# Season Ending Injury



## MT Stringer (May 21, 2004)

At least it was for me.

I was shooting the TAPPS State Softball Championship games this past weekend. In the second game of the six I was scheduled to shoot, I got hit by a foul ball. It was on me in an instant. One of the hardest hit softballs I have seen. It happened so fast, I didn't have a chance to move more than a couple of inches.

The ball hit the second finger on my right hand causing a laceration on top of it. That's putting it lightly! That finger was gripping my camera and absorbed the full brunt of the ball. It also hit the index finger which resulted in a fracture on the end of the bone. So, I spent 5 hours Thursday evening at the Hilcrest Baptist Hospital ER in Waco while they x-rayed and checked out my injuries. One splint and a little bandage later, they sent me on my way. Today I went to a hand specialist and he said no surgery is needed, but changed the splint to a half finger type. The laceration has started healing (no stitches were required) and the swelling has gone down some on my index finger.

So, for now, I am left handed. That is not easy. I don't see how you lefties make it through life! 

Below is the last four images on my memory card. You can re live the last second of my game (at 10 frames per second).

Pic 1)









Pic 2)









Pic 3)









Pic 4)


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## BretE (Jan 24, 2008)

Sorry to hear that MT....hope all heals well....

Not sure what's worse, you're injury or not going to the TAPPS state tour....My son's BCS team got whacked in the first round. They were ranked #1 in TAPPS so they were caught completely offguard. Ran into a buzzsaw pitcher that shut'em down! My son's the 1st baseman/pitcher who plays one handed and he was crushed to say the least....Anyway, good luck and get back out there asap!


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Sorry to hear that Mikey.


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## stargazer (May 24, 2004)

Dang Mike, glad you are on the mend. Man I bet that was painful.
Good the finger saved the camera...That could have been really bad, Bum finger and broken camera....


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## Arlon (Feb 8, 2005)

Nice shots! Glad it was only a finger!


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## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

I think she was aimin' at ya!


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## dicklaxt (Jun 2, 2005)

If you would have kept the ball in focus it probably would not have happened,,smile,hey someone has to be playful and happy......

Sorry about the injuries tho, how did the camera do thru all of this?

dick


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Sorry to hear that and hope you heal quick. How did the camera take the shock of the hit?


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## MT Stringer (May 21, 2004)

The camera appears to be OK. It powers on and off OK. It's kinda hard to test it much with just one hand. I have a little while to check it out. I am thinking about sending it in to CPS for a clean and check.


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## sandybottom (Jun 1, 2005)

Gosh, that's terrible. Hope you have a quick recovery. Meanwhile I dug this up for you.


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## MT Stringer (May 21, 2004)

You can't hold a good man down. Friday and saturday I operated a remote mounted camera aimed at home plate. I was hoping to capture a few plays at the plate. I don't think I actually captured a play but came close with a missed tag on one play. But I did catch a burst sequence of a catcher catching a bunt pop up and throwing to first for a double play. Hoping the parents buy a couple of those. I gave them a business card.

My shooting buddy caught this shot of me working on my 7D/70-200 f/2.8 remote. I used a wireless transmitter so I could operate it from the air conditioned press box! 

Mike


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

It looks like your back at it anyway. When I read your first post, I thought about some remote control or at least a remote release. Wow, wtg!...I know how easy it is to try to do anything with those clumsy finger splints on. ....But, there's just something about air condition and remote control that has a nice ring about it. lol. ...Hope you heal fast and G-Luck,,,Jim


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## MT Stringer (May 21, 2004)

Here is a *link* to the Wireless Remote I used. With the camera mounted on a handrail behind and above the first base dugout, I triggered it from inside the air conditioned press box. I have also used it to trigger a camera mounted under and behind the basket in a high school gym. It triggered from the far end of the court as long as I had the transmitter antennae extended.

I could see others finding this remote usefull to trigger a camera set up to shoot a bird house or nest or whatever while you are a safe distance away. I got mine off of ebay. Be sure and get the model that fits your camera. Mine fits the 40D, 7D and 1D (three pins). The Rebel cameras use a different connector as does the Nikon bodies.

Note 1: I manually focused the lens on my buddy standing at home plate. Then I used a piece of gaffers tape to make sure it didn't move. I shot in AV mode with the lens set at f/5 (for greater depth of field). I had to adjust the ISO once during the day as the clouds gave way to bright sunshine. Climbing over the hand rail and working with the camera one handed was the pits!

Note 2: The receiver mounts in the camera hot shoe only for convenience. You could have a speedlight mounted in the hot shoe or a wireless transmitter like the Cybersync or Skyport and let the Phottix receiver just wrap around the lens or tape it to the body. I made sure the plug wouldn't come loose by applying a strip of gaffers tape across the cable and secured it to the body. It worked perfectly. With the camera set to not go to sleep, it was ready to fire every time I pressed the button.


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Dang, sorry to hear that. Those shots are fantastic as well.


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