Shooting Gymnastics

Untitled -- Canon 1D IIn & EF 135mm f2 @ f2, ISO 1600. Click for larger size.

Yesterday was the last gymnastic class for Megan and her team at Jimmy Simpson.  The coaches and the team had worked very hard, and the team did great overall in the competition few weeks ago.  The Jimmy Simpson team is relatively small compared to other teams, but the team did amazingly well.

The picture above is Megan's team mate, and is one of my favourites from the competition.  There are few more that I like, but all of them show faces of team mates and I don't want to post them without their permission.  It was my first time shooting gymnastics, but I think it's easier than shooting swimming.  Thankfully the gym was relatively well lit and I was able to get very fast shutter speeds to freeze the actions at ISO 1600. The 1D IIn proved its worth with its great auto focus capabilities, and the only lenses I used were the 200mm f1.8L and the 135mm f2L.  Most of the pictures were shot wide open.  I am especially pleased with 135mm f2L.  It's one of the sharpest lenses I have used.  For the 200mm f1.8L, it's expected that it should perform well at f1.8, due to it's high price, but for the 135L, every Canon prime shooter should own one.  It's relatively cheap, very fast and usable at full aperture, and focuses extremely fast and quiet.  It's perfect for indoor sports like gymnastics.

In the air -- 1D IIn & EF 135mm f2 @ f2, ISO 1600.