Wembley tips for National League play-off final

wezza13

wezza13

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Wez
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Hi all,

Shooting Tranmere vs Forest Green Rovers this coming Sunday at Wembley.

First time for me there. Are there any things not to do whilst I'm there? As in, simple mistakes that you might've made that I can avoid?

It seems pretty straight forward but it might be a little overwhelming for me as the biggest stadium I've shot at so far is Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium!

Really looking forward to it though and I'm going to be up there early so I can get some nice story-telling shots before going in.

Any tips are most welcome :)

Many thanks,
Wez
 
Enjoy and take a long lens.. the longer the better.. you can go anywhere 3 sides of the ground but even a 400 seems short... the presentation is miles away as well.. PS if its a sunny day then it's one of the worse grounds to photo at.. hope for overcast at least :) cant think of much else.. done it a few times now... lots of security walking you to press room ect...
 
KIPAX said:
Enjoy and take a long lens.. the longer the better.. you can go anywhere 3 sides of the ground but even a 400 seems short... the presentation is miles away as well.. PS if its a sunny day then it's one of the worse grounds to photo at.. hope for overcast at least :) cant think of much else.. done it a few times now... lots of security walking you to press room ect...
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Thanks Tony, much appreciated (y)

Was going to pm you directly but didn't want to be cheeky, so hoped you'd comment :)

Can we keep moving around those 3 sides or is it a case of picking somewhere and having to stay put?

I've got the 200-500 Nikon with me + I'll take my 300mm PF and 70-200.

I normally use the 70-200 on my D500 for non league grounds but I read that at Wembley you're around 7 metres from the pitch side? So the 70-200 would probably be too short, even taking into account the crop factor. I tend to keep the 70-200 on the D500 and the 300mm on my D3S. I do have a 1.4x tc though, which might come in handy?

Fingers crossed for overcast then ;)

Thanks (y)
 
wezza13 said:
Thanks Tony, much appreciated (y)

Was going to pm you directly but didn't want to be cheeky, so hoped you'd comment :)

Can we keep moving around those 3 sides or is it a case of picking somewhere and having to stay put?

I've got the 200-500 Nikon with me + I'll take my 300mm PF and 70-200.

I normally use the 70-200 on my D500 for non league grounds but I read that at Wembley you're around 7 metres from the pitch side? So the 70-200 would probably be too short, even taking into account the crop factor. I tend to keep the 70-200 on the D500 and the 300mm on my D3S. I do have a 1.4x tc though, which might come in handy?

Fingers crossed for overcast then ;)

Thanks (y)
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You can move at half time.. your not really supposed to move while the games on at any ground.... yes the 1.4tc will be needed :)
 
Have fun, Wez. I can't believe how much they want to charge to see this match! With all the 'extras' its about £50 - and why you should have to £1 to print the flippin' ticket yourself is beyond me!!

"GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED VIA THE WEMBLEY TICKET PORTAL

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET SALE – Opens on-line NOW:

Level 1 - Category 1: £41 (no concessions)

These ticket sales will be subject to a booking fee of £3 per ticket.

Level 1 – Category 2: £36 and £18 (Under 16’s)

These ticket sales will be subject to a booking fee of £3 per ticket for those priced at £36 and £1.50 for those priced at £18.

Postage if requested will be charged at:

£2.50 per order

Print at Home if requested will be charged at:

£1.00 per order

Collection at Wembley if requested will be charged at:

£1.95 per order
Read more at http://www.wembleystadium.com/Event...al-League-Promotion-Final#d14sIvgl2hYwIDMC.99"
 
Charging you to print the ticket for them.. classic :)
 
Photodiva said:
Have fun, Wez. I can't believe how much they want to charge to see this match! With all the 'extras' its about £50 - and why you should have to £1 to print the flippin' ticket yourself is beyond me!!

"GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED VIA THE WEMBLEY TICKET PORTAL

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET SALE – Opens on-line NOW:

Level 1 - Category 1: £41 (no concessions)

These ticket sales will be subject to a booking fee of £3 per ticket.

Level 1 – Category 2: £36 and £18 (Under 16’s)

These ticket sales will be subject to a booking fee of £3 per ticket for those priced at £36 and £1.50 for those priced at £18.

Postage if requested will be charged at:

£2.50 per order

Print at Home if requested will be charged at:

£1.00 per order

Collection at Wembley if requested will be charged at:

£1.95 per order
Read more at http://www.wembleystadium.com/Event...al-League-Promotion-Final#d14sIvgl2hYwIDMC.99"
Click to expand...

