Baseball Photos

Greatest Baseball Photos of all Time - Is it all about the photos?

If you take the time to look around, you can find plenty of expert advice on how to take
great baseball photos. Some will talk about getting to the park early for more relaxed,
individual still shots. Others will say that great baseball photos are only "great" if you
have managed to capture an in-action masterpiece, while many purists go farther and
advocate the need to capture the baseball itself in motion. Most agree that capturing
facial expressions is often the extra touch that makes a baseball photo great.

As I continue to read countless material filled with tips and tricks, I find that the most
important aspect always seems to either be, at best, given little attention, and at worst,
ignored completely. To consistently be able to take high quality baseball photos, you
must know the game. Many will argue, saying that a good photographer can shoot
anything. I look at this differently. I find that the best photos are those that are taken by
those photographers that have the keenest ability to anticipate the action, and to focus
their efforts on what is about to happen instead of what is happening right now. These
instincts grow stronger and stronger as we become more and more familiar with the game
and its idiosyncrasies.

Aside from the technical aspects of baseball photography, a conversation which is seldom
had, but is just as important, is the significance of the moment itself. In other words, is
an absolutely great shot of the ball leaving the bat of Barry Bonds to become baseball's
all time home-run king a greater baseball photo than one which captures your son's first
game winning home-run in little league leaving his bat? Everyone you talk to will have
their own opinion as it relates to labeling something a great baseball photo.

Here is my definition. If a photo moves you, if it transports you back to a time and a
place that makes you smile and only you know why; If a photo of Tom Seaver in a
Cincinnati Reds uniform takes you back to that very first ballgame with your dad, when
Seaver pitched against those Reds as a New York Met; if a photo stirs in you the same
emotion that this great game has stirred in you, then you have a great baseball photo.

Over the next several weeks, I will be posting what I believe are the best moments
captured on film. As is always the case, many will disagree and have their own very
legitimate opinions. The differing views are engaging and interesting; please feel free to
participate in the journey toward the top 25.

Visit my Baseball Photo Blog

K Harrigan