© Getty Images

Hi everyone, thanks again for all the feedback from the last update!

Firstly, to answer the question I had about the model of camera I work with, I currently use is the Canon EOS 1D Mark III. For anyone looking to buy a good SLR camera, I would recommend a Canon or Nikon, which is what most sports photographers use. Both brands come in a range of models with varying features and prices, not surprisingly, the more features the higher the price!

However with both Canon and Nikon the cheaper models use a lot of the same technology that goes into their high end cameras, so you still get a very serviceable camera. Another point to consider is that most of the expense in building up a good kit of camera equipment is in the lenses rather than the actual camera body. Lenses are interchangeable between the various models of a particular brand, so if you decide to upgrade the camera body at some point, as long as you stay with the same brand, the lenses won’t need to be replaced.

On to the photo for today. Given that Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating 20 years in the game, I have selected a photo of him. I have been lucky enough to see some very memorable innings from the Little Master. His century in Melbourne during the 1999 Boxing Day Test and his double hundred in Steve Waugh’s final Test, at the SCG in 2004, are two that immediately come to mind. Another of his brilliant innings I’ve been fortunate enough to see is the innings that where I took this photo; his first innings century in the third Test in Chennai in 2001.

Continue reading "Tendulkar turns it around"

	© Getty Images

Adelaide, Australia, Australia v West Indies, 3rd Test, 3rd day, November 27, 2005

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read my opening blog and an even bigger thanks to those who have also posted a comment. It’s great to hear everyone’s thoughts!

The photo I have chosen for this post was taken in November 2005, at the Adelaide Test during West Indies’ tour of Australia. Despite already being two Tests down and going on to eventually lose the third and final Test, Dwayne Bravo had a very good match, contributing almost 100 runs and taking six first-innings wickets. This photo was the fifth and from my view of things, the most spectacular of those wickets. Having dismissed Adam Gilchrist earlier in the same over, Bravo was bowling to Shane Warne, who pushed the ball back on the up, but well to Bravo’s left. Looking at replays I think it probably would have landed about another pitch width left of the playing strip. Bravo took a couple of quick steps to change direction and then dived full length to pull off a remarkable caught and bowled.

This photo is a good example of the most common way to photograph cricket action, sitting quite straight of the wicket, slightly to the left. To put it into fielding terms, sitting at a straight long-off or very fine leg (depending which end the bowler is coming from), watching a right-handed batsman.

I use Canon cameras and for cricket I generally use a 500mm lens for the action out in the middle. This photo was actually taken using a 600mm lens, as the Adelaide Oval is an unusual shape. It has quite short boundaries square of the wicket and very long ones straight. This means a slightly bigger lens is needed when sitting straight.

I shoot most deliveries, by staying focused on the batsman. The advantage of the working from this fairly straight position is that a right-arm bowler bowling over the wicket will run into frame on their follow through. This makes it easier to switch focus to them for a reaction to the batsman, whether that’s an appeal, a celebration of a wicket, a catch or something else.

That’s the idea, but in practice it doesn’t always work out as planned! There are so many variables that can change. A left-handed batsman facing at the near end means the slip fielders can obscure the view. Bowlers coming around the wicket (or left-handers coming over) will change the angles and not run as nicely into frame on their follow through. A spin bowler’s follow through is not as far as a fast bowler’s. The list goes on!

So when it does all come together, it is all the more satisfying! For this photo, I started focusing on Warne. As he played the shot, Bravo ran into the left of my frame on his follow through. As the ball was headed in his direction I switched focus to him, just in time to photograph the dive and catch. What I like about it is that not only can you see Bravo taking the catch, you can also see Warne to the right. The photo tells the whole story of the moment; Shane Warne caught and bowled by Dwayne Bravo. It is also nice to take a photo like this because, as mentioned, there are so many variables that could have gone wrong.

	© Getty Images

Nagpur, India. 29th of October 2004. India v Australia, third Test, day four.

This is one of my favourite cricket photographs. Australia had just won the Nagpur Test which gave them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series. Ricky Ponting had missed the first three Tests with an injured thumb, leaving Adam Gilchrist to captain the team at a short notice. And India was the 'final frontier' for the Australian team: this was their first Test series win there in 35 years.

This photograph was taken with a wide angle lens as the team celebrated their victory on the field. Gilchrist was a natural subject to focus on, and I shot him while he was gesturing towards a small group of Australian supporters in the crowd.

I love the emotion on Gilchrist's face. It adds to the picture that he is still wearing his sweaty whites, his baggy green and his inner gloves.

It was late in the afternoon, which meant despite being a clear sunny day this part of the field was in shadow. To keep the blue of the sky it was necessary to balance the photo with flash. Camera flash, particularly outdoors, can often be more trouble than it's worth. It can take a long time for the flash to recharge after firing. From memory, I took about 10 - 15 pictures of this moment and the flash only fired twice. Luckily for me, one of them was this photo. My other option, would have been to shoot without flash for which I would have had to set my exposure for the shadows and leave the sky all washed out. I could have got some usable photos that way, but it would not have been as nice.