A first opportunity to photograph this fast moving game at The Wimbledon Club for UKSportspics.
The Optasia Championship is a key part of the PSA international programme and held over a week during June. An exciting line up of players made for close match play along with a few upsets. As a photographer shooting from a limited vantage point behind the glass back wall; the challenge was mostly anticipation of the play and working to get both the player and ball in the frame.
Very happy to support this cause for Action Medical Research and sponsors BDG architecture + design by photographing them and other riders and on day one of their 311 mile cycle across northern France over 4 days. The team of 10 from BDG raised £20,000 – We followed the team from Epsom to the edge of Portsmouth. Photo credit for the last photo to the talented Bella Bertoni
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For 65 years it has helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of children.
So enjoyed capturing moments for our new client London Playing Fields Foundation both at their playing fields and summer London fund raising social at the Oval. Without their work London would be poorer in sporting facilities for all, and by a long way. Please check out here for more details https://www.lpff.org.uk/
All photographs are the property of London Playing Fields Foundation and UKSportpics, please contact for re-use
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!
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
Maxxis British Sidecarcross, fifth round of the championship was held at Canada Heights Swanley Kent home of Sidcup MCC. This event is something special and my fifth annual visit. The course is elevated with a wide variety of views and a great location for photographers. A few more technical comments and links at the foot of this blog
Shooting sidecarcross doesn’t require lots of kit, these visits were managed with a 70-200 zoom lens with and without a 1.4 converter and a 24-70mm zoom. Some of the most rewarding shots are close-ups on the turns. These require either careful timing or protection for the camera and lens because of the mud churned up by the motorcyle rigs. I try wherever possible to shoot with a ‘planned background’ to illustrate the event or with simply the track as my background, this avoids the visual challenge of fences and course marker tape etc. You can see this isn’t always possible. Events such as these bring families and enthusiasts more to shoot than the racing.
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