Thank you, Carol, I'm sure I'll have a good time!


Wow, that really is outrageous though! The cheek of charging you to print at home?! Even more so the £1.95 to collect the tickets once you're at Wembley.

Charges like this are criminal, they really are, as people have no choice.

Don't get me started about the £30 I had to pay for parking........ :D
 
I hae the conference North playoff final on Sat.. Halifax v Chorley.. Not as glamerous but should be fun.. Plus I will be home for tea and I am getting paid so :)
 
KIPAX said:
I hae the conference North playoff final on Sat.. Halifax v Chorley.. Not as glamerous but should be fun.. Plus I will be home for tea and I am getting paid so :)
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Very nice, hope it's a good game for you.

I did apply for the Ebbsfleet v Chelmsford game on Saturday but they said I needed to be shooting for a publication. Unfortunately, the only one that I know that put a word in for me was told they could only have one photographer at the game, which they already had :(
 
A few things worth knowing.
It can take a while to get into the ground because of the security checks etc - there's invariably a queue whatever time you roll up.
Secondly, there are lockers in the photographers rooms where you can stash gear you don't need during the game. The room strikes me as being pretty secrure but take along a padlock if you want some peace of mind.
Finally, there are lots of ethernet points scattered around the three sides you can work from so make sure you take a cable. WiFi is good, too.
Enjoy!
 
Sideshow Alvie said:
A few things worth knowing.
It can take a while to get into the ground because of the security checks etc - there's invariably a queue whatever time you roll up.
Secondly, there are lockers in the photographers rooms where you can stash gear you don't need during the game. The room strikes me as being pretty secrure but take along a padlock if you want some peace of mind.
Finally, there are lots of ethernet points scattered around the three sides you can work from so make sure you take a cable. WiFi is good, too.
Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the info, very handy to have the lockers as an option :)
 
KIPAX said:
Enjoy and take a long lens.. the longer the better.. you can go anywhere 3 sides of the ground but even a 400 seems short... the presentation is miles away as well.. PS if its a sunny day then it's one of the worse grounds to photo at.. hope for overcast at least :) cant think of much else.. done it a few times now... lots of security walking you to press room ect...
Click to expand...
Why is this one of the worst grounds to photo at when it's sunny?
 
shapeshifter said:
Why is this one of the worst grounds to photo at when it's sunny?
Click to expand...

Time of day and your only allowed at the same side as sun.. therefore your in shadows but the other side of the ground is not just soaked in the sun.. its brighter than bright for some reason.... and yes a good photogrpaher can work around anything.. doesnt alter the fact that its bad.. certainly one of the worse if not the worse i ahve been to....
 
So how did you go on?
 
KIPAX said:
So how did you go on?
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It went really well actually, thanks for asking :)

Great experience and a good game to boot!

Saw what you meant regarding the two extremes of light though. The light was quite harsh most of the time but I think I dealt with it fairly well. I did flip to spot metering for a little bit but the results were slightly inconsistent. So switched back to matrix metering and just used exposure comp as needed. The staff were all very helpful and friendly too :)

You can certainly see the harshness of the light in these first two :

DSC_4996.jpg

DSC_5326.jpg
 
loking at shadows the sun doesnt look that bad so you had a bit of luck there.. as mentioned i wasnt saying it wasnt doable.. just that ts pretty bad on a really bright sunny day :)
 
wezza13 said:
I did apply for the Ebbsfleet v Chelmsford game on Saturday but they said I needed to be shooting for a publication. Unfortunately, the only one that I know that put a word in for me was told they could only have one photographer at the game, which they already had :(
Click to expand...

Nice images, Wez. There was hardly anyone from the press at the semi-final! I don't recall Dartford being so arsey when we got to the play-off final a few seasons ago. Another reason not to love Ebbo. Will they last? Time will tell :)
 
Photodiva said:
Nice images, Wez. There was hardly anyone from the press at the semi-final! I don't recall Dartford being so arsey when we got to the play-off final a few seasons ago. Another reason not to love Ebbo. Will they last? Time will tell :)
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Haha probably not :)

Hope you're well? I'll try and get up to a couple of Dartford games next season. Back up to Wembley tomorrow for the Vase and Trophy finals. Gonna be a long day!
 
