May 10, 2011 0
Photos from Elite MMA at the Blake Hotel Charlotte, NC, Saturday May 7th
This weekend I had the opportunity to shoot two martial arts events this weekend in Charlotte, NC for Evolution Fight Academy out of High Point, NC. The fighters from EFA did really well. We had two fighters in the Hayastan Grappling Challenege, adult no-gi and children’s gi and no-gi. We placed second in adult and two firsts in children’s. Later that night, we had two fighters win their fights in the Elite CCF. Cliff Thompson who won by knockout early on in the fight is now 4-0 and ranked #5 in NC/SC and fighting for the Elite CCF heavyweight title in August of this year.
It was a long day shooting this event since we had grappling early in the day and then the fights late at night but it was well worth it for the shots I got. I still have another 500 photos to go through and I may be able to compile some stop action animation from the shots. For now, take a look at my Flickr set for some of the best shots from the evening MMA fights.
fighting for EFA out of High Point, NC
Shooting these fights can be a bit challenging depending on the lighting, how close to the cage I have access to, and if flash is allowed or not. I’ve burned through 4 AA batteries in an hour in my flash mount using a continuous shutter. Often I’m lucky that the people running the show are courteous enough to let me have ring/cage side access to get the best shots possible. My recently obtained 55mm lens is also a godsend. I don’t exactly shoot the way other photographers do, and I don’t think I will. I’m looking forward to watching my shots improve over time.
In other news, the ZeroDataStress site is going live today, despite GoDaddy’s attempts to thwart our launch. I’m also starting a few new sites this week and finishing up the site for EFA. It’s incredible how busy you can stay if you try. I’m going to try to stay more regular with these updates as well. I’m sort of in the process of developing myself as a designer and defining the way I do business. Adaptation is important in this economy. I know what I want to do, I’m just trying to figure out the best (and most profitable) way to go about doing it for me and my clients.