PHOTO: Baseball Anxiety
March 18th, 2010 by Meegan ReidI’m going to let you all in on a little secret…I don’t like baseball.
(I can hear the collective gasp, angry mutterings and Derek penning his rebuttal post already.)
It’s nothing personal against baseball or those who play it it’s just that shooting baseball stresses me out. You see I have to either be on the field (where I’m continually worried that I’m going to be hit by a ball) or in the dugout with the players which is just plain awkward since every time they swear, they sheepishly look over at me and apologize all while I insist to them that I have heard much worse in dugouts before.
This by no means means that I am incapable of photographing the
heck out of a baseball game and trust me I do look forward to
covering games in the brilliant springtime sunshine. It’s just if
you see me at a game tapping my foot, glancing at my watch and
sneaking out before the game ends please don’t take it personally,
I probably just have another assignment to get to…yeah that’s it
another assignment. 
Anyway, while taking some video at the CK/NK preseason baseball game yesterday I shot the following artsy feature shots as I was waiting for the game.
I’m torn I can’t decide which version I like better. Larry says the first one but I’m leaning towards the second…hmmm thoughts anyone?
~Meegan M. Reid
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
March 18th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I vote for the second for sure. You not only have the mit and players, but a nice blue sky with fluffy white clouds. what’s not to like!?
March 18th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
It’s ok… I, uh, have this friend… and uh, she doesn’t like baseball either – unless she’s at the game or playing. You are not alone.
I vote #2 (though I like them both)
March 18th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Number One. The message I get is “It’s Baseball Season.” Number Two slightly dilutes the message by inviting a distraction, i.e., to ID one or two (maybe three?) players. Number Two drags the eye more sharply upward from the mitt, which–moreso than Number One–is opposite a more comfortable/natural viewing (reading) patttern, right and down. Number Two has a couple of big gaps between players which makes the frame seem less cohesive. Number One contains more players — looks more like a baseball team. In Number One the player behind the mitt is more distinct from the mitt than he is in Number Two, which saves the viewer a millisecond of sorting it out. Finally, the posture of the lead runner in Number Two seems less baseball-y than the forward energy transmitted by players in Number One.