Yesterday, for the FA vase and trophy finals, the light was really harsh. The camera meter kept getting fooled and it was a bit of a pain keep dialling in exposure comp. So moved round to the sidelines and mainly shot into the shade (y)

A lot trickier than last weekend, that's for sure!
 
wezza13 said:
Yesterday, for the FA vase and trophy finals, the light was really harsh. The camera meter kept getting fooled and it was a bit of a pain keep dialling in exposure comp. So moved round to the sidelines and mainly shot into the shade (y)

A lot trickier than last weekend, that's for sure!
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Like I said.. on a really sunny day.. not the best place :(

two wembley visits.. made any money ?
 
wezza13 said:
Yesterday, for the FA vase and trophy finals, the light was really harsh. The camera meter kept getting fooled and it was a bit of a pain keep dialling in exposure comp. So moved round to the sidelines and mainly shot into the shade (y)

A lot trickier than last weekend, that's for sure!
Click to expand...

The joys of bright sunny games and shade from the stands.... it's always a bit fiddly if you need to keep on dialling the exposure comp. (and then at times you might forget it for two seconds.. and miss that great image :-( ).

Hope you enjoyed your trip to Wembley and that it was an experience to remember (even if the lighting conditions aren't the best :) ).
 
GooGaBu said:
The joys of bright sunny games and shade from the stands.... it's always a bit fiddly if you need to keep on dialing the exposure comp. (and then at times you might forget it for two seconds.. and miss that great image :-( ).

Hope you enjoyed your trip to Wembley and that it was an experience to remember (even if the lighting conditions aren't the best :) ).
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Thank you, it was a great couple of days :)

Particularly liked practising the celebration shots from the crowd!

I used my D500 with the 70-200 attached and my D3S with a 300mm lens on. In a way, I still prefer the images from the full frame camera over the D500. The way it renders the files and the images look a lot crisper, though there's no doubting the superior AF system of the D500! :D

Here's a couple of my faves from the day :

DSC_4214.jpg DSC_5510-Edit.jpg DSC_4793.jpg DSC_6046.jpg DSC_6235.jpg
 
wezza13 said:
No money made, went there for the experience really and to see how it all works :)
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Yeagh I went to the first ever cup final after it reopened....non league summat.. did it more for me than work...
 
KIPAX said:
Yeagh I went to the first ever cup final after it reopened....non league summat.. did it more for me than work...
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I can imagine, it's nice to see how it all works behind the scenes and that :)

Liam asked about England friendlies but got told you need the 30 photos in national press, etc. Shame but it's a lot easier to just stick to non-league!
 
wezza13 said:
I can imagine, it's nice to see how it all works behind the scenes and that :)

Liam asked about England friendlies but got told you need the 30 photos in national press, etc. Shame but it's a lot easier to just stick to non-league!
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Once you have been thats it.. doing bigger games isnt much difference IMHO .. Last time I went was a couple of seasons ago for the PNE swindon playoff final to get into championship... 20 minutes into game i regretted being pitchside and wished I was in crowd....PNE fan :)
 
KIPAX said:
Once you have been thats it.. doing bigger games isnt much difference IMHO .. Last time I went was a couple of seasons ago for the PNE swindon playoff final to get into championship... 20 minutes into game i regretted being pitchside and wished I was in crowd....PNE fan :)
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Especially with that result, you'd have definitely enjoyed it more not looking through your lens! :)
 
wezza13 said:
I used my D500 with the 70-200 attached and my D3S with a 300mm lens on. In a way, I still prefer the images from the full frame camera over the D500. The way it renders the files and the images look a lot crisper, though there's no doubting the superior AF system of the D500! :D
Click to expand...

One thought here: you've effectively given yourself two cameras with the same focal length. You'd have been better off with the 300 on the D500 and the 70-200 on the D3s.
 
DemiLion said:
One thought here: you've effectively given yourself two cameras with the same focal length. You'd have been better off with the 300 on the D500 and the 70-200 on the D3s.
Click to expand...

Hehe I thought that too, whilst I was there, but because the 300mm was f4 I don't like the noise on my D500 when compared to the D3S, so switched them around. I'm really fussy about the noise my D500 produces, I suppose it was because I went from full frame to an APS-C :)
 
Photodiva said:
Nice images, Wez. There was hardly anyone from the press at the semi-final! I don't recall Dartford being so arsey when we got to the play-off final a few seasons ago. Another reason not to love Ebbo. Will they last? Time will tell :)
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There was just me and the KM guy at the semi. I was unavailable for the final but I think there were only a couple there too. The guy who was covering for me also shoots for NLP
 
kelack said:
There was just me and the KM guy at the semi. I was unavailable for the final but I think there were only a couple there too. The guy who was covering for me also shoots for NLP
Click to expand...

Yeah, only interested in Ebbo. Not that it matters, there were me and my 2 mates plus one from Chelmsford. Press weren't interested in our SF.
 
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