My brother @ work

[Vinam]

My Brother Charlie's second job is a gymnastics trainer and coach, He trains all different age groups and levels and is there at the meets with them as Coach.

I hadn't seen him doing what really loves ( as much as I love photography) in quite sometime and he invited me to come to a meet close by my house.

Spectators where quite a ways back from the action and it was floursencent Lights inside and a little dark.. I don't have any experiance doing this type of work, but I tired my best. Shooting at iso- 800 and 1600 with my two long lense was brutal.

These aren't the best quality, but the subject matter makes up for it, because Charlie is in his element when he's coaching... so here's just a few of 30 keepers.


The coach


Amanda sticks her Dismount



Eleanor has trouble on the beam,



And gets a little upset with a low score



And Amanda's face shows just how low.

these 10-11 year olds are fierce competitors and train very hard,in the next set Eleanor would redeem her bad balance beam preformance. Stay tuned.

[pjflan7]

Gymnastics is very intense and it is all on your shoulders as far as your performance is concerned.....It is a multitalented task to be a successful task to teach, train, cajole, encourage, and console. Kudos to your brother for doing this for all of the young aspiring gymnasts. Is he the same as the pumpkin carver or is that a different brother?

[plangereis]

I'd say you did a great job Vin, considering the conditions you were shooting in. Gymnastics always scared me! Nice set mate.

[PrimeTime]

Nice job vin, you got some good action shots inspite of the low light. Great expressions as well.

[sparda79]

These are great Vinam. Were these taken using your 70-200? I'm currently thinking of and saving to getting the 70-200 f/4 IS.

Sparda
http://digital-photography-school.co...ng-island.html

[vimalkv]

Great job Vinam..Like the full set..Nice Action shots

[jennie]

Hi Vin! i know fluorescent are really brutal but you are always a risk taker..and it is through taking risk that we learn (and hopefully have some fun..hehe..)

these are great action shots..you have captured the mood and the intense training that they are going through..the anguished expression on the last one just breaks my heart..i hope Charlie can keep their spirits high amidst the disappointment the kids may encounter..tnx for sharing..

[beachcomber]

Nice set Vin, I like these a lot, you've captured not only action but the emotions behind the actions, great job

The kids sure do start young and I guess they have to, you can teach them to balance, can we teach them to cope with not always winning.

I hadn't realised this was your brother when I saw them and commented on flickr, not that it makes any difference, hence the same comments, but at least this time I've managed to comment here the same day as the pictures were posted

[tycooder]

Nice work Vin Beach is right you have captured the emotion of the moment and that is usually the hardest thing to do . In the last shot you have dissapointment consolation and " How the heck did they come up with that score"all in one shot....good job

[Vinam]

Originally Posted by pjflan7

Gymnastics is very intense and it is all on your shoulders as far as your performance is concerned.....It is a multitalented task to be a successful task to teach, train, cajole, encourage, and console. Kudos to your brother for doing this for all of the young aspiring gymnasts. Is he the same as the pumpkin carver or is that a different brother?

Thanks Patrick, I knew it would be interesting at least, glad I was able to get some keepers.
Villafane - Jeff' has the brother who carves, my brother is amazing is a different way

Originally Posted by plangereis

I'd say you did a great job Vin, considering the conditions you were shooting in. Gymnastics always scared me! Nice set mate.

Thanks Much Paul, those little girls scare the crap out me too !!

Originally Posted by PrimeTime

Nice job vin, you got some good action shots inspite of the low light. Great expressions as well.

Thanks Prime.. people shots are all about expressions and there's plenty of emotions at junior gymnastic meets heh.

Originally Posted by sparda79

These are great Vinam. Were these taken using your 70-200? I'm currently thinking of and saving to getting the 70-200 f/4 IS.

http://digital-photography-school.co...ng-island.html

Thank you very much Sparda, since the balance beam was the closest event to where I was shooting, I used the 70-200m L lense.. I had only taken a few test shots before they began and was stuggling a bit with ISO and Shutter speed , I finally gave up on freezing them and just decided to concentrate on other elements, the hands and feet were gonna blur regardless.
I have the 70-200 non IS, I wanted to save the difference in $ and get the 100-400m later on.

Originally Posted by vimalkv

Great job Vinam..Like the full set..Nice Action shots

Thanks Vim, I'm glad ya like them.

Originally Posted by jennie

Hi Vin! i know fluorescent are really brutal but you are always a risk taker..and it is through taking risk that we learn (and hopefully have some fun..hehe..)

these are great action shots..you have captured the mood and the intense training that they are going through..the anguished expression on the last one just breaks my heart..i hope Charlie can keep their spirits high amidst the disappointment the kids may encounter..tnx for sharing..

Thanks very much Jennie, yeah, that's me, big risk taker and I couldn't even curse aloud like I do when I'm out shooting nature and noone is around lol. Don't be too sad, cause Charlie yells at them too... it's not all baby sitting and it's not just about gymnastics, there's alot of pressure on them- self imposed and parents who pay alot of money. They are learning life lessons and that it's about competing and not always winning. 12 year olds don't cope so well sometimes LOL

Originally Posted by beachcomber

Nice set Vin, I like these a lot, you've captured not only action but the emotions behind the actions, great job

The kids sure do start young and I guess they have to, you can teach them to balance, can we teach them to cope with not always winning.

I hadn't realised this was your brother when I saw them and commented on flickr, not that it makes any difference, hence the same comments, but at least this time I've managed to comment here the same day as the pictures were posted

Thanks Steve, emotion was the easy part, trying to not get a blurry mess was the hard part. they start as young as 5 and by the time they are 14 they are either very good and move on to the nest step or realise they aren't going to be in the olympics and give it up.

And I really went there to shoot my brother, he's going to get a shot I need to clean up quite a bit as a christmas present, but I will not share it here until I am done and it meets my usual standard ( it's not an action shot ) .. to me it embodies the whole experiance for gymnast and coach and he's gonna flippin love it !

Originally Posted by tycooder

Nice work Vin Beach is right you have captured the emotion of the moment and that is usually the hardest thing to do . In the last shot you have dissapointment consolation and " How the heck did they come up with that score"all in one shot....good job

Thanks Brendan, I learned the hard way that shooting people is mostly 3 things, skin tone, EYES and expression ...I LOVE the last shot Eleanor is crying and Alamanda is priceless with that look !

Thanks everyone, going to post the second set now and then go to bed... so just look for it around page 10 tomorrow LOL ( I'm a sarcastic SOB, can't help it )

Vin