First Football Frenzy of 2006...

Gavin ,

Thankyou ,Your help is very much appreciated .

Roy

I was about to ask that. Surely the daylight in the Thames Estuary isn't that good, I know it isn't in the Severn Vale.

I've been trying different things to get better quality, so what do you do to get such great results? Or is it simply the camera's and lenses that you have on loan from NASA?

Lordy, my staid old men images just can't be as fun as this! BTW, since you don't handhold the 400mm do you just use a monopod? [I am still working on my remote shooting with Magic Arm question believe it or not!]

As always, excellent work Gavin.

Jim

Great shots! Perfect timing, really in the middle of the action...Makes me miss playing!

Cheers Rick! Many thanks... and good to see a new word added to the dictionary

---- Gavin

Cheers smassey... it was overcast for a change! It can make for more satisfying images with the nice, even, diffused lighting... it could have done with being a stop or so brighter, but you can't have everything

---- Gavin

We don't

---- Gavin

I'd be lying if I said the lenses didn't make a difference... however, it also seems to me that the quality of the light on a cloudy day in the UK can be excellent.

It's not to say that I haven't squeezed the levels very slightly just to restore a little bit of 'ping', but it didn't take much to transform the slightly flat lighting into something rather more 3-dimensional.

---- Gavin

Football's always fun Dwight... err... well nearly always

The 400mm is twice the weight of the 300mm so a monopod is de riguer accessory. It wouldn't be practical to use a tripod for this type of shooting - (i) there simply isn't room on the sidelines and (ii) even with an exotic head it would still be too clumsy to follow the game efficiently.

The rubber foot on the base of one of Manfrotto monopods has just worn out This means I'm now collecting core samples of the pitchside mud inside the tubing... time to dismantle and clean I think!

---- Gavin

gmen wrote:


We don't

---- Gavin

And you shouldn't ... football just makes more sense!

gmen wrote:
Cheers smassey... it was overcast for a change! It can make for more satisfying images with the nice, even, diffused lighting... it could have done with being a stop or so brighter, but you can't have everything

---- Gavin

I agree, Gavin. The few times I have shot soccer/futbol, it was either a bright and sunny late afternoon or at night on a poorly lit field.

What tips do you have for shooting in bright sunlight? I know you like to shoot into the sun, but how do you nail the exposure on every shot?

Nice crisp shooting! This sort of photography is all about understanding the game and anticipating where players are going to move and judging by your shots, you have a good understanding!

Cheers ACDC! Yep, there are some droplets there... might well be sweat thrown up from the impact. For 'heat' vapours, check this one out

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Geez, the "McCann Effect" without the fog machine! Torrid!