This is one place that you never tire of visiting. Vitra’s Campus at Weil am Rhein started in 1981 commissioning Nicholas Grimshaw to design two factory buildings, since then they have gathered a unique ensemble of contemporary architecture across the site. BDG’s invitation by Vitra to spend a few days there was something quite special.
For you technical people out there all photographs shot on an Olympus EM1 Mklll with a Leica/Panasonic 8-18mm lens
Another outing to test how the micro four thirds Olympus can measure up to photographing fast moving action, and personally missing sidecar motocross. This was my first opportunity to catch a round of the British Championship this year. This event was round six at staged at Milton Malsor in Northamptonshire, a compact, interesting and accessible track. Previous visits have all been to Canada Heights which is a wonderful woodland setting with lots if elevation, Milton Malsor looks like a good contender for more visits.
For the photographers, I partnered the Olympus EM1 with the 40-150 zoom and 300 f4, both performed better than I expected, excellent focus tracking and lens stabilisation meant no need for a support and made shooting much simpler allowing me to test out a wide range of angles and approaches.
Shutter speeds between 1/1600-1/2000 to capture the action and 1/40 for the panning shots. I also set a couple of the custom modes beforehand to easily switch between shooting styles whilst at the track, I recommend this so as not to miss shots
After a few races to check the best vantage points, I found on almost all locations a lower viewpoint* offered the best approach and the opportunity to get level with the sidecar passengers eyes. The abundance of wild grasses and flowers provided a further element of interest to the foreground.
* with any fast moving sports, make sure your shooting position is safe and only ever one knee on the ground.
The extraordinary Red Sands Maunsell Forts in the Thames Estuary have been on my list to visit for some years. These were designed by the civil engineer Guy Maunsell and built during WW2 to help protect London from air raids against enemy aircraft flying up the Thames estuary. On a clear day these are visible from the north Kent coast, and just under an hour away by motor launch. For a little more information try https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/06/16/maunsell-sea-forts/
Very fortunate with the weather, not so many challenges from a photography perspective. My favourite travel lens the 12-100mm Zuiko performed exactly as expected. Not so much need for the image stabilisation due to light levels though welcome to manage the boats pitching in the shots from a distance. A polarising filter was used on all shots.
I’ve owned this lens for a little while and not truly recognised its capabilities, sharing here after 9 months some examples, mostly bare some with the 1.4 2X extenders . Its quite an extraordinary lens, well done Olympus!
This photograph of a squirrel was shot a few days ago and is the equivalent of 1200mm (35mm style) using the 2x extender and stopped down to f10 and shot at 1/400 hand held with just a bean bag for support. I’m more than impressed it can deliver images like this.
For context the shot below this one is from the same vantage point using a 35mm equivalent, with a keen eye you can just make out the squirrel half way up the tree trunk.
My first real venture into shooting cricket, invited to photograph Hornsey CC v’s Winchmore Hill CC in the Middlesex League. A wonderful sunny day, two competitive teams with high scoring batting, not a bad place to start. Still a lot to learn though this probably won’t be the last . A few notes more of interest for fellow photographers at the foot of this page.
For anyone who wants to learn from my excursions here are a few photographers notes.
Preparation as always helps. I didn’t know much about cricket or the ground though a quick look on Google maps allowed me to see the orientation and where it was likely I could shoot from,
I also checked out ‘Behind the camera – by cricket photographer Gareth Copley’ as a nice unassuming set of tips and insights from a professional in this field. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxeVsGjvUxQ
If you just want inspiration try twenty five years of CRICKET photography by Philip Brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8qgdppobjU its a visual masterclass – that took 25 years in the making!
Equipment was mainly my football and rugby ‘go-to’ kit primarily using a Nikon full frame with 300 f2.8 and a x1.4 extender. This proved ideal in terms of length and coverage. Depth of field is a tricky one balancing the ability to isolate your subject though show more interest especially when shooting down the wicket. Focus on constant with back button and shutter speed surprisingly high 1/1200th and more needed to catch the action.
Positioning around the ground was probably my greatest challenge and I moved continuously (though only on change of over) simply to explore, next time hopefully less so. Important aspects for me were, uncluttered backgrounds, capturing the stroke and players face, getting the ball in frame (often at odds with the ideal shot of the stroke), capturing a little of the setting eg club house, and of course catches, run outs and celebrations. Shooting close to the ‘sight screens’ at each end of the wicket demands extreme care as batsmen rely on these to focus
Next time a wide angle especially if there are clouds, and a few more incidentals, spectators and players in the field, as for capturing more incidents that’s just going to be about a little more knowledge of the sport and practice!
Its been a year now since the Huskies took to the ice. In March their ‘elite status’ gave an invitation to the EIHA South Cup to play teams a division or so higher than them. Sadly no supporters at the Palace, and a slightly strange atmosphere where the home crowd certainly add an edge. The six match series ended with a deserved win for Huskies away at MK Thunder. So looking forward to what they can achieve next season!
https://twitter.com/HaringeyHuskies
More photographs from the 2021 EIHA South Cup series are here;
Huskies vs MK Thunder https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVaPCcK
Huskies vs Solent Devils https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUZkGW5
Huskies vs Slough Jets https://flic.kr/s/aHsmURzwei
These photographs are free to use for anyone promoting the Haringey Huskies, please do credit me as photographer. For all other uses please contact me before use
I am including a few technical notes and hints for photographers like me, who have found ice hockey and indoor venues a challenge, and learnt through practice (these are all specific for Alexandra Place though should help at other venues)
Set a white balance for the lighting and venue – this is so important to keep the ice naturally white
Exposure compensation – I normally use +1.0 again to balance the amount of white in the frame.
Check the lighting – at Alexandra Palace it’s definitely 1 stop brighter on one side on the rink
800-1/1000th sec is what you will need to capture the action, slow to 1/500th or less for celebrations and best quality.
Shoot wide open f2.8-3.2 due to shooting through nets and use auto ISO, for most this all means shooting in MANUAL.
Shoot in RAW where you can to help balance the lighting variations in post
If your kit means you are pushing your ISO so high the grain is a problem, consider investing in Topaz DeNoise or similar
A fast 70-200mm lens or similar is my go to, and all you should need to get going
Shooting locations vary so much and always need to be governed by SAFETY especially shooting through nets (the puck can travel as up to 100mph), also respect for the paying supporters, though my experience is a polite request to swap places to get the perfect aspect generally works.
My favourites are (i) 45 degree angle focusing on the goal action though also covering attacks (ii) behind the goal though well to one side (out of the line of stray shots on goal) to capture attacks upfield and goalmouth incidents where you will get the attacking side front on and (iii) directly aligned/perpendicular to the goal for shots of the goal tender and goalmouth action.
I’ve not covered a multitude of other approaches such as panning shots to emphasize the speed etc. As always you will want to capture what is unique to your approach and stands out to best represent your team or subject. Do contact me with any questions
Simply stunning and as original as you might hope for; Eero Saarinen’s landmark 1962 TWA Flight Centre at JFK Airport has been restored and re imaged as a first-class hotel. At the centre of the hotel is Eero Saarinen’s iconic TWA Flight Centre. More than worthy of a visit when you have a few hours spare, or an overnight stay if flying in or out of JFK
More details on the hotel can be found here https://www.twahotel.com/hotel
Taken slightly out of my comfort zone and asked to photograph a friends model railway. This started as an exercise in focus stacking and ended with panning action and a small amount of backdrop/scene replacement. For more detail on the model installation which has an incredible level of detail including hand built stock check out http://instagram.com/stainmore_model_railway/…
Phil Hutchinson 