First and foremost is to determine what is the purpose of the image and what story is being told. The purpose of the image will play a big role in hole photographed, the angle and altitude – e.g. if you want to show the ruggedness and isolation of the course, you’d avoid angles and elevations where surrounding houses will be displayed.

To highlight the undulating contours and slopes on a links course, which creates dimension and texture in the image, the sun needs to be at a low angle  to the ground to create the necessary shadows – sunrise or sunset. 

Typically links golf courses have tiny pot bunkers, but to see some light and detail in them, the sun must be at a suitable angle and direction. I use the website https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/australia/perth to see the time and direction at which the sun will rise or set and then plan on a golf course map which holes will be best presented on the specific day to highlight the unique characteristics of the hole.

The golf course superintendent and his staff have scheduled course maintenance tasks before the players tee off and the shoot needs to be synchronised with them and the club manager. They can assist to get a hole cut in the preferred position as one needs a one needs a pin and flag in the green to show it’s a golf course, preferably in a position where the sun will strike the flag and produce a colourful contrast against the greens and shadows of the course.

The day before the shoot, ensure all the memory cards are formatted, drone batteries and controllers charged, drone camera settings as required – always pack spares blades, batteries, memory cards.

On the day of the shoot, leave early enough so that traffic delays don’t make you miss the magical few minutes if it’s a sunrise shoot, which always seems shorter than during a sunset shoot. Meet up with the superintendent and his crew to finalise arrangements and then get to the planned shooting location as soon as possible – a golf cart can save you valuable minutes. Be aware of the time and get the drone up in the sky a few minutes before sunrise and try different angles and altitudes – plan for 20 minutes in the sky based on the drone’s maximum flight time before having to change batteries.

If the image will be displayed in a large format print (e.g. 36+ inches on long side) inside the clubhouse, the following picture will create a more dramatic effect as the eye is drawn to the sliver of sun on the green.

If the image will be used on social media, i.e. a small smartphone or laptop screen, the following image will present the hole more effectively.

Photographing a beautiful golf course is a magical experience – what can be better than being on a course at sunrise combining your love for golf and photography to create memorable images of a magnificent sporting arena for the club owner and members? – as Walter Hagen used to say “Don’t forget to smell the flowers”

"Wee Tap" the par 3 16th, measuring 'only' 138m from the back, is one of the few holes from Australian golf courses listed in Jeff Barr's book "1001 Golf Holes You Must Play Before You Die". In the afternoon, when the Fremantle Doctor blows (the prevailing SSW wind), this hole is much more than a 'wee tap' - a very shallow, elevated green modelled after the "Postage Stamp" at Troon, with 3 deep and penalising pot bunkers waiting for any misshit shot.

Below are my two favourite images from the shoot - I think for a large print (36x24 or larger 😊), the first image would be most striking as only the green being lit by the first rays of the sun focusses your eye to the green, after which the eye can wander to see the contours and slopes on the surrounding fairways, dark ominous bush, the 16th tee on the right towards the sun and the proximity to the Indian Ocean on the left, in the rest of the frame.

As the green is larger in the second image, it would probably be more suited in a smaller format such as social media or on the golf club's score card.

Which one do you prefer?

In this shot, the portions of the athlete that are stationary relative to the overall movement, are sharp - so sharp you can read the time on her digital watch!

If you can get an object / athlete going in the opposite direction in the background, you'll create double the sensation of speed!

Some tips - credit to Clive Mason (Getty) and Dave Black

1. Use a shutter speed slow enough to create the background blur for your subject- e.g. cyclists would need a slower shutter speed than a racing car. You need wheels to be spinning.

2. Frame the subject against a background that has texture, such as shrubs, trees, pavilion etc. to see the motion blur.

3. Shoot at 90 degrees to your subject to maximise motion blur.

4. Start with slower shutter speed and work upwards until you can get a sharp image - gets easier this way and you'll reach the maximum effect quicker.

5. If your lens has Vibration Reduction / Image Stabilisation, then use it in Normal mode if you are on a stationary surface.

6. Use Continuous Focus mode with single point AF, aiming the AF point on a 'stationary' part; e.g. helmet, athlete's hand - shoot in burst mode.

