More Cricket

[Stagecoach]

A few shots taken at the local cricket this past weekend.

Out of curiosity I checked out the shooting distances, me to closest stumps 68 yds and 90 yds to furthest.

All shot with the 80-400mm plus 1.4 TX on a monopod using manual mode with auto ISO and matrix metering which handles the DR of the scene in these harsh lighting conditions well.

No 1


No 2


No 3


No 4


For anyone interested in further images from the match they are here https://fijitime.smugmug.com/Sport/A...27th-Jan-2018/

Suggestions or comments welcome as always.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[William W]

Thanks for the link.

I had a good squizz and it was an enjoyable viewing of your images.

You captured a few shots of wickets tumbling and I do love the Green and Gold Bails.

WW

[Geoff F]

A very difficult subject, Grahame. Can you find better angles?

#1 & #3 are dominated by a wide rear end instead of sporting action. With #2 you have included a couple of distant out of focus people on the left but have lost part of an arm from the more interesting action on the right side of this scene.

#4 is better but from that angle there seems to be little distance between the bowler and batsman; and in all the images from this shooting position the pitch looks rather short.

[Stagecoach]

Nice series.

Thank you John

[Stagecoach]

Thanks for the link.

I had a good squizz and it was an enjoyable viewing of your images.

You captured a few shots of wickets tumbling and I do love the Green and Gold Bails.

WW

Thank you Bill,

This week it was odd bails, the previous week odd stumps, but this is Fiji

[Tronhard]

I think it's really great - the spirit of the game lives on - although, as a Kiwi I'm not sure about the Aussie coloured bails!

[Stagecoach]

A very difficult subject, Grahame. Can you find better angles?

I have experimented with different angles Geoff and like this view as it gives the best chance of getting a few recognisable people in shot plus close up of the action. Moving around with the wicket almost parallel to me is good for individual shots of bowler/batsman but then if you include both wickets the players become smaller and less interesting.

#1 & #3 are dominated by a wide rear end instead of sporting action.

There's always the question of what we consider sporting action, suspense, waiting or that magic moment the bails fly in the air. I try to get a variety that cater for both what I prefer and what I hope the players like.

With #2 you have included a couple of distant out of focus people on the left but have lost part of an arm from the more interesting action on the right side of this scene.

This shows the difficulty of shooting cricket, there's nothing I could do about the two in the back that are OOF and if I had of framed to get the batsman's arm in shot on the right it would have put the ball and bowlers hand way to the left or missed it.

#4 is better but from that angle there seems to be little distance between the bowler and batsman; and in all the images from this shooting position the pitch looks rather short.

This one's an example of what happens when you are lucky enough to have a wicket keeper that keeps out of the line of fire

[Tronhard]

I think cricket is both a curse and a blessing for the photographer. Unlike baseball for example, the batsmen keep swapping ends at each over and the whole field is reconfigured. The good news is that half the time you are facing the batsman and the other half the bowler.

And you are right about the umpire... they kept getting in my own shots no matter how much I moved.

I like you images and they really portray the action really well.

[Stagecoach]

I think it's really great - the spirit of the game lives on - although, as a Kiwi I'm not sure about the Aussie coloured bails!

Cricket certainly seems to be getting more popular here but luckily spectators are few giving me easy access to any shooting position I wish.

I think cricket is both a curse and a blessing for the photographer. Unlike baseball for example, the batsmen keep swapping ends at each over and the whole field is reconfigured. The good news is that half the time you are facing the batsman and the other half the bowler.

And you are right about the umpire... they kept getting in my own shots no matter how much I moved.

And not forgetting the fielders that suddenly move into your line of sight and the left and right handed batsmen.

I like you images and they really portray the action really well.

Thank you, hopefully I'll get a chance to collect some more this coming weekend if the rain holds off.

[Tronhard]

Cricket, for those who have not grown up with it, is an acquired taste - especially the five-day matches that can end in a draw. I recall Robin Williams described cricket as "Base Ball on Valium"