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- Edit My Images
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I've 'stolen' this idea of writing about my work day from another thread here. But I thought it was such a good idea to share with you how a day in the life of a sports photographer can go.
- Wake up in the morning around 7am to edit last nights hockey photos for archive use and spend some time writing and calling newspapers with my next weeks schedule of events. All this takes me most of the morning, until about 11am.
- Go out for a walk, to get some fresh air and to get away from the computer screen. I live in the middle of countryside, so the walks here are nice and relaxing. Only the occasional moose or squirrel bothering me.
- Get back home around 12.30pm, put the camera batteries to charge. Delete old images from memory cards and format them.
- Got a call from a client who is downloading images from my online gallery that few images are not downloading properly. Log on to the web and reload the images in question and make everyone happy.
- 1pm - follow the U-21 European Championship Qualification draw to see who Finland draw in the next round. Result - Austria, this is good. I have sent images for few papers in Austria before, so I get their contacts and let them know I can provide them with images from the away leg in Finland.
Also write to all the other newspapers, you never know when your images might be needed.
- 2pm - pack the camerabag - and just make sure I got all that I need for the evening. Two bodies, 24-70, 70-200 and 120-300 lens, macbook, USB-modem, card reader. flash....
-2.30pm grab something to eat, I know I'll be busy until about 11pm so there is no chance for meals before returning home.
- 3pm - get in the car and start an hours drive to Hartwall Arena, Helsinki for the days first event - Jokerit - TPS in the FInnish Elite League of Ice Hockey.
- 4pm - arrive at the Arena, park at the Press allocation (the nice thing is that it's free), get in the Arena. Do few test shots to see how the lights are today.
- 4.30pm - Check Emails - reply to any questions or requests that might have arrived.
- 4.55pm - Game time, the fans set up a smoke flare in the stands. Grab few images and then load these images to the computer and straight to the internet gallery.
And this is what it looked like
- 5.10pm - Great - I got a good picture or the home team scoring. I know I got two images that the clients will be happy with. Usually all you really need is one.
Goal picture
- Rest of the game trying to get few archive shots of certain players...
- 6.30pm - have to leave the game after two periods, as the next game awaits.
- Jump in the car, drive the 20 minute drive to Finland vs Italy European Basketball qualification game. All i need from this is some archive images, and wouldn't mind few action shots as well. I only have a little over an hour here as well from the 7pm jump-off.
- This image got the few newspapers... so I suppose I got something right
Basketball image from Finland - Italy game
- 8.15pm - got almost 3 quarters of the game covered. Run to the car and to a Handball game between a Finnish handball team called (I am not kidding!! Check this link if you don't believe me It is true, I told you so) Cocks and Tel Aviv from Israel.
- 8.35pm - arrive to the game, Finnish security check my bag and ID and let me in. Get to the courtside and start shooting away. Second half the Israeli security comes to check my ID and bags. Friendly fellow once he sees everything is OK. The light at the Arena is dismal, have to crank up to ISO 1600 and still need to have more to get the shutter speed to be fast enough.
See for yourself.
- Game finishes at 9.30pm - rush to the car, get the MacBook going and know that I have 45 minutes to edit a bunch of photos from the three games and send them to the papers and also put them up to the Gallery.
- 10.05pm - Images sent, absolutely starving at the moment. Call wife at home and ask if there is any dinner left or do I have to go to eat some 'junk'. Luckily there is food at home, so I drive an hour to get home.
- 11.10pm - Park the car in front of the house, get in. Heat up some dinner - eat while sitting on the computer and found out that enough images have been sold to make this day worth it.
- 11.45pm, head hits the pillow and I am out! All this and still knowing that on Sunday I will be driving over 900 kilometers to cover a football game.. life just does not get much better than this...
This was a exceptional day, I rarely try to cover three events in a day. But I had been asked to cover all the events, and working for myself I hate to say no to clients.
I did naturally explain that I would not be in any of the games for the duration of the whole match. And this was OK with everyone, usually I will stay the whole game, after all you could miss the key moment if you come late or leave early.
