P & P - Assignment 2 - People and Activity (with Tutor Feedback)

Assignment Brief

The object of this assignment is to plan and execute a set of images of people in some form of meaningful activity.

I should produce a set of approximately 10 final selected images. The brief specifically says concentrate on two aspects:

• Telling moments
• Explaining the activity

I will detail my tutors feedback in red and my responses in green

Overall Comments

You have been faced with the challenges that sports photography poses and you did not have the sufficient equipment to compete with professional sports photographers. You made several good images and although some have technical problems, you have recognized them and reflected on them very well in your learning log.

Although you have concentrated on improving your sports photography skills the four most interesting images are the images 1,7,8 and 10 that wouldn’t necessarily fall in to that category. They have more of a documentary photography quality to them since the car park, houses, church and the bystanders convey a lot more about the context (the village, the people that live in it, their background etc.) then the game itself. These elements give these images an additional quality and deals with a wider subject than just sports photography.

Thank-you. I had no experience of sports photography so I used this as an opportunity to gain some insight both through research and also with practical experience. I learnt so much from starting street photography for the first time I thought I would try this as part of this assignment

Assignment Ideas and Research

As part of my photography studies I have come across multiple genres of photography. Each at times whilst interesting has been, until the moment I enter it, an unknown and each highlight my inexperience in photography. However each new genre gives me more and more interest, challenge and a desire to learn more. Participating in these for the first time takes me out of a comfort zone and into a new challenge. As a younger man I embraced and enjoyed many sports almost reaching semi-pro in football but multiple injuries prevented me from participating at the higher levels.

As a non participant these days I enjoy watching many sports. I have found that TV coverage of sports is excellent these days but it cannot and does not in my opinion reflect the true pace at which sports are played at a professional level. If anyone has been to a live professional field sport and watched close to the field touchline they will instantly see a feel a different intensity and speed.

Stills of frozen sporting activities or moments can in a single image convey so much, these can be telling moments in the activity and can not only explain the activity but can often convey an emotion from the activity. I think these types of images, whether individual or as part of a set when captured well can become distinctive and in some cases iconic. As I look for ideas and examples I have performed some investigations of photographers who have captured iconic sporting moments.

Neil Leifer

Neil Leifer’s aerial image of Ali knocking out Cleveland Williams in a heavyweight title defence in 14/11/1966 is an amazing image. Not only is the image taken from an unusual position, the image explains the story up until this point so well. Whilst we see the boxing referee giving Williams the 10 second count, looking at Ali in the corner with his back turned celebrating leaves the viewer in no doubt the contest is over. Cleveland’s prone body on the floor with hands above his head almost indicates surrender. The ring (though it’s square) and boxing gloves explain the sport if any are in doubt.

Heinz Kluetmeier

Kluetmeir captures a moment in time as swimmer Michael Phelps out touches 2^nd placed Miloras Cavic by 0.01 seconds to win what was one of eight gold medals on 26/8/2008 at the Olympics. The image shows how at times the difference between success and failure at the top sporting levels can be so small. The image captures Cavic in almost desperation stretching to mark his completion of the distance. Like the image above the position of the camera is unusual as these scenes are normally seen from above. Like the very small difference between the swimmers, so is the moment for which to capture this image:

Robert Beck

In this image Brandi Chastain is captured celebrating scoring the winning penalty in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final on 10/7/2014. Beck has captured the emotions of Chastain and also those of her team mates running toward her to offer their congratulations and joining in what at this moment was her own celebration. The image caused some disdain in certain quarters and whilst proving how much an event can mean; her celebrating in what could be seen as copying a man’s football goal scoring celebration the view of her bra leaves no doubt it’s a female celebrating the goal. My personal view here is that having made this historic and successful moment the celebration is clearly not planned and is instantaneous. No- one can be left in any doubt as to how much this meant to her.

Associated Press

No photographer appears to have received the credit for this image of Maxwell Fornah and Victor Musa. This image actually brought tears to my eyes and proves how an image can bring out emotions in the viewer. They are both members of the Single Amputee Sports Club of Sierra Leone. The image contains dynamic movement, concentration and determination. Few people before seeing this image or witness others like these two gentleman engaged so actively would not believe how people of disabilities can participate in a sport in such a committed manner. Their injuries are likely the result of the brutal civil ware in Sierra Leone. The image was taken 6/4/2006. The ball explains the activity they are participating in.

I’ve chosen to include these images in my assignment as inspiration and their variety to help detail the skills of the photographer’s involved. These images do highlight the assignment brief in terms of telling moments and explain each activity with the image.

