Capturing the Decisive Moment – Sports & Action
On May 27th Keyworth Camera Club were visited via Zoom by Roger Hance FRPS AFIAP DPAGB BPE5* who gave us his presentation Capturing the Decisive Moment – Sports & Action. For sports photographers and/or fans this was a must see.
The talk was packed with hints and tips about how to photograph the eighteen different sports Roger showed; sports such as Swimming, Cyclocross, Boxing, Judo, Speedway, Marathons, Rugby and Superbikes. He pointed out which sports were the easiest, such as White-Water Canoeing and those where having a press pass is an advantage, Athletics – both track and field events – for instance. Roger also told us which were the hardest, usually those played indoors in low light, like Ice Hockey and Wheelchair Basketball. Roger’s favourite sport to photograph is Table Tennis, which has its own set of problems to overcome if you want to achieve successful images.
Roger told us about his experiences in getting press passes which were both informative and humorous. Roger discussed the shutter-speeds needed to freeze the action in different sports and commented on the importance of finding a good vantage point with a decent background. He also covered focal lengths and when to start taking your images to capture the peak of the action. He also pointed out how you’d need to know when to duck and that having a weather cover for your camera would protect it when working in a downpour.
Roger’s knowledge and willingness to share his techniques combined with his excellent commentary and superb photography made this talk one of the highlights of the year and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank Roger for a terrific evening.
