Keeping On The Ball (shortlisted for feeble pun headline of the week)
November 22, 2011
As I may have mentioned previously, I tend not to get work directly from newspapers these days. The pictures I take are usually commissioned by corporate clients, but my roots are in newspapers, so it wasn’t without a nostalgic twinge of pleasure that I got a call to take some pictures for The Sun for a feature piece on Frome Town Football Club’s girls’ team training.
Typical of a press job it happened in terrible conditions; cold, dark, and the rain was coming down sideways. The girls train at the Frome Leisure Centre all-weather pitches, which are floodlit and I have to say that although the lighting isn’t perfect, it was better than some I’ve experienced.
In addition to the adverse weather, I feared my Canon 5D MKII wouldn’t be up to the task of sport action, and it’s true to say that since I no longer own a 1D-series body it’s not so easy to catch action with the 5D’s 3.5 frames per second, but that’s where timing and a bit of extra thought comes in.
Under the conditions, I couldn’t just “spray and pray”. I had to find the angle, see where the pools of uneven light were at their brightest, and work hard to keep focus and capture the peak of the action.
In addition, I don’t think I’ve shot football of any description in over a decade, which added an extra little frisson to the evening’s assignment. That and the fact this was for The Sun, not a local paper that would be grateful for anything recognisable as football.
I shot the standard team shots and portraits of Julie Peet, the poor, suffering coach who had to put up with the rain, the cold and the fact that these girls are… let’s just say full of spirit. It was like watching a cat-herd at work.
I’ve posted some of the results here, including the “alternative” team shot which I couldn’t resist as a more fun alternative to the standard team photo.
In the end, the job was a pleasure. These girls have incredible spirit and humour to do what they do in a sport dominated by boys. They deserve to do well, and who knows? Maybe I have pictures of some future stars!
Apologies for not posting anything last week. Work has been crazy and continues to be so. I do my best 
These girls clearly enjoy football
I like their technique for keeping their hands warm...
Pile on!!!! Coach Peet clearly loves her work.
November 22, 2011 at 11:58 am
Your words say – Oh no it was so hard and difficult and the pressure from the big corporate editor was immense, it was me against the many ………
Your pictures say – FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN
Luckily Dr Ken is in the house to help you sort through the confusion, you seem to feel inadequate because of your equipment. Most probably by now you have enough experience to play with the big boys so why not step up and get some kit that can handle the pressure
Nice piccies by the way!
November 22, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Haha, Ken you’re a cheeky son-and-so. I was merely making the point that often there’s more pressure from a picture desk than a corporate client, though I do enjoy thinking about page layout when shooting for press. That’s a good pressure
Oh, and I don’t need 8.5 fps. I’ve learned to anticipate my shots by now
The 5DMKII is a remarkable camera, when used right 
x2
November 22, 2011 at 12:20 pm
I love standing next to gear heads at events and while they set it to “Machine Gun” I purposely take just one frame, I then look at it and say loudly “SWEET! exactly what I wanted and knew I would get!” I then walk on with them seering their eyeballs into the back of my head.
Yer I know some days I can’t help myself
cheers
November 22, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Can they hear you over the incessant rattle of their shutters?
November 22, 2011 at 12:04 pm
“Work has been crazy and continues to be so.” – pleased to hear it. Great pics, nearly as good as some of mine.
November 22, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Thank you, Neil. I hope one day all my pics will be as good as yours…
November 23, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Head shots, Herd shots and now Header shots!
)
November 29, 2011 at 5:31 pm
I remember shooting a few football matches when I first started out helping at the local paper. I have never really liked football but I really enjoyed photographing matches, mainly because I was only reacting to what was in front of me rather than trying to cajole somebody into smiling for a picture.
Hope all is well Tim. Glad to hear you are busy
November 29, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Hi Paul
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated.
I think I was much the same as you. I really don’t like football, football players, fans, managers, the whole shebang. And yet I spent a couple of seasons shooting it for Mail on Sunday and regional papers when I was in Portsmouth. The quality of the football was dismal, but my ability to shoot the sport improved quickly with the regular practice I was getting.
This gig was more fun than I made it out to be because of the spirit of the girls and their coach.
I hope you’re well too, and yes I’m still keeping busy, as I hope you are too.
Kind regards
Tim