I’ve decided at as ex footballer myself I will photograph a local football match within my village and look to capture, if I can some, telling moments. Learning as I have discovered often involves making mistakes. Making mistakes is something I have become much more accepting of as each allows me through self critique to learn from them and grow stronger in my photography.

The assignment brief says to concentrate on 2 aspects:

-       Telling moments

-       Explaining an activity, through viewpoint, framing and timing

The 2014 World Cup allowed photographers to capture some footballers with strange faces, with great framing and timing. I’ve exampled a few below:

My initial plan was to create a set of images including action moments and facial expression as I had wanted to take a risk with my photography. However based on my equipment, my longest lens a 80-200mm f/2.8 I discovered from my research and previous use of it would not get my the types of facial expression images above. I did research the equipment the professionals sports photographers use

Jerry Lodriguss details some good information regarding equipment for sports photography:

http://www.astropix.com/SPORTSPIX/NSC/TIPS07.HTM

He mentions equipment varying between amateur enthusiast and professional and as anyone involved with photography knows that the top of the range equipment is very expensive.

I wont be buying any more equipment but will select the best and most appropriate of what I have which is a fast telephoto zoom 80-200 f/2.8 and a full frame camera with motor drive. This won’t get me as close to the action that the equipment the pros would use but I am hopeful of capturing images that met the brief.

8 tips I’ve found for sports photography I have found and summarised below:

http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/8-tips-for-taking-sports-photos-like-a-pro--photo-296

1. Prepare to use high ISO in order to obtain a shutter speed of around 1/1000 second to “stop” the action
2. Try something different, angles backgrounds etc. The first 2 images in my research are good examples but clearly too extreme for me. However the thought will remain
3. Don’t forget your surroundings. Capture the spirit of the event and give it context
4. Be prepared with an equipment bag or belt. A change in weather and no cloth or protective plastic for your equipment could spoil your day
5. Long glass goes a long way. That’s true no doubt but fast long glass is well beyond my financial means. A mid telephoto zoom that reaches up to 200mm should still allow me to make some good images
6. Don’t Chimp. Good opportunities can be lost looking at what you have taken on the back of the camera. This means for me taking some test shots on location prior to the event starting to help judge light and exposure needs. I need to be mindful that afternoon sports will have failing light
7. Use a slow shutter speed. I recall from TAOP exercise involving slow shutter speeds but panning on the subject can add energy to images
8. Avoid using flash. Not sure the range of my flash would reach far enough but anyway its distracting

Use of AF-C, continuous-servo auto focus will me obtain focus of moving subjects pressing the shutter half down to set the focus lock. I will follow my normal workflow, detailed in Assignment 1 and developed and documented as part of DPP, my previous module, and will set my camera focus to AF-C.

I found a very interesting article written by sports photographer Sam Furlong. In this article explains local matches are a good way to learn and also how competitive professional football photography is and how to work you way into this genre.

I’ve detailed the link below and I would recommend anyone to read this to obtain a brief and very helpful insight:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/how-to-take-photographs-at-a-football-game-12346 

One key element Sam mentions is that he takes 3 cameras each with a different lens:

 - 400mm f/2.8 lens

 - 300mm f/2.8 lens

 - 70-210mm f/2.8 lens

The common factor here is that these are fast lenses at f/2.8 which for Saturday afternoon football, especially this time of year is key due to the quickly declining light and the desire to obtain a fast aperture to freeze moments and also isolate a player or players.

I can tell straight away that I will have trouble with a maximum zoom of 200mm so I will instead focus on capturing key moments and allow my images to tell a story.

I’ve researched fixtures and waited for the North Gloucester League 2 match between Lydbrook Athletic A and v Ruardean United league match as both are very close neighbours just a few miles apart and that this will be a competitive match.

Watch the whole game I’ve been surprised to find I’ve taken over 440 images. Using continuous server with rapid shutter allowed me to try and predict action shots and help increase the chances that I could capture key moments in the action. Split seconds separate this and often the ball is required to give context to an image.

I continue to use my workflows as detailed in assignment 1 developed as part of module DPP.

Images that I want to capture are the start and end of the game to signify the start and finish of the story. I won’t to capture any goals that occur, celebrations, near misses and most importantly competitive and key action moments.

With 440 images with a brief of selecting just 10 images its clear I have a challenge. I had already planned on having the kick-off, and hand shakes at the end of the game to start and finish the story. With images of the 2 goals plus an image of an incident between players that leaves me selecting 5 from the remainder 400 +

Sam Furlong has been taken images of football matches for 27 years says he needs to get 70 good ones of which he will send 40 to the editor of the Hartlepool sports paper and he knows they will select 10 of these.

