Your Weekly Sports - Rugby attempt

[Stagecoach]

Finally got my first chance to have a go at some rugby today and boy is it hard

As someone that does not really follow rugby although living in a rugby mad country I sure found it a challenge to point my lens where the action was, but got a few I'm pleased with. The light was awful but I decided to stick with the same position to assess the results I could achieve.

All these are quickly PPd from JPEGS, I'm coming to the conclusion that as long as the camera settings are right there's little work worth doing unless you have an exceptional shot.

No 1


No 2


No 3


No 4


No 5


Some may remember that a while ago I had a go at shooting the marathon here and with some panic learning, some advice from CiC members and a lot of effort I produced some 300 images that were well received over here. Today I have been contacted by the organisers of this years event who wish to use my images in their advertising and sponsorship campaign for this years event which hopefully will be even bigger.

Grahame

[marlunn]

good images Grahame, for me #1 is the killer shot - the expresions and the dynamics capture the feel and energy of the sport well.

Well done on the marathon shots - good to be recognised that way.

[John 2]

No these are not easy and I am jealous of the result. I sometimes shoot my local teams games without achieving the interest you have achieved here (probably because unlike you, I end up being more interested in the game than the camera). Well captured shots Grahame.

[JamesScott86]

Excellent captures - well taken.

[Stagecoach]

good images Grahame, for me #1 is the killer shot - the expresions and the dynamics capture the feel and energy of the sport well.

Well done on the marathon shots - good to be recognised that way.

Thanks Mark, I also like the action of No 1 but feel it needs more people in the scene. No 2 was my favourite

[Stagecoach]

No these are not easy and I am jealous of the result. I sometimes shoot my local teams games without achieving the interest you have achieved here (probably because unlike you, I end up being more interested in the game than the camera). Well captured shots Grahame.

I can imagine it's quite easy to get overtaken by the game rather than looking for 'the' shot John, but I never had that problem because I didn't know who was playing other than by reading the jerseys

[Stagecoach]

Excellent captures - well taken.

Thank you James.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, there are always little things (someone partially cropped, oddity in the background) that make a shot worthy of further editing. Also, you can have some amusing juxtapositions.

[deetheturk]

Great action shots Grahame, the facial expressions are superb

Congrats on your Marathon shots getting the recognition they deserve mate, well done you

Cheers David

[bnnrcn]

Congratulations Grahame Very nice series, I like the expressions.

[Stagecoach]

Nice series, there are always little things (someone partially cropped, oddity in the background) that make a shot worthy of further editing. Also, you can have some amusing juxtapositions.

Thanks John, tidying up other than by cropping is a bit time consuming unless you really have a shot worth it.

[Stagecoach]

Great action shots Grahame, the facial expressions are superb

Congrats on your Marathon shots getting the recognition they deserve mate, well done you

Cheers David

Thanks David, I'll spend some more time trying to improve on the expressions before I move on to the next sport

Cheers, Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Congratulations Grahame Very nice series, I like the expressions.

Thanks Binnur, No 1 rule I have read is to ensure the face and expression is there in any sport photograph, not always so easy to grab

[IzzieK]

Awwww....I like #4 shot best of all -- the expression of the rest of the players to move away from the guy who is holding the ball whose leg is up its aerial position says it all... I wonder if this guy if he has a protection cap on? No need to respond, the guy in #5 is making sure some of them do...

Seriously...I hope you get paid doing the shots for the advertising and sponsorship campaigns. When I was doing advertising and looking for sponsors to our event, we generated quite a bit of moolah to pay for all our expenses and more...being published is one thing but getting paid for your work is more gratifying. Keep all the copyrights to your shot....and make sure you read the contract well so you do not get screwed. Congratulations...

[Donald]

Today I have been contacted by the organisers of this years event who wish to use my images in their advertising and sponsorship campaign for this years event

That's wonderful, Grahame. Well done.

Sports photography is indeed a specialist art. I think you need to be doing it for a while to get really comfortable. Practice, practice, practice. However, these are good. Captures the energy of the game.

[Stagecoach]

Izzie and Donald,

Thanks for commenting on the rugby, it's a new area for me presenting new challenges that add to the fun of photography.

As for the marathon shots from last year and the out of the blue contact about using them for this years event things have moved fast !

I have just received the 8 page draft of the sponsorship document for this years event of which all the images are mine. In total there are some 14 images but I almost fell off my chair when I got to page 7 and saw a picture of a double page spread in Fiji Airways in flight magazine containing two of my images, I had totally forgotten this was a possibility. The lead image being one that almost went into the trash bin for not being as sharp as it should have been

What I found very interesting also was how someone with an artistic 'flair' has cropped and sized things to give them such impact.

Izzie, I made a concious decision with the marathon project that I would make no charge for the use of my images, crediting my name as photographer is all I require if they are used for promotion/advertising. I almost see it as a social responsibility in that it is a way I can give something back to the community for which the event assists charity and the promotion of Fiji.

I've now got my first deadline to meet, 14 images to PP by Wednesday evening

Grahame

[IzzieK]

Congratulations again for a job well done!!! -- Both in your attitude and the pictures...Keep at it...It is a pleasure for me knowing you...what about others here in the forum too? I bet they are proud of you equally as well while looking at your images in tourist magazines....