But why such a low ratio of good shots? There were lots of reasons. The primary one was that playing soccer is very different from shooting soccer. Surprised me a bit actually. Even though I knew what to expect, it was still harder to follow the game through the lens than it was when I was standing in a keeper's box running a team. I started to get used to that near the end of the day and started getting more shots. For most of the day I was trying to follow the ball, but I started to find times where I could predict where a punt or a long kick was going to come down, and pre-focus on whatever clump of players was in that area waiting for the ball. That led to some good shots, and the realization that people make really strange expressions when slamming their heads against soccer balls.
This header shot is my favorite, just because if you pull it up full size, you can really see the ball compress against her head...
Tech has changed since I played. Shin guards were crazy thin and unobtrusive and a good number of the players wore headbands with pads to deal with the crazy headers like that one above.
Camera tech was also a factor in my shooting. I had a lot of new factors going on. I was shooting on the monopod all day because it was a long day with a heavy combo- the D4 and a company provided 80-400 zoom. The 70-200 just wasn't long enough to get the whole field. I loved the color and sharpness of this lens, but compared to the 70-200 or the 24-70; however, this lens focused almost glacially slow. It was the older version of the lens, supposedly the newer version is faster focusing, but I can't speak to that. All I can say was that, despite being warned about the slow focus when issued the lens, it still was hard to adjust to, especially with the speed of the game. I have several great shots of awesome saves and shots on goal that are dead center focus point, but they are just out of sharp because I didn't get there far enough ahead to let the lens find the focus.
I played with focus modes on excalibur throughout the day. I wasn't fast enough to keep up with single point AF, and found that anything over 9 point AF tended to lock onto something other than what I wanted, since there were so many players on the field all running for the ball. I tried all five AF delay options, ultimately settled on 4 (middle long).
I started out trying to shoot from just behind the goal on one end of the field for the first game, thinking that would give me some great shots of attacks and slide tackles and things, but I picked the wrong end and the other team pretty much kept the ball on the other half, so way too many back shots. For that game I tried to be cool and bring out a folding chair and water and stuff, so I was pretty much locked into my little camp. So really was only able to shoot half the game.
For the rest of the games I ditched the chair and water, and found that I really liked being right near the center line between the two team benches. That let me get shots of both goals as well as a lot of runs and drives.
And then there were arguments about calls. One freaking coach was still arguing about a call 20 minutes later, screaming at the ref. I wanted to walk over and ask him if he really expected the ref to stop the game, walk over and say, "oh, thanks coach. After 20 minutes of hearing your screams, I finally realize that my call was mistaken, and see the wisdom of your position. Let me just rewind the game 20 minutes and we'll pretend everything after that didn't happen." I also wanted to bring up the picture I took of the foul in question and tell the coach that, yes, the ref did in fact make the right call, as I clearly captured the moment on film. But I figured the company might not approve of that. At another point I thought I was going to have to break up a fight between opposing coaches. Seriously people, it's a game. Enjoy it. I don't care how many college scouts are watching. I am sure hearing you yell about how badly the kids are playing will have no lasting effect on their self confidence.....
I also learned that it is very hard to find a hat that protects from sun but actually lets you shoot. The bills get in the way of the camera or the camera knocks the hat right off when it hits the bill. So far I have tried cowboy hats, my fedora, and my floppy sun hat. Guess that is why you see so many photojournalists with the classic backwards baseball cap. Gonna try that one next weekend and see how it works, because too much sunscreen winds up all over the camera and no matter how much I slather on, I still burn after 11 hours even in overcast conditions.
I experimented with both horizontal and vertical shots. I liked the vertical composition better, but it was much harder to keep up with everything since the window was tighter. I got more useable shots horizontal. The huge zoom range made two eyed shooting harder to adjust to, and I found that because of the camera design, I could only really shoot two eyed with right eye on the viewfinder in vertical, but could use either eye for horizontal. This was important because when I was shooting horizontal and could switch eyes on the viewfinder, I was able to track the action wider with the free eye on either side of the camera, therefore either side of the field. When I was vertical, I could only use the other eye to track things happening to the left side of where I was set up. If I put my left eye to the viewfinder vertically all I could see with the right was camera. Next weekend now that I know that my batteries are capable of getting through a lot more than I expected (I shot 10.5 games on one battery before it died) I may play with shooting in live view a bit, I haven't really done that yet.
It was a very different experience than shooting circus or dance. Performances are action, but it's choreographed, and the area of the stage is relatively small. The music gives cues to when big moments are going to happen, and the good performers actually pose for the camera/audience at multiple points in their routines naturally. It's also easy, especially for aerial, to know where something is going to happen in space. Find the trapeze bar, set your focus, and it really isn't going to change much for a static act. Soccer games are spread out over a large area, they happen fast, and even when you know the game it can be hard to predict who will win a race to the ball or which way the ball will go after a header or ricochet off a foot, knee or other body part. Next weekend will be the younger kids weekend of the tournament, much more chaotic. Will have to see how that pans out. And, on a final note, even when shooting high speed sports, don't forget to look for stray hairs and the little details!
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