I was able to reduce the 400 images down to about 50 quite easily, based on out of focus, shots taken anticipating something that didn’t happen or where I’ve shot multiple images in quick succession and chosen the best of that burst.

With these final 50 images and with the score being a draw I’ve tried to balance the image selection and chosen images that reflect the competitive but fair nature of the match.

I’ve then selected 15 of what I feel are the best images and in my mind identified the 5 I wish to select to make up the final 10 for the assignment. I’ve given myself 1 hour away from the images and then came back with fresh eyes and mind. I made one change.

These final 10 images are identified below with accompany explanation and critique or observations.

Image 1

The start of the match, the captains shake hands, the linesmen looks on. In mid February the light is variable and hard to predict. A 2.30 pm kick-off and already the sun is getting low as the long shadows confirm. This is how the match starts. The players are back lit and this can be seen in the players’ hair being almost rim lit. I’m struggling with high contrast between the light grass of the pitch and the dark elements of the players’ kits, and the sun reflecting off the damp pitch. I chose this image as the players were shaking hands as this would be in later contrast to competitive football. I did also capture the coin toss, and the kick-off but I felt this signified the start of the match better.

However whilst this image is important for telling a story and showing a start with newspaper space at a premium it would not make the back pages of a newspaper

Tutor: Image 1 is well composed. I like how there are various groups of people and the sporting kit on the right hand side that are well positioned and create a balanced composition with a good sense of perspective. As you already mentioned this image would probably not make the back pages of a newspaper but in terms of a documentary image about Sunday football it is a good image.

Image 2

This image whilst demonstrating competitiveness also demonstrates a key challenge – that is obtaining a sharp image. The two players are nicely isolated but though using a single focus point and trying to track the players my focus is slightly off.

Additionally would I be submitting this image to a newspaper I would likely clone stamp out the images in the top of the image and consider lightening the faces slightly for more detail. The camera has caught this but with the sun behind and matrix metering its darkened them slightly.

Tutor: Image 2 is a good action shot and you isolated the subjects very well. Unfortunately the focus is off though.

Thanks. I recognise my focus is out and wanted to include this to reflect on how difficult it can be tracking the action and getting a sharp focus. This was first half and I was building up my experience and learnings very quick even in just 1 game

Image 3

Sam Furlong mentions in his article as part of the images in a game he looks to capture he also looks for isolated images that can be used as stock images; perhaps not making the back page of a newspaper but certainly being able to be used within the club match day programme or website.

 Framing and then also the crop in portrait mode I can get a bigger image of the goalkeeper and putting him on the right hand third allows the eye to invent movement right to left as he runs into the ball to kick it. Freeman in his book The Photographer’s Eye mentions triangles and the dynamic this creates. In this image we have the player’s head with eyes focus toward the ball, the player’s right boot as it prepares to strike the ball and the ball itself. Notice also the goalkeeper is leaning back, this allows him to create loft in the ball as he wishes to flight it long and over players heads into the opposition half.

The player’s hat unfortunately shades his face. Careful observers will not he also has sunglasses on. This is because the light is shining into his eyes and has the home team goal keeper the sun will be a well known and understood hazard, especially this time of year when the sun is low mid afternoon. I have using the lasso tool isolated his face and brightened it slightly, see below for the original

Tutor: Image 3 is very well timed and the composition is also good so you can see the dynamics of the goalkeeper’s action. You also did well to lighten up the face of the goalkeeper. You stated well that it might not be for the newspapers but it could be good image for stock photography. Also the sunglasses hint that it is a Sunday league game.

I can see why Sports photographers invest in camera bodies capable of up to 10-11 frames per second shooting in bursts to enable the best selection and help with timing. The key is to maintain accurate focus. A noisy or poorly composed image can be saved in post processing but an unsharp image is a lost one

Image 4

 

As a football fan and as someone who would read the back pages of the Sunday paper looking at the football reports I would always be amazed where images capture players in the air. Live spectators would not always appreciate the height players gain unless the action is frozen and the players captured mid-air. Shooting slightly contre-jour has meant the players have rim lighting.

However an interesting aspect to this image is the players’ shadows beneath them. However I have not managed to get a really sharp image, but I am please with the action shot.

Tutor: Image 4 is a great action shot but unfortunately out of focus. Also the image quality (in terms of pixels) is problematic and hints that it could be a tight crop. It seems that for this image you needed to have a longer lens.