If you've managed to read this all the way here.. well done...
- Wake up in the morning around 7am to edit last nights hockey photos for archive use and spend some time writing and calling newspapers with my next weeks schedule of events. All this takes me most of the morning, until about 11am.
- Go out for a walk, to get some fresh air and to get away from the computer screen. I live in the middle of countryside, so the walks here are nice and relaxing. Only the occasional moose or squirrel bothering me.
- Get back home around 12.30pm, put the camera batteries to charge. Delete old images from memory cards and format them.
- Got a call from a client who is downloading images from my online gallery that few images are not downloading properly. Log on to the web and reload the images in question and make everyone happy.
- 1pm - follow the U-21 European Championship Qualification draw to see who Finland draw in the next round. Result - Austria, this is good. I have sent images for few papers in Austria before, so I get their contacts and let them know I can provide them with images from the away leg in Finland.
Also write to all the other newspapers, you never know when your images might be needed.
- 2pm - pack the camerabag - and just make sure I got all that I need for the evening. Two bodies, 24-70, 70-200 and 120-300 lens, macbook, USB-modem, card reader. flash....
-2.30pm grab something to eat, I know I'll be busy until about 11pm so there is no chance for meals before returning home.
- 3pm - get in the car and start an hours drive to Hartwall Arena, Helsinki for the days first event - Jokerit - TPS in the FInnish Elite League of Ice Hockey.
- 4pm - arrive at the Arena, park at the Press allocation (the nice thing is that it's free), get in the Arena. Do few test shots to see how the lights are today.
- 4.30pm - Check Emails - reply to any questions or requests that might have arrived.
- 4.55pm - Game time, the fans set up a smoke flare in the stands. Grab few images and then load these images to the computer and straight to the internet gallery.
And this is what it looked like
- 5.10pm - Great - I got a good picture or the home team scoring. I know I got two images that the clients will be happy with. Usually all you really need is one.
Goal picture
- Rest of the game trying to get few archive shots of certain players...
- 6.30pm - have to leave the game after two periods, as the next game awaits.
- Jump in the car, drive the 20 minute drive to Finland vs Italy European Basketball qualification game. All i need from this is some archive images, and wouldn't mind few action shots as well. I only have a little over an hour here as well from the 7pm jump-off.
- This image got the few newspapers... so I suppose I got something right
Basketball image from Finland - Italy game
- 8.15pm - got almost 3 quarters of the game covered. Run to the car and to a Handball game between a Finnish handball team called (I am not kidding!! Check this link if you don't believe me It is true, I told you so) Cocks and Tel Aviv from Israel.
- 8.35pm - arrive to the game, Finnish security check my bag and ID and let me in. Get to the courtside and start shooting away. Second half the Israeli security comes to check my ID and bags. Friendly fellow once he sees everything is OK. The light at the Arena is dismal, have to crank up to ISO 1600 and still need to have more to get the shutter speed to be fast enough.
See for yourself.
- Game finishes at 9.30pm - rush to the car, get the MacBook going and know that I have 45 minutes to edit a bunch of photos from the three games and send them to the papers and also put them up to the Gallery.
- 10.05pm - Images sent, absolutely starving at the moment. Call wife at home and ask if there is any dinner left or do I have to go to eat some 'junk'. Luckily there is food at home, so I drive an hour to get home.
- 11.10pm - Park the car in front of the house, get in. Heat up some dinner - eat while sitting on the computer and found out that enough images have been sold to make this day worth it.
- 11.45pm, head hits the pillow and I am out! All this and still knowing that on Sunday I will be driving over 900 kilometers to cover a football game.. life just does not get much better than this...
This was a exceptional day, I rarely try to cover three events in a day. But I had been asked to cover all the events, and working for myself I hate to say no to clients.
I did naturally explain that I would not be in any of the games for the duration of the whole match. And this was OK with everyone, usually I will stay the whole game, after all you could miss the key moment if you come late or leave early.
If you've managed to read this all the way here.. well done...
