FAST WOMEN!!

So about a month ago, I took a workshop through Newspace Photography Center in Portland.  I was particularly excited when I saw the original announcement for an all access sports photo shoot at the opening night of the 2010 season of the Portland Roller Derby League, the Rose City Rollers.

 I first encountered this sport two years ago when several friends of mine accompanied me to check it out in Portland.   I did not expect to have as much fun as I did that night and was basically hooked from that point on.  Unfortunately, I did not revisit this for quite a while... until this photo-based opportunity for a reunion came up on the radar.  The workshop was taught by Portland photographer, Chris Ryan, who was really great to work with, having a lot of advice and willingness to discuss his trade and his experiences in commercial photography.


As I went through my gear in the weeks leading up to this, I realized that I wasn't happy with the entry level telephoto zoom lens that I own, specifically because it is a relatively "slow" lens.  I wanted to use some higher quality glass that would be able to cope effectively with what I figured would be a challenging low-light situation.  So, back to my trusty rental department at ProPhotoSupply in Portland to pick up the Canon 70-200mm F 2.8 IS lens.  Decided that I would try out a monopod as well and found a great deal on a compact mono from Induro.  The monopod is used to give added stability and to allow for panning from side to side which can be used creatively to depict movement in the subjects.


I had a great night and found myself quickly warming up to shooting with a new lens and getting more and more comfortable with moving around a crowded sporting event and finding good positions from which to shoot.  It was interesting experimenting with using flash (or not) and trying different lenses.

In addition to the photography, of course, the matches were wild, rowdy, and exciting.  I highly recommend checking out roller derby--it is a fast-paced and fun sport that has strong, beautiful, confident, and amazing women speeding around a track having a great time bashing on each other.  Actually, this league does have a lot of rules and safety and sportsmanship seem to be pretty high priorities...and there is quite a bit of strategy involved as well.  It's a great      community and the bouts are almost always sold out. 

These evenings are characterized by a party atmosphere and lots of showboating by the coaches and the derby girls themselves...the wardrobes/uniforms/ costumes are mixture of fun, retro, sexy, and frightening with the referees, coaches, and announcers all sporting various and unique "displays". Oh yeah...the NAMES ARE AWESOME!!  Examples include...Blood Clottia, Viagggra Falls, TeqKillYa, Vominatrix, just to give you an idea. 

These images are just a few of my favorites. I spent some time editing and trying out some different effects and interpretations of what I saw that night.  I was able to get some great feedback, both from Chris Ryan and a few of the derby girls themselves.  And made a good connection with one of the main RCR photogs, a great guy named Sharkey, who helped with the organization of the workshop.  One of my shots is now featured as the team photo on the Heartless Heathers team page on the RCR website (thanks Knotty!!)


Here is a link to the full collection of selected images from that night.  Enjoy!