Roccco

On my very first assignment last Wednesday as a boxing journalist/photographer, I interviewed and photographed each the heavyweight champion of the world, Vitali Klitchko, and his brother, the top ranked heavyweight contender, Wladimir Klitshko.

Vitali is preparing for a title defense against the #1 contender, Hasim Rahman, next week in Las Vegas and this was their final stop on a 13 city press conference.

I have been told that I must submit my photos so that they are 72 DPI and 10" across. What does this mean???

I am on Photoshop Elements 3.0 and it gives me an opportunity to pick the width of the photo but as far as I can see, a height is not automatically selected.

Photoshop allows me to select the pixels per inch. Could DPI be Digital Pixels per Inch?

I am required to submit my articles and photographs later today (Saturday) so any immediate help will be greatly appreciated.

Roccco

I think I may have figured it out.

Off-topic, but have a look anyway.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/rocco/vi...imir_klitschko

I have a few things to learn about sports photography and I will need a better lens. Anyway, I was just happy to be there. Boxing has been my favorite sport always. This can only help keep my photography active and improve my overall skills.

Hopefully my brain does not go to jelly while I am writing the necessary accompanying articles.

thit_cho

Rocco, nice photos.

Its a sad commentary on boxing that I would bet that 99 people out of 100 could NOT name the heavyweight champion. A lot of things have conspired to destroy the sport (the fact that big time fights are only on pay-per-view, having fights in casinos instead of Madison Square Garden, too many belts, not enough fights) -- boxing is closer to pro wrestling. And that's from someone who used to love the sport but I haven't been to a fight since de la Hoya at MSG a few years ago.

Dots per inch, by the way.

Roccco

Michael,

Thanks. Unfortunately, Vitali Klitschko just withdrew from the fight. This is the third or fourth time that he has backed out against Hasim Rahman so hopefully he will be stripped of his title. When I was interviewing him, I saw a yellow streak, although the Managing Editor had until now told me that I had Vitali all wrong. So sad...this guy is 6'6" 250 pounds of muscle was knocked out all but one of his opponents in his winning fights but the guy has no heart. Evander Holyfield he is not.

Roccco

Well, here is my first foray into sports photography (see the credit photo)

http://www.fightnews.com/freitag205.htm

With the postponement of the fight, there was no need for me to write an article but since I had not started, I don't mind.

PRchick

DPI stands for Dots per Inch. It is the old printer's measure for printing photography. The higher the dpi, the higher the quality. For printing nowadays in the digital world, you need 300 dpi for a printed piece. For web sites, you need 72 dpi. In Photoshop, you can go to "image size" and set the dpi.

PRchick

Yes, it's the same as pixels per inch under resolution.

Roccco

PRChick,

Thanks. I was able to figure it out just in time to submit my photos for my deadline.

thit_cho

Rocco, what exactly did you say to Vitali?

WBC heavyweight champion ends career

By NESHA STARCEVIC, AP Sports Writer
November 9, 2005
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has retired because of a knee injury, a statement on his former promoter's Web site said Wednesday.

The 34-year-old Klitschko pulled out of Saturday's title defense against Hasim Rahman in Las Vegas because he tore ligaments in his right knee last week in training. The WBC said earlier this week that Rahman would be given Klitschko's title should the Ukrainian fail to defend within three months.

Roccco

Michael,

I was definitely pretty hard on him compared to the other journalists and I questioned his heart and his willingness to fight through injury.

As I told Alexsandra who was there when I interviewed him..."Uh oh, I think I planted the seed of doubt in his head."

Good riddance, Clitschko.

Roccco

http://www.fightnews.com/1011.htm

Now, HERE are two warriors, featured in my above story. Forgive any shortcomings, this was my first press conference. All photos are also by me.