Spot on. I knew the types of images I wanted but just did not have the reach with my lens. As I mentioned in my research the top sports phoptographers are shooting with fast lenses with focal lengths of around 600mm which will cost £1,000's

Image 5

I’ve cropped this image to isolate the players and placed them on a vertical third. The shutter speed has been set by the camera at 1/250 with camera in aperture mode. With less speed in the ball movement this has made for a sharp image. II have successfully used a single focus point and tracked this with shutter release half pressed, the ball clearly in sharp focus. The speed of the ball makes this difficult to do and in most images I am focus tracking on the player nearest the ball.

Tutor: Image no.5 is technically the best since it is very sharp, well exposed and composed. For future shoots on sporting events you should use this image as a point of reference in terms of technical quality.

Thanks. The quality was better as the action was near to the camera and I didn't have to zoom crop the image to fill the frame,  e.g. no need to compensate for the lack of  lensreach. I was pleased with technical quality also. A better action shot of this quality is the standard I would like to achieve. Its a good example to compare against the previous image where I am "over reaching" and needing to zoom crop. 

Image 6

Football can be about defining moments and what ifs. In this image you can see the Lydbrook number 9 with leg pulled back to strike the ball toward the goal but the timely intervention of the Ruardean defender intercepts the ball just in time to prevent an almost certain goal.

I tried several crops here but felt an image displaying the whole of the goal gave the image better context. The ball is blurred through no conscious decision of mine and though still in the first half of the match the light has declined and the camera has set a shutter speed of 1/200, hence the blurred ball. However this does add a dynamic to the image giving energy to a still.

Tutor: I really like the image 6 because of the wide composition with the parking lot I the background. It places the game in to the context of its environment and says a lot about the people and the village etc.

The blurry ball is good since it does add a dramatic element to scene and emphasizes the power of the clearance of the defender. 

I'm pleased you read the tackle as you did as it was indeed a power tackle. There is a definite skill in capturing action, power and energy on sports image stills. I think I may have just brushed on this. I will need to understand / experiment more with shutter speed and ball dynamics and player movement to enable me to consciously do this on purpose. The tacle was well timed and struck the ball first and not the player

Image 7

At half-time, inexperienced in shooting live sport I reviewed my images with zoom crop. Though I had been checking my histogram during the first half I had thought shutter speeds at or greater than 1/200 on a full frame body and max focal length of 200mm was the limit using the rule of thumb that the inverse of the focal length would be the minimum shutter speed e.g.:

50mm = 1/50s
250mm = 1/250s
300mm = 1/300s

This was of course correct but I hadn’t thought had enough about shutter speed to freeze a moving ball. The half-time review suggested a faster shutter speed and as I was already shooting at or near maximum aperture of the lens of f/2.8, increasing the ISO slightly to 320 gave a shutter speed in this image of 1/1250 which was enough to freeze the ball.

A photographer must capture defining moments and here the Ruardean left winger Andrew Raynor on the left shoots and is watching ball as it heads into the net to score the first goal. 1-0 to Ruardean

The backdrop, like the previous image, is unfortunate especially the blue chimney in the background. However for people following these teams or league should this image.

Tutor: You made a very good analysis of the technical issues with image 7. It is very important to be able to adapt to the changes of conditions that can occur while on a shoot and adjust your strategy accordingly.

You also caught the decisive moment when the goal was scored and each player is depicted in a very dynamically (while in movement).

Again, thank you for your comments about my analysis. Self critique and understand what is needed to improve images and skills I feel is key to my development. this enables me to learn and move forward. Your words guve me confidence that I'm reading images correctly even if it at this stage I am unable to execute them how I wish. In fairness why should I expect this in my first sports shoot :D

Image 8

This is the Lydbrook equaliser to make the game 1-1. This goal was scored from a direct free kick. I’ve widened the zoom slightly to 120mm and pre-focused with tracking on the defending goal keeper ready for the kick to be taken. This meant I was ready for a goal, or save or a miss.

This image was taken the split second the ball hit the back of the net. The goal keeper appears to be mis-sighted and like the other players in the frame is watching the ball go into the net.

The free kick was scored by Lydbrook’s Josh Wallis

Tutor Image 8 is not as dynamic as the image 6 and 7 but I like the church in the background for the same reasons as I explained for the previous images.

I agree its not dynamic but it almost captures the softness of the goal which would have been seen had it been videoed. The defensive wall is out of shot as I was anticipate a goal / near miss / save etc so focused on the goal. The wall was set up and the attacker curled the ball around the wall. You can see the in all players in shot they have frozen, even the keeper

 Image 9

No football match is ever without incident and here the Lydbrook defender intervenes between Ruardean striker and Lydbrook goalkeeper as the referee watches carefully to ensure the incident doesn’t get worse.

What makes this image is that everyone in the frame except one is watching what is happening.