7. Realise that the keeper rate goes up the more you practise

Have fun! 🚴🏻‍♂️💨

Once you've mastered subjects moving in 1 dimension (left to right / up & down) such as cars, cyclists, then advance to subjects in 2 dimensions (left to right and up & down) - e.g. athlete running like this shot of a cricket fast bowler running in to bowl.

Being a sports photographer, we get unique access to some of the most amazing sporting arenas, down at the playing level. As golfers, we get down to the playing level that professionals play at, but we never get to see these magnificent "sporting cathedrals" from a golf ball in flight's perspective.

This is my personal project - to display these soul calming venues in their true beauty in a series of blogs.

USA11_0907 Par 4 10th "Camellia" 495 yards - Augusta National Golf Club, USA

Par 4 12th 360 yards "Finchy's Folly" - Links Kennedy Bay, Australia

Late aftenoon shadows across the links accentuates the contours, slopes and texture of the fairways, pot bunkers and greens.

I had my subject stand 1 metre inside a doorway facing outside, so that he was in covered shade, yet still getting most of the light from the front to illuminate his eyes and eliminate those dreaded racoon eyes when shooting in uncovered shade. The light fall off shooting from outside into the room was quick producing a dark background, yet with some detail.

If the light, looking from inside to outside is a bit bright for your subject, have someone hold a dark towel up behind you to minimise squinting, although as Perter Hurley says, a little bit of a 'squinch' is good. Don't forget to set your white balance by using a grey card or an Expodisc.

To give the subject an alternative look, I moved indoors, bounced the on-camera flash backwards over my left shoulder, off a white ceiling

but had him turn his left shoulder closer to the camera this time - very different look, but just as quick to set up

• get down as low as possible to get faces and athletes more prominent
• find a sweet spot / sector in the field where your lens is at its best and stick to shooting in that sector
• get the background as clean as possible so that athlete / action stands out
• shoot from the outside of the field to the inside to eliminate a busy background
• Get the light behind you, except when the sun is high 11 - midday, when you should rather shoot into the sun and adjust exposure for the face - this will remove the raccoon shadows in the eyes (Peter Reid Miller)

But sometimes using shadows and light in a different way can produce unique images that will make your images stand out from the other photographers

With the sun setting earlier as Autumn approaches and the north western pavilion a bit lower in height than the main pavilion next to it, about a third of the northern section of the field is covered in sun for about 30 minutes in the first halve, set against the northern stand already in shade producing a dark background. Instead of shooting soccer with the convention option of a 200-400mm lens, I decided to shoot with a 400mm f2.8 with a 1.4TC which would give me reach to the far end of the field into the strip of sunlight. Then it's a matter of anticipation to get the prerequisite "2 faces, a ball, feet off the ground"

It is so important to really look at the whole image in the viewfinder and not just the subject itself. By carefully looking and readjusting our shooting angle or a few paces to either side, we can elimiate distracting objects or highlights in the background. Cliff Mautner says you should 'bob & weave' like a boxer as a few inches either side can make or break an image. When shooting sports, a busy backgrounds kills the image. So even though you can't bob & weave as with a portrait, select a 'sweet zone' on the field regarding lens, light and background and then discipline yourself to shoot in it

Here is an image I saw in my mind as I took it during an AFL match - golden, late afternoon sunlight coming at an angle to enhance mood and texture, dark background in the shadows of the trees, bright colours in the jerseys, with urgency and concentration in the last quarter of the game -  one of my favourite of the 2015 season 😊

Twenty years later we have seen the re-emergence of these giants. Huge, very fast and strong, yet players with the skills and deft touch of a pickpocket.

The French always regarded the forwards as the piano movers and the backs as the piano players. Now some of the wings are bigger than the props or locks! And faster!

Nemani Nadolo (Crusaders) – 194cm (6ft 4), 125kg!

Taqele Naiyaravoro (Warathas) – 194cm (6ft 4), 123kg!

Julian Savea (Hurricanes) – 192cm (6ft 3), 103kg!

Patrick Osborne (Highlanders) – 189cm (6ft 2) 108kg

Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) - 186cm (6ft 1) 96kg

Cornal Hendricks (Cheetahs) – 189cm (6ft 2) 90kg was your traditional wing – explosive speed, elusive side step and an eye for the corner flag.

It’s been wonderful to photograph these players close up, feeling the earth vibrate as they thunder towards the try line. Come on Rugby World Cup!

