Basketball Eclipse
April 15, 2009 By Joe Morahan
Basketball Eclipse
This has to be my favorite shot from the shoot. I would have to agree that it might not be the strongest shot I took, but the odds of this shot seemed like 1 in a million. What happened is when Branden was shooting around while I was switching cards, I noticed the basketball pass through the sun, which gave me the idea to try to create a eclipse of the sun with a basketball. We set him in the correct position, and I had him toss up a few shots and I held down the shutter taking as many images at a time as I could. Quickly we realized that an inch to high or to low, the angle of the shot, as well as the camera position all were variables to the shot. Another thing, the sun is constantly moving, especially toward late afternoon as it just drops from the sky. Anyway we kept trying and finally one shot, and one only made a perfect eclipse of the sun. There is no photoshop used in the image, other than color/contrast and dust. A real Eclipse.
Shot details: f/13; 1/2500 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 78mm; EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Branden is one hell of a sports model. Nothing is impossible and a real pleasure to work with. I rarely say anything, but he had to have been one of the greatest people I have ever worked with.
Here is a link to Branden’s website: www.brandennicholson.com