Last night I again had the privilege of working Miller Lite’s Fight Night at the Tank. I got many incredible pictures of action but have only posted a few for the moment to market to some boxing periodicals. I’ve put a few pictures in the images section for those of you that want to see what I’m working with.
Generally, the undercards were where the excitement was. The first bout, between lightweights Perez and Rivera, showed fantastic promise and came down to an action-packed final fourth round. In the second bout Santa Barbara resident Francisco Santana made his second appearance at the Tank with a sensational knockout of Jesus Alvarado that scared the crowd with its effect. In the third fight notable boxer Malcom Tann outlasted Shaun Ross’s early onslaught and pummelled him out of the match in a third-round TKO. And then the main event began…
Hector Camacho, Jr. certain has gifted talent. Even appearing to be out of shape for a boxer of his frame, his solid defence and excellent hand speed stood him on solid ground going into this fight with Virgil McClendon. However, Camacho was more interested in mugging for the cameras and blowing kisses to the ring girls than fighting. Sitting next to a judge and a referee, I agreed with their constant comments about Camacho’s unbelievable arrogance and laziness. Rarely did he put together solid combinations.
The Camacho fight went a mind-numbing eight rounds and the boxing fans in the house voiced their discontent. I have never heard so many boos in a sporting event before. Yet, as a photographer, Camacho was a dream. His occasional power punches were timed to some internal music to which I had the beat. I could anticipate his punches and capture some great moments. As I continue to go through the pictures, I’ll share some of those shots on this site.
Lessons for me for the next event: Figure out the new flash and overexpose the inter-round shots. Quick switches between full-auto with flash on for ring girls and flash-less aperture-priority for action. f-4.5 for action but stop down to f-5.6 or smaller for posing after fight and open up to f-2.8 for corner shots between rounds. Stick with ISO 800 and never use shutter less than 1/250. f-4.5 provides a safe DOF at this shutter speed but 1/500 will freeze the gloves. f-2.8 will provide sufficent DOF for one person at the far end of the ring.