This was a difficult old night. Anyone who has ever shot sport under flood lights will be all to familiar with just how difficult it is to get something sharp and usuable.
A lot of my photographs were coming out like the one above, a bit on the muddy and noisy side, both a result of a very high ISO (film speed). On this particular evening I believe we were up somewhere in the region of 6400.
So, what to do? Time to pack up? Personally I don't recommend it. I would always recommend persevering and taking as many images as you possibly can. The elements and the odds may be against you but sometimes even a bad picture comes good.
The player with the ball above is Robin Sowden-Taylor, 8 times capped for Wales and former Cardiff Blues captain. To many peoples surprise within a few weeks of this match Sowden-Taylor would announce his retirement from professional rugby. I didn't know it at the time but this match would be his last for the Newport Gwent Dragons.
Upon finding out the news I checked my archive and dug out the photograph above. It may be far from the finest technical shot you will ever come across but in light of Robin's retirement it is now a little time capsule of an image. A fraction of a second that can tell a much bigger story. For me when it comes to photography that's the name of the game.
A cracking moment in time it is too Jono, I'd like to think he got away with the ball but no doubt he got crunched!
ReplyDelete