TRUST

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Canon 50mm 1.8 II, ISO 1600, f/2.0, 1/500 sec.

  I don't often get to post my shots from my sports photography but this particular shot stood out to me this morning.
  I follow Sequoyah High School Basketball for the most part because my son plays on the boys' team. This year has turned into something totally different from a photography standpoint.  I started out just shooting the boys' team but started carrying over into the girls' games and then looking at the sideline and photographing the SQHS Cheerleaders as well.
  My daughter cheers for the youth football league in Vonore, TN and I really love taking shots at their competitions. During timeouts at the high school games the cheerleaders do a lot of tumbling and stunt building. This is prime photo opportunities as far as I am concerned.
  I have, at least to my standards, been unsuccessful at catching tumbling pics. I use my 50mm 1.8 II lens and they tend to tumble away from me and the further away they are, the worse the focus gets. I have been able to get some good photos when the girls are doing stunts, though.
  Last Friday night started District Tournament play for the basketball teams and they were playing at McMinn County High School in Athens, TN.  The lighting in County's gym was very good on Friday and I was extremely happy with my basketball shots.  This shot of the cheerleaders releasing their fliers from a press was my favorite of the night though.
  When these young ladies get elevated up in these presses, to get down they more or less are just dropped and caught by 3-4 of their squad mates.  This takes a tremendous amount of trust to just fall and be caught. Now I know that they practice these stunts all the time and build that trust in those practices. But as a spectator and parent of a up-and-coming cheerleader, it seems very scary.  This is the one time this season that I have caught one of these drops  in mid-air and was terribly excited when came across it. The look on both the girls' faces is both happy and relaxed which is amazing considering their situation. I am also drawn to all of the hands of the girls who are about to catch these two fliers. It almost looks as though they might have thrown them instead of pressed them and then let go.

SQHS Cheerleaders, Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Canon 50mm 1.8 II, ISO 1600, f/2.0, 1/200 sec.