Pre season friendly Rugby Union match - First time shooting this sport!!

Bluesman graham

Bluesman graham

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Hello all, well here's my first attempt at RU!, Weather was terrible Pis*, erm rained rather heavilly!! totally different to shooting RL as i found that staying behind the play was better, as opposed to having the play come towards you as in Rugby League. C&C most welcome. Kind regards Graham.

#1
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#2
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#3
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#4
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#5
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You've made rugby union look action packed. I think trades descriptions will be onto you soon...

... great photos. I especially like the capture of the facial expressions. Numbers 2 & 4 are particularly good examples.
 
Nicely done in not good conditions. I really like number 4.


Kev
 
#4 is best.. hate the horizon on #1 though..
 
ginger john, I must admit to being suprised at the action involved;)

Kevshore, thanks for the input i have a series of 4 shots of #4 ending with this
#4/4
http://
nik2008-08-31140410_02-1-1.jpg


Kipax, your such a task master!! LOL, I admit to missing the levels on #1 :thumbsdown: lol. Kind regards Graham.
 
I love No2 I would not want to be that No11 in white. Is that not called a hospital pass?
 
Yep some great shots here, as already said the horizon in 1 is bad but can be fixed. The one thing that always strikes me about rugby is that there are eight more players on the pitch (than football) so shots like no.2 are always going to be spoiled by foreground clutter like the player wearing 11.
 
Hi AliB, thanks for looking in, No11 in white was a really small guy as well :shake: He took a clattering but was no mug at dishing it out himself :clap:.

Hi TigerImages!, ok ok don't rub it in about #1:LOL:, Your right about players getting in the way though! however the real problem is mainly subs & staff on the touch line edging further & further out when the action is on my side further down the field:bang:,At one point i ended up encroaching on the field of play by about 5 meters to get a line out shot!!. Kind regards Graham.
 
Bluesman graham said:
Hi TigerImages!, ok ok don't rub it in about #1:LOL:, Your right about players getting in the way though! however the real problem is mainly subs & staff on the touch line edging further & further out when the action is on my side further down the field:bang:,At one point i ended up encroaching on the field of play by about 5 meters to get a line out shot!!. Kind regards Graham.
Click to expand...
I don't dig rugby at all, which is odd considering that it's all bloody rugby round here but if I were to have a go I'd be looking to get in the corner of the pitch and try to capture a face on shot of a player diving over for a try and/or being attempted tackled at the same time. You'd need to be sat low to capture the impact of the shot.

Have you tried this?
 
Great set of photos, action packed and loving the facial expressions. (y)
 
tigerimages said:
I don't dig rugby at all, which is odd considering that it's all bloody rugby round here but if I were to have a go I'd be looking to get in the corner of the pitch and try to capture a face on shot of a player diving over for a try and/or being attempted tackled at the same time. You'd need to be sat low to capture the impact of the shot.

Have you tried this?
Click to expand...

Hi again Tigerimages, yes I did try behind the try line to start with but the game relied heavily on kicking so I ended up with a good shot of the back of a kicker or a long distance shot of the opposing teams kicker:(. There was only 2 tries in the whole game so most points came from penalties. I desided to follow the play from behind as this gave me 2 opptions.
1, As the attacking team will always lay the ball back this gave me a chance to shoot the rucks & the passing of the ball.
2, If the defence turned the ball over I'd get them comming towards me as they then attacked,
ps. my jeans can vouch that i was kneeling down for all these shots:LOL:

fandango, than you for your input.(y)
nilagin, thanks for the kind words:)
 
I think you've caught it all really nicely there and #4 stands out for me too. Will have to pop to the rugby club and have a go myself!
 
Nice set, few pics really do stand out. For me the best is probably 3 - even if it is a little tight crop on that one (on the right hand side). 4 is also nice one, as many have already said.
 
Good efforts there (y)

And yes, Christine, it's the whole point of watching rugby, getting drenched :LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:

I know what you are saying about people going on the pitch, I get that at some games and it really gets on my nerves, not just as a tog but as a spectator as well. The referees are supposed to be cracking down on it and we do get some that threaten penalties etc. The "crowd" are actually supposed to be about 4 metres away from the touchline. I'm lucky at Vigo on our first XV pitch as we have a railing which all the spectators stands behind and I just have to contend with subs, coaches, waterboys and they are all too scared to get in front of me or on the pitch as I whack them with my monopod:D

And - no 11 adds to the picture, not foreground clutter, definitely a casualty of the famed hospital pass :LOL:

Not always that easy to stand behind the posts taking the pictures, sods law says that the action will always be down the bottom end. I tend to follow just in front of the action so I do get nearly head on for the tackles and in lower league club rugby, they don't always run straight. Junior, they never do so they tend to look as though they are running towards you anyway.

On weather like that, I tend to get home and my jeans go straight into the wash as I will be covered in mud too.

Good effort though, keep it up, you are now shooting a proper sport (ducks for cover) :clap:
 
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(y)Christine, yes it seems i must get wet if i wish to shoot RU :LOL:,

David, get yourself down there, just remember to frame tight if your using the 55-250mm lens, I had a 300 (on a nikon D2h wih a crop factor of 1.5, ie an effective focal length of 450mm ish) and still had to wait for the frame to be filled (gonna buy a 1.4 converter v soon to add some depth). I don't know what the ratio is for your canon cameras, but, though it's tempting to just shoot the action just think about how much of the shot you want, fills the frame.Must be at least a third .Good luck & look forward to seeing the results(y).

Googabu, thanks for your input. I did try a few different ratios for most of the posted shots. I think we have to disagree on #3, I was trying to highlight the halfback's role!, & so only included a unsharp referance of a receiver (#16) to add purpose!!, however, you have your own interpritations which I respect!.

Kelack, well what can i say? you've "been there, done that, got the tshirt". Thanks for the kind words:), I have to say, the "crowd" problem was not the supporters!, (if you look at the pics, there is a fence approx 4m from the pitch), but the Subs,Staff,Medical staff,Trainers,Managers!!!:eek:, IE more people than there was watching the game:LOL: (this is getting more like US Football every Season!). I didn't want to hit them with my Monopod because A, they where bigger than me & B, I don't run as fast as them loaded down with cameras etc!!(y) Kind regards Graham
 
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