Lens on the Battle – Portraying Roller Derby’s Raw Energy

This photography project is titled “Lens on the Battle – Portraying Roller Derby’s Raw Energy”. I am a fan and have watched roller derby in Arizona and in Huntington Beach, California. Recently I met a woman, Amy, at a filmmaking networking event, and she is a referee for the local roller derby teams. She gave me the contact information to Derby United, and I contacted them. Isabelle Ringer of Derby United was generous and gave me a media pass to photograph their Roller Derby event on Saturday.

Details of the Shoot

Before I went, I created a shot list and made a plan for the shoot day. The event went from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm with two roller derby bouts (4 teams). I took over 1,000 photos during the four hours. These photos are from the first bout.

I used my Benro monopod for all the shots. I can rotate my camera for landscape or portrait on the monopod. Roller Derby as a fast-action sport, and I experiment with different types of shots. I switch up the aperture and the corresponding shutter speed. It was a bright day, so I stayed at ISO 100.

I did not use burst mode, this would have been great in some instances, but that would have been many more photos to go through. For short periods of time, this may work.

The Bouts

The first bout is a match between the two teams, SoCal Derby Cuttlefish vs. West Coast Derby Knockouts. The roller derby bout is the story – the teams (5 players per team on the track at one time), the players – Jammers – players that can score (one per team and wear the star on their helmet) , the Blockers – they try to prevent the Jammers from scoring (4 per team), the Referees (on skates as well), and the Audience cheering on their favorite team and players.

The Jammer