Great stuff, Aaron. Miguel Batista is now my computer desktop wallpaper.
(It replaces the new Jay logo, which was also an Aaron Reynolds creation.)

Aaron, as an occasional photographic dabbler myself, the grandson of a professional photographer and brother-in-law of a photo artist, I would be very (very) interested in hearing all about the rig. Also, what speed of B&W film do you use for something as action-y as baseball?

Aaron, as an occasional photographic dabbler myself, the grandson of a professional photographer and brother-in-law of a photo artist, I would be very (very) interested in hearing all about the rig. Also, what speed of B&W film do you use for something as action-y as baseball?

By the way, Vernon Wells is now my wallpaper (taking the spot temporarily). If anyone else is using Windows and Internet Explorer (shudder... yes, I'm at work) here's how you can get one of these beautiful pics as your desktop background...

Click on the image above you want to use

Click again on the image that pops up in Aaron's Gallery. That will take you to the full-size version.

Now, right-click on that full-size image and choose "Set as Background" from the menu that pops up.

That's it!

Rob (and everyone), just in case you didn't notice, if you click on the "large" image, you get an even larger image (1280x1024 in most cases).

Craig, I was using a Pentax 67 with a Super Takumar 300mm f4 from the late '70s. The camera body itself was manufactured in 1997 or 1998, but is the same design that had been in production since 1969 (with some cosmetic updates in 1990).

I was shooting 120 format Ilford Delta 3200, the fastest film easily available in medium format. I could have easily shot with something slower at the start, but by the eighth inning I was butting my head up against the absence of light and was barely able to shoot at all. Well, barely able to shoot in a way that would make me happy, anyways. ;)

One day I'd like to shoot a day game on a sunny day with the same rig and a slower colour film.

My editorial staff has two photographers on it, guys I supposedly supervise, who quickly learned (1) to not let me touch the cameras; (2) that photographers, not writers, should pick the photos that accompany a story; and (3) if any questions, see #1.

Nice work. Being a good photographer is on my List of Things I Wish I Could Actually Do.

Ahh, what happened to Hinske's right arm and leg ;)

Nice pictures, well done.

I went with Sparky for my desktop. Fantastic stuff NFH. Congrats.

Thanks, Aaron. The Pentax 67 is legendary. Actually, my dad and I both swear by Pentax - he still has his Pentax body and lenses (not professional stuff though, me either!) from the 1960s and early 1970s though he doesn't use them much anymore.

A 300mm f4 is quite a lens. Wow. I can see why you'd need to talk them into renting it!

One day I'd like to shoot a day game on a sunny day with the same rig and a slower colour film.

We'll get you out for an afternoon game soon and hope for the best. Too bad you're busy on Monday! It's calling for sun all day.

Do not torture me with Monday details. ;)

A 300mm for Pentax 67 used to actually be easily available in Toronto, but two rental houses went out of business in the last few years, and the ones that remain are focused pretty firmly on digital and Hasselblad and Mamiya and not much else. It's too bad, but that's the way the market is going.

By the way, if you're shooting with the same vintage rig and a colour film, can I make a request? Can you shoot some Ektachrome or Kodachrome (if it's available in medium format)?

I don't know that Kodachrome is available in medium format anymore. Most of the flavors of Ektachrome are, and I can get that pretty easily. I was a big fan of E200 in medium format, which would probably be plenty fast for a day game on a sunny day.

I love the "old-fashioned" look of the chrome film, it just fits baseball so well. The colours are perfect.

I've been working with bleach-bypassed colour negative film lately, and the process gives you some very '70s looking images, but the downside is that the technique becomes the interesting part of the photograph because it's quite extreme.

Did anyone else notice that Batista has his name embroidered on his shoes?

Is that his shoe? I thought it was his socks.

Actually, his shoes I could understand.

Looks alot like his sock to me. I'm guessing this was the millionaire's upgrade from having mom keep track of your socks using perminent marker.

Those pictures are incredible, I love the earlier ones too. I put the one of the batrack as my desktop. They all look very classically done.

Wow. Nice work, Aaron.

Thanks for the kinds words, everybody.