Iolani Boys Varsity Volleyball vs Damien

Yesterday was a good day for the boys varsity volleyball team and for this photographer. First, the game. We won 25-10 and 25-19. It was not as close as the score sounds. Coach Mike Among substituted liberally to give everyone as much playing time as possible. When our first string was in it was an obvious mismatch. With the backups in it became much closer.

Good coaches find a way to let everyone contribute. I like what I see with this team.

This team now has a 4-0 record, beating Hanalani (2-0), UHS (2-1) and St. Louis (2-0) previously. According to the polls, Punahou is number one (no surprise there), Maryknoll number two and Iolani three. Kamehameha weighs in at number five, HBA at six, and Mid-Pac at nine. Our next game is against Mid-Pac on Friday night, 6pm, at Iolani gym. I wish I could be there, but I'll be busy with preparations for Saturday's Iolani XC Invitational at Kualoa.

Photographically, it was a good day. Indoor volleyball is a tough sport to photograph. Low light, fast action, unpredictable plays, and with our Raiders - usually black uniforms. Any one of those factors is a challenge, put them all together and you have a headache.

I've used a 20 year old 135mm 2.0 manual focus a few times now for the smash and block shots with mixed results. The last game I had some good shots but too many were out of focus. Yesterday I made two changes that contributed to a vastly better result. Instead of using the 135mm on my D70, I switched it to my D200. The D200 has an advantage that came into play yesterday. There is a much brighter, clearer view of what I'm shooting. This is crucial because at 135 mm and an aperture of 2.0 the depth of field is pretty thin.


The other thing I did was rig up a monopod that allowed me to shoot vertical but with much greater stability. The 135mm lens is not that large but it is very heavy.

These two factors contributed to my best selection of smashes and blocks this year.

For the side court shots I used my 85mm 1.8 with the D70. This combination worked fine, so I will stick with the above strategy unless I can come up with something better.