The Old Ball Game

[Dennis Bishop]

The Rochester Grangers is a local team that belongs to the Vintage Base Ball Association. I made it to only one game this year but took almost 500 shots. This image was made from the first and last of a series of six taken in continuous high speed mode. Luckily, I caught one (no pun intended) at the moment of impact between bat and ball. I don't remember the score, but the Grangers beat the Detroit Early Risers in this home game.

Nikon D3s, ISO 1000
f/8, 1/1600, zoom lens at 300mm for the two shots of the batter
f/11, 1/640, zoom lens at 200mm for the background

post-processing (Without all the normal detail. There's more than you probably want to know.)

• The background was a two-level parking lot with vehicles, folding chairs, and some spectators. I replaced it with a shot of the outfield. All three shots were cropped, especially the two with the batter.
• Topaz Simplify Watercolor II -- all three shots, but partial masking and reduced opacity on the batter after he hit the ball.
• Alien Skin Bokeh -- about the upper 3/4 of the background
• Fractalius -- one or two B&W presets based on Sketch, Multiply blend mode, all three shots
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- Stylize Line Art, black & white for the background, brown & white for the batter shots, all at Multiply blend mode
• Flypaper Textures -- texture over background
• Nik Color Efex -- Darken/Lighten Center, Image Border 6
• Shadow House Creations -- same texture twice (different blend modes) over most of the layers

[Hazel Grant]

you evoked the aura of the era and the fun of the game. Well done. I like the tilted frame, too

[Maureen Allen]

Very nice, Dennis. Great captures, and skillful separation and emphasis on the actions of the batter. My only thoughts on this would be to lower the opacity of the shadowing on the RHS of the image within the outside border and make the black spot directly above the running batter go away.

[Paul Lagasi]

Very nice Dennis, you can almost feel the motion....you come up with some good ideas...well done

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . My only thoughts on this would be to lower the opacity of the shadowing on the RHS of the image within the outside border and make the black spot directly above the running batter go away.

Thanks for your comments, Maureen. I can see your point about the black spot. Why would you prefer the opacity of the shadow be reduced?

[Maureen Allen]

Thanks for your comments, Maureen. I can see your point about the black spot. Why would you prefer the opacity of the shadow be reduced?

My first reaction when I saw the image was that it almost looks as if it is peeling up from the background - which is great. But after some thought, I wondered about following the light of the (inner) image and decided I'd prefer that effect to the other. If that makes sense Really just a matter of personal preference.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, beautiful processing. It really has captured a moment in a time gone by. I agree with Maureen on the black spot.

[Anita Bower]

I like this a lot! Gorgeous colors and tones. Nice action shots. Great bg, frame, processing. Agree about black spot. Thank you for describing the stages of processing. I'm very impressed by the skill you have in putting together several images. What a fabulous job and result!

[Judy Howle]

Very nice comp, colors and processing Dennis!