It is an age since I have travelled south and to the far side of Harpenden to take photos of the Cricket being played at Bamville. I was hoping that I had not lost the fluidity of following the action and sensing the moment when I might catch the action. Bamville the Home Team were playing against a team from Hatfield, 'The White Walkers'
My arrival was later than I had hoped as my direct route was on divert, so although I did arrive before the match was due to start; setting my kit up was rushed, which is always less than ideal as it is all too easy to make mistakes.
I barely had time to speak to Peter Carr, the Organiser and Scorer; I learned that Peter was operating single-handedly too. After the briefest of greetings, I started to set up the Benbo tripod and mount my EOS R with the Sigma 60-600mm lens on it.
Due to concerns over not using this combination over the last several months, this is the first time I have been out with this, or any heavy tripod and long lens, so I was less confident I would be as fluid as I had become with my smaller and way lighter, handheld kit. Fortunately, this insecurity did not last too long! It was good to be using the Sigma again, and to begin with, I was using it with the 1.4x Converter, but I soon returned that to my bag allowing me to benefit from the extra stop, and if the light was less, the faster shutterspeed.
On this occasion I did not keep changing my viewpoint as I might have done on previous occasions, in case I needed to change lenses or a battery, and I settled into trying to capture the action. It may seem perverse to want to capture a batsman being run out, or being bowled out, these are moments that depend on reaction speed, so these are the gems I seek, but there is no malice, and I am aware that my pleasure is not one that receives unalloyed glee from the batsman whose bails have been captured in the air by my fast finger! On the unfortunate batsman's return to the pavilion, he is unlikely to share my joy, so shouting: "I have a great shot of airborne bails" is not the best form of greeting!
However, my pleasure remains regardless, especially as capturing a fielder with a successful catch would be way too hard, and require considerably more knowledge of the specific bowler to even contemplate aiming for such an event? I did get shots of two separate batsmen who succumbed to the fate of being bowled out.
We did suffer a short intermission due to a short shower, and I was grateful that I was close to the pavilion to seek shelter and we were blessed with it being over fairly speedily. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to capture the afternoon's action, and I am very grateful for one of the teams very kindly giving me a slice of pizza which was most welcome.
I hope I have managed to capture the atmosphere and action from the afternoon; I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to combine being out, and hopefully capturing the spirit of the match.
My arrival was later than I had hoped as my direct route was on divert, so although I did arrive before the match was due to start; setting my kit up was rushed, which is always less than ideal as it is all too easy to make mistakes.
I barely had time to speak to Peter Carr, the Organiser and Scorer; I learned that Peter was operating single-handedly too. After the briefest of greetings, I started to set up the Benbo tripod and mount my EOS R with the Sigma 60-600mm lens on it.
Due to concerns over not using this combination over the last several months, this is the first time I have been out with this, or any heavy tripod and long lens, so I was less confident I would be as fluid as I had become with my smaller and way lighter, handheld kit. Fortunately, this insecurity did not last too long! It was good to be using the Sigma again, and to begin with, I was using it with the 1.4x Converter, but I soon returned that to my bag allowing me to benefit from the extra stop, and if the light was less, the faster shutterspeed.
On this occasion I did not keep changing my viewpoint as I might have done on previous occasions, in case I needed to change lenses or a battery, and I settled into trying to capture the action. It may seem perverse to want to capture a batsman being run out, or being bowled out, these are moments that depend on reaction speed, so these are the gems I seek, but there is no malice, and I am aware that my pleasure is not one that receives unalloyed glee from the batsman whose bails have been captured in the air by my fast finger! On the unfortunate batsman's return to the pavilion, he is unlikely to share my joy, so shouting: "I have a great shot of airborne bails" is not the best form of greeting!
However, my pleasure remains regardless, especially as capturing a fielder with a successful catch would be way too hard, and require considerably more knowledge of the specific bowler to even contemplate aiming for such an event? I did get shots of two separate batsmen who succumbed to the fate of being bowled out.
We did suffer a short intermission due to a short shower, and I was grateful that I was close to the pavilion to seek shelter and we were blessed with it being over fairly speedily. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to capture the afternoon's action, and I am very grateful for one of the teams very kindly giving me a slice of pizza which was most welcome.
I hope I have managed to capture the atmosphere and action from the afternoon; I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to combine being out, and hopefully capturing the spirit of the match.
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