Football - Port Vale v Birmingham City (Pontins League)

A few shots from todays Pontins League match between Port Vale and Birmingham city at Vale Park. I was looking forward to trying out my new Sigma 120-300mm in daylight only to be confronted with what at times was fog of the pea soup variety.

The lens was attached to a 350d, all comments and feedback gratefully received.
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looks like your whitebalance was all over the place... use the colder whitebalance and it should look quite nice

small world mate. its me chris as you said the weather was as bad as iv shot in and my lens kept whiting out as it tryed to find focus in the fog on my pre photoshop pics the shots shot at iso 1600 and with the fog the noise is that bad i was lucky to get eny good pics from the buntch at all. thank god for neat image id be lost without it. as for your wb been off that could be because of the rapid change in weather i use auto wb and let the camera do the work all in all your pics are fine but im sure you are like me and want to get better and better so that comes down to more cold fogy nights down the vale cant wate see you soon.





chris

I wasn't entirely sure what to do about the WB to be honest. To start with I had it set to overcast which was fine but in the second half when the floodlights came on there was still quite a bit of daylight so it was a mixture of daylight and artificial light and I didn't really know when the best time was to change it. I'm guessing thats when I should have gone to auto.

Good to see you Chris both last night and on here, we should invite Gerard (official PVFC snapper) over as well.

Just using auto levels in photoshop adds a bit of umph to those pictures.. the composition, cropping and timing is spot on.. but needs a touch of processing in a decent art package.. makes the world of difference

I agree with KIPAX, the composition and cropping are good.

I really want to get out and shoot something over the christmas break.

Darren

DarrenL wrote in post #2424679
I really want to get out and shoot something over the christmas break.

A Turkey springs to mind..


Sorry


.

That is appalling!!

Actually there is a decent idea in that, if all else fails and I don't get any of the boxing day football (Chester or Crewe) then I am off to a pheasant shoot that is going on which should be interesting and fun.

Not sure whether technically it counts as a sport but nevermind!

Anyway, back onto topic.......

The pics here are framed and timed very well indeed - I agree on the levels/curves side of things from KIPAX - have a play with those and you may find that it gives the pics a bit of a lift.

Good work though.

I at a Brighton game on boxing day with the old man but I am not taking the camera as I want to enjoy the game.

Darren

Looks very grim indeed... Great effort to get any images at all by the looks of it!

Don't envy you shooting at Vale Park in the gloom. On my one and only visit in a photographic capacity I seem to remember that the floodlights weren't up to much, so it's quite a challenge.

Look forward to seeing some more of your work.

---- Gavin

DarrenL wrote in post #2424882
I at a Brighton game on boxing day with the old man but I am not taking the camera as I want to enjoy the game.

Darren

Should be an excellent game... a bit of a six-pointer!

I have Brighton on my hit-list for this season, but doesn't look like there are many (any) midweek opportunities. I'll be hoping for a draw in the FA Cup against West Ham. Are you making the trip up to Upton Park Darren?

---- Gavin

Gavin,

Brighton do play at home (Withdean Stadium) on weekdays but they do not have any from now until the end of the season. I'd guess this is because of the stadium. Another reason why we need a new one But I won't go into that!!

I've not shot any of the Brighton games home or away as I don't have my licence so I've not approached the club. It is my plan to try and obtain the licence I need this season and then shoot next season. It's part of my long term plan My dad and I used to be season ticket holders at the original stadium (Goldstone Ground) for years but when they moved to Gillingham, we (like many others) could not afford the travelling to and from, as well as the season ticket. I've still got my 35mm pictures from when the stadium closed it's gates in 1997. I still remember laying on the ground taking pictures of the march through Brighton. I think I was 14.

I've love to go to Upton Park but I am at the NIA on the 7th and I've already pushed my girlfriend twice and it's not even 2007 yet. If I was making more than a few prints here and there she would not mind but I not even breaking even at the moment. I don't want to go bust before I start. It appears therer is a lot of networking to do when you start.

Darren

Cheers chaps thanks for the comments in particular Mr Kipax for the autolevels top tip! I'd already tweaked the levels of 1 & 5 using my own particular brand of hamfistedness the results of which can be viewed above but autolevels really seemed to do the job, although #1 would need further tweaking as the original image is very grey from the fog.

I'll go and try the others now.

lol that only time i went there it was a blizzard, and very cold

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JurekB wrote in post #2421799
A few shots from todays Pontins League match between Port Vale and Birmingham city at Vale Park. I was looking forward to trying out my new Sigma 120-300mm in daylight only to be confronted with what at times was fog of the pea soup variety.

The lens was attached to a 350d, all comments and feedback gratefully received.

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Thanks for looking.

Firstly, this is my first post as I have only recently joined this site.

Some good pics mate in difficult weather.

I recently upgraded to a 30d and also have only recently got into football photography but I am only shooting at iFA league level.

Anyway, I have had a play with you pic using my Canon Digital Photo Professional software. I am still getting familiar with the software. I am not sure if I have improved or not as Im using a CRT monitor at the moment which I dont find the best.

I would welcome opinions on my edit: