[Kombisaurus]

I have a confession to make.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been showing up for athletics training with my
camera in an effort to learn some sports photography skills... and I've been doing it without telling anyone on shuttertalk or posting any photos!

I'm lucky enough to rub shoulders with elite athletes every day in my job, so it seems crazy that I shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity to take some photos of them. I'm concentrating on athletics at the moment, but will probably make my way around a number of other olympic sports during the year. I think athletics is one of the more interesting ones though from a photography point of view, as it can be so varied and it seems each discipline has specific techniques to master (not that I know what they all are yet!).

Before anyone starts with warnings about strangers taking photos of kids in tight clothes (which is a valid concern), I was invited to training by one of the coaches, and I know most of the other coaches and a number of the athletes, and have the permission of all of them. Apart from that, just being open and friendly and polite seems to go a long way in making any other people who may be there feel at ease. I also try to focus on the senior athletes (partly because you don't need to worry about concerned parents, partly because they are simply better athletes), and I've actually been working with one heptathlete in particular, Kylie Wheeler, because she's a friend of mine and being a heptathlete means she has quite a varied training regime.
In fact I worked *only* with Kylie today, as she was working alone on the other side of the track to the others.
For any athletics buffs out there, Kylie competed at the Athens Olympics last year (she came 18th in the heptathlon) and won gold and silver medals at the Manchester Commonwealth games in 2002. Not bad going considering her goal was to make Beijing in 2008, and nobody even expected her to qualify for Athens

If you are interested, her profile and stats can be found here:
http://www.athletics.org.au/athletes/pro...jectID=335

Anyway, enough guff... here are some photos from today's hurdles training at Perry Lakes.











This is the third time I've been to training with my camera, and although I still have an abysmal "hit-rate" (especially when I get close), I have noticed a definate improvement in my shots in just this short time which is really encouraging. And it is certainly more interesting that practicing panning by using traffic on the freeway

[Petographer]

Great post! That woman is ripped. The photos are well done. You found great posistioning for the series. The first image reminds me of a StudioJ image that he has done some special retouching on. Yours isn't quite the same but it does remind me of the ball player that Jamie did. Maybe he'll post and tell what he did. Keep up the good work.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks Pete,

hmm.. That's an interesting comparison of my first photo with Jamie's baseball photo. A similarity never occurred to me, but I just looked at the full photo of his again and yeah I guess both photos were taken with a wide-angle lens and both are poking their elbows at the camera.
That photo was actually quite a severe crop from the full photo below. It was a tough choice, as I think the full photo below also works well, but I really like the light on her face and the entire background being deep blue sky (It works well in b/w too). She was sprinting at the time, so I was pleased at how sharp it was considering how close I was to her and the fact I was using a polarising filter.
I love that I can now take photos at 400 ISO and they look this clean Even 800 ISO is useable for good images (but 1600 is for emergencies only).
For reference, this image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm, 400 ISO, f/3.5, and 1/2000th sec shutter.



It amazes me how relaxed she looks when she's running. I've got shots of her running with others - and everyone else is straining and look like they are running for their life, but Kylie (who is running just as hard) looks just as she does here... like she's taking a stroll in the park. It is suprising when she comes walking back to see that she's puffing, as she makes it all look so effortless.

[slejhamer]

Absolutely love the 4th one, with the top of the hurdles just in the frame. Nice tight composition. Sports magazine quality!

[shuttertalk]

Adrian, you've done well with the photos. My favourites are No. 1 and also the 2nd last one (the one Mitch is talking about) - they really capture the moment. She really looks in her prime - a real athlete.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks guys.
It is a bit weird just taking photos of people training, as often they aren't doing anything all that exciting.
But in just the three sessions I've been to with my camera so far I can see an improvement in my shots... I'd rather be mucking up shots now when they don't matter than during an important competition.

[Rufus]

Great stuff, and you are lucky to get such an opportunity too!

On the negative side, there is talk of the Apeman. Keep him away, he'll only steal your bananas. :/

[shuttertalk]

Thanks guys.
It is a bit weird just taking photos of people training, as often they aren't doing anything all that exciting.
But in just the three sessions I've been to with my camera so far I can see an improvement in my shots... I'd rather be mucking up shots now when they don't matter than during an important competition.

You're right - it's definitely good practice... keep it up! You're so lucky to be able to work with such interesting subjects . And do share if you get more cool ones!