I started to increase the ISO, here at 640 as the light started to reduce toward the end of the match. This allowed a fast shutter speed of 1/1600 with an aperture set by me at f/3.2.

I could have zoom cropped to isolate the image more, per the image below but I feel its better wider showing all the other players taking an interest in the incident.

Tutor Just as in image 7 and 8 you have captured a telling moment. It is obvious that there is a scuffle on the pitch and except for the one player that is walking away the others attention is firmly fixed on the incident, which also directs the viewer to that part of the image.

Its interesting you notice the one player walking away as you are drawn away from the action to him.  I recall Michael Freeman in the Photographer's eye commenting on this similar aspect.

Image 10

Whilst unlikely to make the back page of the sports paper, the story is now complete as the final whistle is blown and the traditional handshakes confirm the end of the game. The 2 Ruardean in red players top right and left have their heads down signifying they were disappointed in the final score of 1-1. The balance of play suggests that they perhaps had the better of the match but failed to increase their goal tally by the one goal they had.

Again, not having a long lens even with an aperture of f/3.2 I am unable to isolate players from the background

Tutor: Image 10 has a slightly awkward element to it. The players that are shaking hands in front of a very mundane looking house have a slight comical aspect to it. This image is also much more descriptive in a documentary sense than for sports photography.

Yes, nether team seem pleased with a draw, the red team, Ruardean looking more despondent as they should be as they had the greater chances. Perhaps the mundane house also reflects the players moods.  This is an interesting aspect where background / surroundings can emphasise mood and feeling and even  contrast e.g. someone crying at a birthday party

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays

Tutor: The Learning Log/Blog is on the right track except that you need to do some theoretical reading and share your thoughts on it. You have a reading list in your course module that gives you direction on what is relevant at this level of study.

Other than that it is good.

Thanks I have improved the layout following critique at DPP Assessment. I will invest more time in reading course content

Suggested reading/viewing

Tutor: Look at the images of famous sports journalists and think of the angles they used. One great example is the image of Maradona in the 1982 world cup against Belgium by Steve Powell for Getty images.

Apart from the photographers that are mentioned in the course module, look at the work of: John Riddy, Thomas Struth, Lynn Cohen, Candida Hofer and also the earlier work of Andreas Gursky.

Their work on architecture and Interiors will be very interesting for you to research for your next assignment.

Thank you for your good advice

Pointers for the next assignment

Tutor: Look at how the mentioned photographers represented the objects and the spaces that they photographed. Apart from the subjects they chose, note the camera angles, distance to the subjects and lighting conditions in which they shoot in their images. Think of the compositions they make and how they avoided having falling lines in their objects. Also avoid shots with distorted perspective such as you get with fisheye lenses.

Good luck!

Thank your for your guidance. The fisheye lens I have been using is a recent purchase (second hand) and so I have been experimenting. I do like the wide angle of view and also recognise this means I can or should get closer to some objects in the frame to emphasis scale and distance more. I will do some research and formulate some ideas for Assignment 3

Assignment Learning

a) Research the matches, select one for a reason

b)  Prepare for inclement weather, whilst I had a lens / camera cover just in case I’m not sure I would have had the right clothing to photograph the whole match if it was raining hard. It was cold and I had prepared for that as well as checking the weather forecast

c) Take a plastic car mat or something similar. The extra comfort, dry backside could contribute to getting better images

d) Use a fast lens and adjust the ISO as much as will still enable noise free images, I suggest shutter speeds of 1/1000 to be able to freeze images. Of course some images may be worth creating showing some movement with slower shutter speeds to add dynamism and energy to images

e) During pauses in the match look to review histograms and zoom crop on the camera screen to help judge if you are freezing images to the degree wanted

f) Keep one eye to the camera view finder and one on the match. Sounds impossible but I quickly established with my right eye on the viewfinder I could open my normally shut left eye to see what action was happening away from the subject in the view finder. This is key for free kicks where the lens may be point at the goal in anticipation of a goal being scored and a burst of images can be initiated at the right moment.

g) Consider you shooting position. I selected a position at the halfway line on an elevated bank away from main throng of people to obtain unobstructed views

h) Anticipate – As an ex- footballer I already have a feel for a football game and also a feel for anticipating activities. Of curse they may not occur but it’s easy to delete a wasted image, goals and incidents if missed could be seen as failure.

i) Understand the weight of your equipment. A long lens could give arm ache, consider a monopod if required. Most sports grounds will not allow tripods

j) Be prepared to suffer. This could be cold, wet, heat, damp or a combination. However whilst as individual you will recover from all these but your equipment may not. Consider waterproof extras for your kit and understand how best to allow damp equipment to dry