Me and the olympics

Every 4 years , the summer Olympic games creep up on me. I pretend indifference but eventually it draws me in, to the point I find myself watching sports previously I had no interest in such as fencing and handball.

As a photographer I also can't help noticing that as well as the worlds greatest sportsman and athletes, there is probably the greatest gathering of sports photographers under one roof at any one time (and probably the greatest number of camera and lenses in terms of net worth also). It is therefore a great time to take learn from the professionals about the art of event and sport photography.

The ABC channel of America have kindly shared some of the best photos from the games on their website everyday(See below), and it has been fascinating going through them.

What has struck me most is that the photos that most stood out are not traditional action shots, but the more quirky ones; the blurred action images, ones with bits of athlete or just shadows. Some do not show any sportsmen at all.

This reminded me of one of the highlights of this years photographic show.
Among the stands and vendors there was a talk by Bob Martin on sport photography. Mr Martin is a very self-assuming man, who has taken many pictures of many sports including the a number of Olympics. One of his iconic images was from the Paralympics of a swimmer with no legs diving into the water while his artificial limbs are awaiting collection next to the pool.

During the talk he gave great details fascinated of how he visualized the image and got himself into position.

Of course few, if any of us, will ever be fortunate enough to go to an event like the Olympics as photographers. We will never be afforded the kind of access that professionals get. Even if we did, it is unlikely we would be able to afford the level of equipment required to take high speed photos at night at a distance.

However that does not mean sport photography is out of reach. There are almost certainly local sport events, that while not the Olympics offer great opportunities to take great images.
As an example, a couple of years ago the photographic society did an event at a track meet for cyclists, where they were more than pleased to allow photographers access and we were given almost free reign of the track.  The lessons learned from such events can be applied to almost any event from sports day to weddings and graduation.

One of the important lesson for me was the importance of looking for the other angle. Its looking for that photo that tells the story without being to obvious about it. Bob Martins single image told that swimmers story far better than a ordinary action picture would.

The other lesson is that for me, a great image needs to be different and almost controversial. The images that stick in your head are not the pretty ones, but  the ones that make you stop and pause. they are the ones that tell a story, but in a way you had not previously considered.

We may never be able to compete with the kind of access professionals get at sports events or be able to afford the type of equipment they have, but that does not mean we cannot take images that tell the story of an event in some way. By studying others though , we can discover new angles and ways of looking for images


Links to ABC photo website

Opening Ceremony
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14

Some other Mallory images

These are some of the images I took last year at Mallory park and why, to me, they are interesting

I like the energy in this image. Would it work sharper? No ,it would be too static

Again the blur gives motion and energy to the image

More conventional, but in B&W the facila expressions work better

This is one of my favorites. The juxtaposition between the cyclist and the lad and his bike tells a story of ambition

I like the distance between the lone cyclist anfd the chasing pack. The fact you can only see the wheels of the othyer cyclist is not a problem and in fact emphasizes the lone cyclist

For this one I played around with flash to standout the cyclist

Again this was a deliberate attempt to concentrate on the bikes over the riders, which adds interest

Again used the flash to highlight the finish flag and the riders

Sport photographer for a day

As part of the Melbourne Photographic Society I had a great opportunity to go to Mallory Park and take some photos of the cycle racing. The organisers were very welcoming and for once the weather ensured it was a wonderful evening for photography.

Sports photography is not something I have really tried my hand at. Unfortunately like wildlife photography it is one of these events that lends itself to expensive telephoto lens etc. 

I have a major racing circuit on my doorstep and in the past tried to take photo's there with little success. Motor racing quite rightly takes safety very seriously meaning often your view is obscured by wire fences and  you are kept well back from the track. Consequently unless you have special access and the kind of lens that would allow you to image a pimple on Jupiter you will generally be on a hiding to nothing.

However Mallory being a smaller track and the fact cycle racing is less risky means you can get as close to the action as you want (it is also free to spectators). Therefore it is a great place to hone your skills.

For once I tried to plan what I wanted to do before I went. I looked on the internet on advice and found a number of useful tips. Specifically I wanted to try panning shots of cyclists on a relatively long exposure(1/15 to 1/40) and close ups of cyclist faces against a blurred background. I also wanted to try illuminating the subject with a flash to highlight them against the background.

As it turned out things did not go exactly to plan. Because the races had a number of novices in it the organiser had decided against having the major hill, so removing the possibility of close ups as they crested the brow. My initial attempts with the flash were not successful, probably because the light was too strong at that point. However because of the size of the circuit and the number of laps there was plenty of opportunity to try new things.

These are some of the things I learned...

• There is an optimum distance when panning. The closer you are the more difficult it gets because of the speed your target moves. It took a few attempts before I got to the right point. 
• You are better off  concentrating on one rider in a group rather than the whole group. The temptation is to take loads of photos as the group streams past and hope something comes out. Better to take a few well considered shots than fire of 100's in hope.
• I initially put the camera on a high frame rate, taking as large number of pictures in one go. Unfortunately the camera cannot keep this up for long so you find it stuttering towards the end as it tries to catch up. This is usually the point that something interesting passes the lens and you will therefore miss it. It is better to leave it on a slower rate so that you can take the picture when the opportunity arises.
• Try for the less obvious shot. Like I said there was plenty of opportunities to take shots (the mens race was 30 laps) and with the sun setting, the light was changing all the time. Unfortunately photographers like twitchers tend to congregate. This is natural since you are always worried you maybe missing out. However the upshot is everyone gets the same photo.  
• One lens does not fit all. I found myself swapping lens quite a bit(I even tried my 50mm prime, which was a mistake.). I know now why professionals have so many camera bodies.

Anyway I took over 600 photos(yea, digital), so will have a bit of sorting and culling to do. However these a are a few shots I picked out from the initial set.

Sometimes details are better than the whole rider.

There is a temptation to concentration on head-on shots, when the view going away is a different angle and can be just as interesting.

This nicely brings out the movement and speed

A nice panning shot. I've cropped it so it is moving out of the frame, rather than in the center as in the original.

Thanks to Mallory Park and the organisers for being so accommodating and welcoming.