Kyle Hess Photography Blog: Rome Braves vs Ashville Tourists

Tonight I shot my first game for the Rome Braves, which is the Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, located a couple hours northeast of Atlanta. I was hired to shoot this game as well as next week. I haven't been to this stadium since April of 2011 when I watched Bryce Harper make his minor league debut, but I figured I could still work around and find good locations to shoot from.

This was technically a double-header, since the game from the night before was rained out, so the game continued in the top of the 4th inning with 2 outs, then the second game would be limited to 7 innings to prevent tiring out the players. Luckily for the first game, Atlanta Braves 2012 first round pick Lucas Sims was pitching, and I really wanted to get some good shots of him. If he turns out to be a big star someday, these pictures would be great to look back on.

Here's a few of my favorite shots of Sims from the day:

1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO

Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc

Nikon D3s

1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO

400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc

Nikon D3s

1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO

400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc

Nikon D3s

1/1000 f/3.5 640 ISO

70-200mm f/2.8

Nikon D3

1/1600 f/3.5 640 ISO

70-200mm f/2.8

Nikon D3

In-between games I ran out to get a good shot of the stadium. This one satisfied me enough, though I wish that car wasn't in the shot.

1/400 f/5 200 ISO

15mm f/2.8 Fisheye

Nikon D3s

BirdZerk was also in attendance. For those who have never heard of him, BirdZerk is a nationally touring mascot that puts on quite a show. Fans really seem to enjoy it.