The Lakota East Gymnastics Invitational was almost a week ago and I still agonize over the images I did not make.  Gymnastics was never a sport I attempted or watched growing up so I struggle photographing it.  At the Invite I only had a few schools to photograph so I spent a lot of time watching the other gymnasts perform when I had some down time.  It helped some but I still have a long way to go before I consider myself great at gymnastics.  I did get what the schools needed but I would love to truly show how amazing these athletes are in their sport.  Next year I think I will find out practice times and go to a few just to watch and learn.  Here are a few of the ones I liked from the event, all available through the Game Proofs link above.

Wanted to get a few detailed images.  Getting ready for the bars.

Adding more powder to the upper bar.

Performing on the beam.

End of floor performance.

More beam.

My limited experience photographing gymnastics + low light + crappy backgrounds = okay images.  While mostly happy with my results there were so many images that I threw out because I hated the background or because of the low light you could barely see the athletes face.  There was a wrestling match in the lower level of the LE gym so the meet was being held in the practice gym and the upper level behind the stands.  The practice gym was nicely lit but only the vault was in there.  The upper gym had nets hanging everywhere for baseball/softball practices which were driving me crazy.  Next year I will have to make it a point to get to a meet that is held in the lower gym.  That will definitely give me more angles to work with and hopefully better backgrounds.  Here are some images from the night.

The coach watches on.

I like how the team watches their teammate perform her floor routine.

Very nice move on the beam.