to the portfolio … not so much for organization, but to relish past memories and there were many in the scans of old slides and film scans … maybe I’ll work a couple of them up for tomorrow, but today was just for pleasure … no processing, just viewing.

One shot I came across after dinner was this squirrel who certainly had a find … they were big ‘uns and he scampered off with them … not sure what they were, but he was a very happy guy.

Below is a shot of a peregrine falcon in flight down at the lake … it is amazing how quickly these falcons fly in level flight, not to mention the speeds they attain in a dive! They are the worlds fastest creature reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph in level flight and 240 mph in a dive … they look fast even when perched.

Michele has her new male American Kestrel at her ranch now and I’m hoping to get up and shoot him within the next week … his name is Lennox and has a totally different personality than Finley had. A Eurasian eagle owl is being added the end of this month, so there are two new raptors to introduce to you. Also thinking a fund raiser at the Mary Fisher Theater in August with the birds and a photographic presentation of her birds and some wild ones. This will be a chance to meet the birds and see some great shots of them in action. Will keep you posted on this upcoming event as plans are finalized.

Time to wrap the day … I had four hotdogs, one hamburger, beans with hamburger and some delicious salads and cookies … I skipped the buns so not so bad 🙂

Have a beautiful day, keep breathing and smile … we are alive!

Ted

Therefor, while yet you have
the strength, cherish a desire to do
some useful work in your
little corner of the world, and
have the steadfastness to labor.
For this is the way to the
happy life; with health and
endearing ties, it is the way to the
glorious life.

excerpt from Happiness by Max Ehrmann

###

The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com

In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.

Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses.  By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.

More about Ted Grussing …

Photographer Steven Haining and model Ciara Antoski together set the record for the deepest photo shoot ever recorded when the two of them and a team of professionals completed a shoot 32 feet below the surface near Tobermory, Ontario, Canada.

The photo shoot took place last year and was originally born from a desire to make something visually interesting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was already diving and messing around with underwater portraiture in pools and controlled environments when the lockdowns and business shutdowns happened,” Haining tells PetaPixel.  “At the time, they were saying we couldn’t work in studio because we would be in each others air space so jokingly I was bugging my team to get suited up in their dive gear so we could each have private air and be safe while we shoot.”

That joke turned into real plans to put together a photo shoot in the cold waters of Tobermory, Ontario. Haining describes the area as the shipwreck capital of the world and it would be there that his passion project would eventually be recognized by the Guinness World Records as the deepest underwater photo shoot with a model.

“What would have normally just been a pipe dream for me kind of became a reality out of the sheer drive to simply do something cool during a time in history where I was unable to create artwork by no choice of my own,” he says.

Hainig explains that he practiced with one of his favorite underwater models, Antoksi, who is also a diver for over a month in pools so she could get used to holding her breath in cold water. He and Antoski also visited and shot in a few other locations just to practice ahead of the planned deeper dive.

Haining says he also recruited the best dive safety professional he knew — a master diver who also worked as a professional underwater escape artist for Penn and Teller — to assure that the shoot would be conducted safely.

The shoot took place at the wreck of the W.L. Wetmore, a ship that was driven ashore and sank in November of 1901.

“The deepest dive we did with the model was 32 feet for an incredible 30 minutes at depth, with [Antoski] borrowing air and navigating the W.L. Wetmore wreck,” Haining says.

When planning the shoot, Haining says it wasn’t his intention to do it for the record, but after it successfully concluded, he and his team decided to submit it for consideration.

“The extent of evidence they require, video proof of the entire process, documented depths, nautical charts approved by the government and proof of the location it was probably the most paperwork I’ve done in my life,” Haining says of the process for submission.

“At the end of it, Guinness approved the record for 16 minutes at 21 feet at a higher part of the Wetmore. It wasn’t the deepest spot [we shot at] but I was excited and beyond happy to take it simply because I couldn’t prove the dive computers and information for the deeper dive. Had I known I needed better documentation [was needed] I certainly would have been prepared but this was about the photos, not about the record.”

Haining says that he’s not done with his deep dive shoots, especially since he knows he went deeper than he could prove for the current record. At present, The Guiness World Records has a published recognition of the feat on its website, but Haining already has plans to force an update to that page later this year.

“I have forever been thinking about proving the actual depth and it got me to a point where I am setting off this September with my team as well as some cool friends at Fujifilm who just love that I like to push their cameras to oblivion, and we are heading back to Tobermory one more time, but this time were going to beat our own record by a seemingly impossible amount,” he promises.

“This time we’re going to invite Guinness to be there in person to witness it.”

Image credits: Steven Haining