It is a wonderful experience when you can combine two passions. It was therefore a treat to be able to attend the recent Pacific FC soccer game against Valour, in Langford Victoria BC, and take my new ( to me) Sony 70-350 zoom lens attached to my trusty Sony a6000 camera.
As always I treated this as a learning experience, having hardly used the lens prior to this event. I therefore decided to allow myself to use only Shutter Priority (SV mode) so I could control the shutter speed to capture the speed of the action, and allow the camera to do the rest. When ready I will try full manual mode but need more practice.
My aim was to try to get things in focus (an ongoing challenge!), and discover how to take a shot very quickly, an essential skill for sports photography. Capturing a goal proved to be elusive – I was a couple of seconds too slow.
I also wanted to use continuous shooting drive mode to try to capture a sequence of action, as I rarely use this.
I was blown away by how much I could see when the lens was zoomed all the way out. The goal mouth at the other end of the pitch was clear and detailed. I soon gained a new respect for sports photographers- the speed with which they have to take a shot is incredible, not to mention getting the settings right.
Here are some images of the action, (The First Half), and in my next blog, I will post some images I noticed off the field. (The Second Half).
f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 200, 346mm, EC-1 step, SV mode
I notice now the pitch is not horizontal
F/10, 1/800 sec, ISO 200, 70mm, EC-1 step, SV mode
The following sequence of images, using continuous shot mode, used these settings: f/8,1/800,ISO 200, 70mm, EC-1 step, SV Mode
All in all I really enjoyed this experience, I learnt that I need to anticipate the action better, and always use continuous shutter mode for sports
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