Tradition has it that Danie Craven developed this diving technique to get the wet, heavy and slippery leather ball as quickly and accurately to his backline on the muddy fields of New Zealand.

Danie Craven, who was selected for South Africa at the age of 19 before making his provincial debut for Western Province, played for, captained and coached the Springboks and is the longest serving President of the South African Rugby Board. When appointed coach in 1949, he won 10 games in a row which included a 4-0 whitewash over Fred Allen's All Blacks in South Africa. As Wikipedia puts it ... "In 2007 he became the third inductee into the IRB Hall of Fame, only preceded by Rugby School and William Webb Ellis, the alleged instigator of the game that would develop into rugby union"

Wonderful to see the diving pass again!

What would my photography bucket list be? As I concentrate mainly in sports photography, I'd pick two sports that have been close to my heart for many years and bring back fond memories of time spent with my Dad.

1. Shooting the US Masters Golf Tournament. Across all disciplines of sport, most sportsmen and women find golf the most challenging sport - the game where perfection is like a mirage in the desert.  I've been lucky to have been to Augusta during Masters week in 3 different years over 2 decades - even though TV cameras are positioned to present viewers with the best angles to view the golf and the beauty of the course, anyone who has been there when the dogwoods and azaleas are in full bloom, will attest to the fact that "TV doesn't do its beauty justice" - it is undescribably magnificent. 

USA11_0897

2. All Blacks vs Springboks rugby Test in New Zealand. A Test between these two nations is still the pinnacle of rugby rivalry in the world, with both teams rated #1 and #2 over decades. I've seen images of how beautiful New Zealand is and can just imagine the thrill of watching the All Blacks performing the haka before the Test.

Both these events would combine my love of the Rugby, golf and photography. What are your bucket list items?

On my recent trip to South Africa over the December holidays, Mr Johan Volsteedt, the former and now retired Headmaster of Grey College (www.greycollege.com) and schoolboy cricket coach of the first two South African Test Cricket captains after readmission in 1992, Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje, all time great fast bowler Alan Donald and many more, offered to help my 14 year old son with his cricket, partly for the reason I was an Old Grey from 1978.

On the weekend after the first 2 hour coaching session, Mr Volsteedt slipped on a flight of stairs and broke his right angle and tore the ligaments. Yet one week after surgery he was back in the nets coaching this boy from his wheelchair, who is not only from a different school, but also another country. Hard to even imagine and comprehend such dedication!

2014SA_0240_FB

Truly, this is a passion for coaching and a love of this great game we call cricket! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all coaches and administrators had such purity in reason?

NIHIL STABILE QUOD INFIDUM
Nothing is steadfast which is not true

But how do you benchmark things like fielding in cricket? Even if you have % of throws at stumps that hit, throws will be from different angles, some where all three stumps are visible to the extreme of only seeing a single stump.

Same with something subjective like photography. After a rugby match, I compare my images to those published on Getty Images and AAP looking at the range, angles and types of shots taken. If you look carefully, you can always learn something new.

http://www.gettyimages.com.au/editorialimages/sport

http://one.aap.com.au/#/

Fortunately, if we cringe looking back at images of a few seasons ago, which we then thought were ‘good’, we know we’re growing! Happy shooting.

But what if you can’t take the flash off the camera? – photographers would normally then resort to swivelling the on-camera’s flash head backwards or to the sides to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling - but as a sports photographer out on the field (with no walls or ceilings), things happen quickly and the post match celebration and jubilation moments last for a short time only.

In the example below, I used an on-camera flash, with a diffusion dome light modifier attached. Flash was set to TTL / BL mode angled upwards at 70 degrees which produced a sliver of soft feathered light – so even with an on-camera flash, on those occasions when you can’t get the flash off the camera, using this technique, you can still create some texture and dimension and get those important catch lights high up in the eyes. 

(Credit to Cliff Mautner for showing this technique in one of his classes)

Why are some sports stars so adored?

Nic Cummins, fondly referred to as the "Honey Badger", has become a crowd favourite in the Western Force and Australian Wallabies rugby teams. So much that blonde curly wig sales have gone through the roof in Perth with fans proudly adorning their wigs with some tape on match day.

Sadly, due to family circumstances Nic is moving to play his rugby next season in Japan – all the best Nic – thanks for the memories!

