Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/400 sec, f/5, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Clash of Titans
my brother Alan pitches to my brother-in-law Marty

Trying to get back into the swing of a normal routine after returning home to Kyoto from a three-week family vacation, I'm starting to look at more of the photos I took during the trip.

Half of the trip was spent in Bellingham Washington (near Vancouver) at my sister Marci's place — it's her son Josh featured in “Slice of Americana: Anthony’s Cousin is Bat Boy at a Local Baseball Game” — with our brothers Mike and Alan (and their families) later joining us so that all of Anthony's American cousins were together for the first time in four years.

I'm in good shape for the first time in many years, though I was never athletic to begin with, so I was excited to give it a shot when the opportunity came to go hit some baseballs. I think I last tried baseball when I was in second-grade little league, where I never got a hit during a game.

We had only a little-league kid's bat, so that made it somewhat of a challenge, but we were all able to hit well and especially for me, being my first time in 40 years and all, it felt supremely satisfying to do so.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/400 sec, f/5, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Marty Crushes One

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 170mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mike's Pitching Form

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fruit of Alan's Hustle

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready For Mike's At-Bat

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 116mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Little-League Bat
big-league hit

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Good Luck With That

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 130mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Playing Deeper

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 80mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Crusher
Alan, who played adult softball for many years, knows his way around a bat

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sadly
lacking the requisite beers that should accompany the day's efforts

My brother Alan may know his way around a baseball diamond, but despite giving it a good try, wasn't so hot his first time with a Nikon D4 and a 70-200m f/2.8 zoom, so there aren't too many pictures of me....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 80mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Focusing on the Ball
at least one of us is
photo by Alan Friedl

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Imminent Contact
photo by Alan Friedl

It was great fun, and even with the tiny kid's bat we all got shots out near the 300-foot wall of the little-league park. Marty had the most difficult time of it because he didn't have the benefit of him pitching to himself (he's the best pitcher among us), so he had to make do with the less-than-stellar pitching of us brothers.

I hope we can try again next year with a big heavy adult bat.