2012 MLB Spring Training from Arizona

Baseball is almost a religion for a great many people, and I’m sorry but I just don’t understand it. There, I said it. I just don’t get it. Sure I love baseball, I just don’t make it my religion.

As a kid growing up in Oakland California I can remember a nice old man who lived next door who would sit in his backyard during those warm summer days and listen to the Oakland Athletics baseball games on the radio. I would hear the sounds of the game on the radio drifting over the fence and when I am covering a spring training game I am reminded of my childhood and the warm summer days hearing A’s baseball on the radio.

I love to cover spring training games because the atmosphere is so relaxed and both the fans and the players just seem to be having fun. You also get to see the young upstart players and the iconic players get out there and enjoy the game of baseball before the long season begins.

Let’s start the show with some pitcher images.

MAR 14 2012: San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson (38) on the mound during a MLB Spring Training game against the Cleveland Indians at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Brian ‘fear the beard’ Wilson takes the mound during a San Francisco Giants game.

To see more spring training baseball click the more link below:

MLB – Chasing the light, the heart of darkness and trying to improve my baseball photography

Photographing Major League Baseball in Phoenix can be a bit of a challenge, you only get a few “hat trick” games per season. What I mean by “hat trick” is a day game, with the roof of our stadium open and the home team in their red uniforms. More often than not our games start at 6:40 PM and the roof is closed which can put you at 2000 and up for ISO, and that doesn’t always make the best images.

I don’t want this to sound like I’m complaining, just that capturing good clean images that photo buyers are looking for can be a bit of a challenge. I try to face those challenges head-on, but at times I am not up to the task. Every game and every team has a different personality to it and you try to do the best you can with the given conditions.

Here is a look at a few of my favorite images so far this season, and some of my epic fail shots as well. I’ll leave it up to you to determine which shots are winners and which shots are headed for the fail bin.

I liked this shot of Arizona Diamondbacks Justin Upton (10) at the plate because it was one of those rare “hat trick” games. I think I should have given this shot a little bit more head-room and the lighting is somewhat harsh, but overall I liked it because you get to see his eyes and the entire bat at the end of his follow-through.

To see more great baseball images, click the more link below.