AFL and Rugby have been some of my favourite, each with their own dramatic moments;

In rugby, the positive aspects are:

• players largely advance forwards 'in a line' due to the offside rule
• players are coming towards you, thus providing a better chance of getting 'two faces and a ball' in the shot
• dramatic celebrations after the 'battle'

whereas the challenges are:

• players drop their faces towards the ground just before making contact. Thus, unless you're really low to the ground, you'll get a lot of the top of players' heads
• as the attacking and defensive lines face each other almost 1-on-1 in a line drifting in the direction of play, you'll get many players crossing between you and the player you're shooting
• many movements are short bursts of only a few paces which produce 'static' looking images
• you'll mostly get the faces of either the attackers or defenders from behind goal area - not both. To get both you need to move to the sidelines and take your chances with medical staff, TV crew, linesman, balls boys etc between you and the play

In AFL (Aussie Rules), the positive aspects are:

• players are often jumping up towards the ball in the air exposing their faces
• game is played at high speed producing a sense of urgency, concentration and speed in the images

whereas the challenges are:

• players run in 'random directions' on the field twisting and turning all the time as defenders can come from any direction making it difficult to get faces or clean shots
• the size of the oval (officially 135m x 165m! - almost 2 rugby fields side by side with an elliptical border) - try shooting that with a smartphone! 
• no offsides rule, so the play moves very quickly towards and away from the photographer

But they're all fun to shoot and it's a great feeling when you 'know' you've got THAT shot, even before you get home to view them on the computer

How about trying 'a small smile with a mischievous glint in the eye' look - very different effect heh?

In the picture below of sport photographers in the background, they are all in a low position relative to the player - Getty sport photographers are known to be some of the best in the world - compare the eye level of the 3 photographers in the yellow bibs in front of the advertising boards. Guess which one of the 3 is the Getty photographer? (and no disrepect meant to the other  - all photographers in the image are good)  - correct - the guy on the far right.

So if the best shooters can get this low to shoot 6ft+ rugby giants, how much lower do we need to be to capture images of our kids?

At least get down to their eye level - instead of  the normal 'top of their head' images, you'll suddenly not only see their full faces, but also engaging expressions in their faces, happy to see someone at their level.

Happy shooting!

Wallaby international David Pocock was out of rugby for more than a season after a bad knee injury and was just starting his come back - he was operated on today and will be out for the rest of the season.

Hope you recover speedily and strongly David!

Fans can sometimes be fickle - as the old saying goes … "you're only as good as your last game" - of course this isn't true as a good player over many seasons doesn't become a bad player overnight, but it would seem so reading the newspapers and comments on the internet.

Mentally it's a very demanding world, where everyone is your friend while you're performing well, but being cast aside is often just a few bad matches away. The result is that so many sportsmen build a mental shield and can be perceived as cocky  / arrogant.  When I think back to some of the truly greats in their chosen sports like Pete Sampras, Jack Nicklaus, Roger Federer, Jacques Kallis etc. - they were all very humble in their achievements and conducted themselves as wonderful role models for the younger generation.

So it was heartwarming to see the humility by Japan A rugby team yesterday in a sweltering Perth when they played against the Western Force A. The respect shown on crossing the touchline and going onto a field was so refreshing - there was no swagger - just thankfullness for the opportunity.

Even though it was a tough match and a learning experience for them, I wish them all the best for the remainder of their Australian tour. It was an honour to photograph your match for Rugby Magazine Japan - thank you. (http://rugby-rp.com/news.asp?idx=105551&code_s=1000)

Japan A_1011Brave defence by Japan A in the match Japan A vs. Western Force A at nib Stadium in Perth on Saturday 1st March 2014

People say we shouldn't look back in life with regrets - but sometimes we miss opportunities that are there for a brief moment only - these 'regrets' are not necessarily things we have done, but often things we haven't done. 

When I was about 1 year old my parents had a photo taken of me at a studio which was printed in black & white.

When my son was a year old, I wanted to take a photo of him in a similar pose, but I procrastinated  - unfortunately one can't go back in time. 

I took this image about a year later after a fun afternoon with the garden hose.

So when you get the opportunity to capture or purchase a moment, whether in normal life or sport of your kids, don't let it slip past.