Roccco

just in case anybody cares...off the topic, my photo album from last night Showtime Boxing fight card in Lemoore, California. This was my second assignment and I was able to get some really great tips from a fellow longtime photographer. Most of the shots were at ISO 800 at between 1/640th to 1/1000th of a second, mostly at f/2.8 and f/4. For some reason I could not get one of my bodies to go lower than f/4 despite having a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens attached.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/rocco/sh..._-_dec_02_2005

pnd1

Congratulations, Roccco on these boxing pictures. After looking at them, I feel as if I have been there at ringside with you. You can feel the energy and the pain in them. The blurred shots are very expressive -- and the shot with the droplets of water flying from the fighter's head is terrific, in every sense of that word.

You are natural sports photographer, Roccco -- it takes (1) knowledge of the sport so you can anticipate what is going to happen before it happens; (2) an exquisite sense of timing; and (3) enough technical knowledge regarding lens choices, ISO and exposure choices, and so on. If this is your first actual boxing match assignment, these results are remarkable. The tips you received from that fellow photographer must have been priceless!

Once again, my congratulations on turning a hobby into a potential business.

Phil

Roccco

Phil,

Thanks for your comments. The reason for those first couple blurry boxing photos is that I had just arrived and was in a rush to get some shots, any shots, of this fight that was in its final round. Then, I made nice with the photographer next to me and after convincing him that I was a complete idiot and no threat to him he warmed up to me and was really helpful.

This was actually my third assignment, but my second fight assignment, with the other being a press conference. There was one other assignment but nothing came of that one because the fighter I was covering, the WBC Heavyweight Champion, Vitali Klitschko, supposedly injured himself the very next day, pulled out of title defense scheduled for the following week and announced his retirement.

Next up is probably a fight next Thursday night that is somewhat local. Not as high a profile fight as my first two and the lighting will surely be inferior, so that will be a true challenge, especially since flash is not allowed during the fights. The fighters have it bad enough and don't need to be temporarily blinded while their opponent is trying to knock them unconscious!

Boxing photography is definitely a challenge, as the photographers are stationed at the same place on the ring apron for the entire night, have the ring ropes to contend with, direct overhead lighting to contend with (uplights would be great!), and a referee that is constantly getting in the way. Besides that, even though I and the other photographers can anticipate when the action will occur, it is still a challenge to get a good shot. It just happens so fast and if the fighters are not angled correctly for the shot, then a good photo is not possible.

Although I am capable of doing both, I much prefer the photography side to the writing side, but hopefully by doing both, I will someday open an opportunity to actually get my foot in the door on the announcing/broadcasting side of things.

Thanks again for your comments.

pnd1

Thanks, Roccco, for the background. The blurred images carry a lot of punch -- pun intended! Each time you shoot a fight, you will learn more. Look at the ban on flash as a blessing. Natural light is much more evocative -- the play of light and shadow gives the fighters dimension by suggesting depth, while flash would tend to flatten them. (Sorry for the puns. They can't be helped!)

Phil

Roccco

Most recent photo assignment:

http://www.fightnews.com/haydon44.htm

Next assignment...December 23rd:

http://www.sycuan.com/sycuan_casino/...romotions.html

Hopefully this all makes me a much improved photographer by the time I step on that plane to Kiliminjaro!

Roccco

The most important lesson I have learned with the boxing photography is learning how to best coordinate ISO/f-stop/shutter speed. This definitely makes me want to break down and buy a Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 zoom lens prior to Tanzania, but at about $1,800 it may be out of the budget. I really don't want to lug around the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens next time, so I may just take the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, along with the 1.4x teleconvertor, and, if so, then I would also invest in a 2x teleconvertor. The 80-400mm lens, however, does feature Optical Stablization...I am probably much better schooled now on how to use this lens better than before. For my last safari, it was just too much lens for too little knowlege.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, here are my photos from last nights fights at the Sycuan Casino in El Cajon (San Diego County).

http://www.kodakgallery.com/rocco/sycuan_casino

This was actually my 4th boxing photography assignment this month. Too bad I cannot get frequent flier miles for all the miles I have driven!