“So, what are you guys doing Saturday night?” asked my chiropractor as I was face down on the adjusting table. “Want to go watch lucha libre in Seattle?” Always looking for new date ideas, Vanessa and I met them up there.
It’s a cool venue. There are a couple of restaurants attached to the same courtyard as Bad Jimmy’s Brewing. We had New York style Pizza from Big Mario’s, and Vanessa had some of BJ’s tasty brews.
Prior to the event, I was in touch with the bar and got permission to photograph the event, because how could I not bring my camera? They were super cool, and I was able to get right up to the ring and be close to all the action.
I’ve never shot a ringside any wrestling or boxing match before, so this was a first. In hindsight, it wasn’t that much different than the dojo karate events that I shoot on a regular basis.
In preparation, I read quite a few articles about choosing the best lens for ringside photography, and based upon what I read, I chose a medium range zoom. Specifically, the Canon 28-70mm f/2. From what I read, I was going to want to shoot wide open, high ISO, and keep the shutter speed at least at 1/2000 of a second to freeze the action. It was great advice, and that’s exactly what I did.
Camera wise, I used an EOS R5 and it did wonderfully. Although, the face detection doesn’t work with the luchadores masks. Moreover, it was getting darker and darker outside as the evening progressed. Because of this, I had to switch the autofocus mode to use a specific area, but it seemed to work just fine after that change.
I edited the photos using Capture One Pro, and then added some styling using Exposure.
