Trying Something New at Bridge the Gap Sheffield

Going lighter allowed me to get closer to the action and react when it was happening. 1/1000s 70mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

As I talked about in my previous blog, using a big 300mm prime lens proved to be challenging for 7-a-side football. While I did manage to get some good action shots there were many more I missed as I was just too close or just not in the right place, mostly being rooted to one spot with my tripod. Taking on advice from a more seasoned professional, the 70-200mm lens seemed to be the ideal choice for his flexibility, not just in its adjustable reach, but also that you can move much more freely.

One of the few shots I took with my Z6 and my 50mm Z F1.8, during the warm-up. 1/1000s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1000.

Thankfully I didn’t have to duck for this shot. 1/1000s 135mm F4.0 ISO 4000.

Bridge the Gap always has a friendly atmosphere. 1/1000s 112mm F4.0 ISO 4000.

People swapped in and out of goal across the different matches. 1/1000s 185mm F4.0 ISO 4000.

Thankfully I had a chance to try this out not long after the National Tournament with a trip to Bridge the Gap Sheffield where my friend plays. The set-up was similar, with multiple matches being played across a full-sized pitch, keeping me on my toes as I had to capture all three of the concurrent games. It’s worth pointing out that netting separated each pitch here, which hadn’t been the case at the tournament. Using my 300mm lens really would have been hopeless!

Matt takes on three other players. 1/1000s 130mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

Shooting a smaller lens handheld allowed me to move more easily between the three matches. 1/1000s 160mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

Being able to zoom in and out mostly solved the problem of being either too close or too far away. 1/800s 120mm F4.0 ISO 10000.

Sports is all about action and whichever tool allows you to capture more action is the one you should use. 1/1000s 160mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

It was definitely a much better experience. I could happily stand either at the edge of the pitch or on the side, which I wasn’t able to do before, and not being weighed down by heavy gear I could flit between matches and home in on the action. One limitation however was that my 70-200mm lens is F4.0 and not F2.8. This is fine for my usual car photography but missing that extra stop of light definitely made things more difficult. For one I had less bokeh to deal with busy backgrounds and, as this football session was late in the day, I had to reach for very high ISOs as the light was fading. When even ISO 10000 wasn’t enough I was forced to switch to my 105mm F1.4 lens.

It’s all good natured fun but obviously the players still take it seriously. 1/1000s 200mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

Keeping up with the runners. 1/800s 78mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

With the shorter zoom lens it’s much easier to photograph penalties. 1/800s 102mm F4.0 ISO 6400.

A group battles for the ball. 1/800s 70mm F4.0 ISO 10000.

Using this lens was also a good experiment as it’s not a lens that was designed for fast action in mind. However, it still was able to track well and the increased bokeh did allow for better subject separation from the background. Naturally as a prime lens I had to be more mindful of where I was standing and sometimes I had to accept that I either just didn’t have enough reach, or that things had come too close.

Image quality really started to fall apart at ISO 10000. 1/800s 90mm F4.0 ISO 10000.

Switching to the 105mm F1.4 lens allowed me to cut my ISO in half while it was getting darker. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

Shooting at F1.4 gave much better separation between the players and the background. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

Matt going for goal. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

I am happy to admit that I am not a sports photographer, so I was not expecting these images to suddenly blow everyone’s socks off. Clearly if I did more of this then I need to pick up an F2.8 version of the 70-200mm or something similar to get the extra benefits that really make a difference when shooting sports. However, for me it’s hard to justify the money spent when this is a rare activity and often what I do shoot (like hockey or cricket) perfectly suits my bigger 300mm lens. But as ever this was a good learning exercise and I look forward to applying it further in the future.

Hoisting the ball into the air. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

Spirited celebrations are all part of the fun. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

Floodlights coming on dramatically changes the lighting and colour balance. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 5000.

A final penalty shootout to round out the night. 1/800s 105mm F1.4 ISO 6400.

Got any tips and tricks for sports photography? Leave it down in the comments section below.

If you have enjoyed this blog then please consider leaving a tip below.