Greetings fans and friends... here are a few shots from the Hawks game, Saturday at the Toyota Center. I was on assignment for the Houston Press and walked away with a few photos. Enjoy! We'll start it off with the best mascot in the world! Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_6993b by groovehouse, on Flickr Martin going up for the shot. Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_7110b by groovehouse, on Flickr Luis Scola with the hook! Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5D_9921b by groovehouse, on Flickr Jeff Teague dribbling the ball. Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5D_9908b by groovehouse, on Flickr You can leave your hat on... Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_7047b by groovehouse, on Flickr TMac brings the rain. Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_7031b by groovehouse, on Flickr Martin drives it in. Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_7066b by groovehouse, on Flickr Coach McHale during the post game press conference. Rockets vs Hawks - 12.31.11 - Toyota Center - 5DII_7333b by groovehouse, on Flickr More photos in this gallery and more coming later to my blog.
Damn, rockHEAD, those are beautiful shots! I hope you do this for a living, because you certainly are good enough. Is that air I see under Scola's feet?? That's an historic image! :-O-
Thank you very much! I appreciate that comment. Unfortunately, I can't do this full time and make a living. It just doesn't pay as good as you might think but I'm glad you think I'm good enough to pay the rent!
Photography is a good field for you. Originally, I thought you were a Rockets' groupie by your screenname.
I am/was a groupie of sorts. I used to be so very active on this board. Jeff Balke and I went to IAH when Yao flew in and followed his caravan for a few miles. I'm a huge Rockets fan as well as a semi-pro photographer. My screen name is Rockets based, sort of. At the time of me joining this board, I was a huge fan of Sid & Nancy, the Gary Oldman movie. In the movie there's a character named rockhead, instead of using "rockethead" which looks like Rock Thead, I went with rockhead instead. The "rock" part does pertain to the Rockets, to me. That's the story of my screen name!
Great photos! Thank you so much for sharing; I feel like I'm standing right on the court. I liked the photo of Kyle laughing on your Flikr account. Was this after a foul call? That's what it looks like - his hands are out and he's laughing like he can't believe whatever's been said.
Martin's built a lot like Yao, huh? Most of the meat on the legs and pelvis. Can't he do push-ups to move the muscles to his chest and arms?
I set my camera to continuous shooting (rapid shots) but let me explain a couple of things. One, my cameras (5D and 5D Mark II) are not known for their fast frames per second. Honestly, I get about 3-4 frames per second (fps) which is really slow compared to other "sports" cameras, mainly the Canon 1D series and the Nikon D2 series, that get 8-10 or more fps. The other thing is that while my cameras are set to continuous, I usually only crack off one shot at a time, this is because I feel I have a pretty good sense of timing. I shot skateboarding before I shot any other pro sports. All those skate shoots really helped me get a feel for my timing and for that, I think that helps me now with other sports. Thanks. I like it too. I love the hands at the bottom of the frame. I shoot with a Canon 5D and a 5D Mark II. My two zoom lenses are a 300mm f/4.0 and a 70-200mm f/2.8. I also use a 24-70mm f/2.8 and a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye.
Hey everyone! Be sure to pick up a copy of the latest Houston Press as these photos and more were used for a cover story on the Rockets. You can also view the article online and check out the slideshow with more unpublished photos! If you can't pick up the actual paper, you can see the paper online as a flipbook. :grin:
