Gloucester v Agen Heineken Cup Rugby

[topoxforddoc]

Some more sport without wheels. I took my R9/DMR and 80-200/4 vario into my usual seat in the grandstand at Gloucester today for the Heineken Cup European rugby match between Gloucester and Agen. Sadly Gloucester came away with the silver medal today! Shooting from a fixed position in the stand is always limiting; it would be nice to have a photographer's pass for the touchline, but hey I might get wet n' cold some days! Thanks for your comments.

Charlie

[jmr]

Charlie,

the line-out shot is very dramatic, well timed too.

[michael_boylan]

Agreed. The line-out shot is powerful. I'd be mighty happy to have grabbed this one.

[robsteve]

I agree that the last shot is the best. On the first couple shots it looked like your shutter speed was a bit low. Don't be afraid to shoot the 80-200mm wide open and bump the DMR up to 800iso.

I see quite a few sports shots where peole are shooting stopped down quite a bit to get some depth of field. In most cases when shooting with a telephoto and sports, the shot is either in focus or not. The little extra DOF between f4 and f8 is not going to make much difference. You are always better off going for a higher shutter speed to stop the action.

In the case of the line out shot, you probably fired at the perfect moment when they were at the apex of the jump and the motion would have been almost at a stand still. The lower shutter speed managed to freeze most of the action. Well timed on your part.

[topoxforddoc]

Gents, thanks for the comments and tips. The lineout shots are easy - like all sports, anticipation is the key. Open field shots are a different beast, especially when you're using MF with R9. It's also difficult when you're sitting next to everyone else. It's a bit difficult getting my monopod and 300/2.8 out!

Best wishes,

Charlie