Emerging from hibernation

Many people advocate a winter break for football and other outdoor sports. The question is of course when it would be. A cold snap in February has wiped out a couple of weeks' football fixtures; last season December was frozen off; the year before the cold snap was in January; and before that, November was washed out. The danger of a scheduled break is that playable pitches will be idle, with fixtures still postponed at other times. So, there is nothing for it, but to find a nice pile of leaves, and retreat under it for a couple of weeks when the bad weather comes.

It could be worse - in Helsinki last week they were talking of ice hockey possibly being frozen off. This was the second year of the "Winter Classic" match, in the Olympic Stadium, between the venerable HIFK, who play at the Ice Hall, a short walk from the stadium, and Jokerit, their Johnny-come-lately rivals from the railway sidings of Pasila. The SM-Liiga has a minimum temperature for games of -20ºC: any colder raises concerns about the welfare of the players and spectators, and it is difficult to prevent dangerous cracks forming on the surface of the ice. In the event, the temperature stayed just above the required level, and I am reliably informed a large crowd was mad enough to sit outside and see HIFK win 3-2.

This weekend saw another round of postponements, including Prescot Cables' fixture at Ossett Albion. Rugby union came to the rescue, with Bradford & Bingley visiting the ice free Sefton coast to play Waterloo.

Much of the art of creating a good sports photo is in cropping. In rugby union, there is often a lot going on, players moving in to form a ruck or maul, or taking up position for when the ball emerges from the breakdown, so the image looks cluttered without a point to draw the eye.

However, when we crop closely around the player with the ball, we get a much clearer image.

In a ball game, I usually regard the ball as an essential component of a picture, unless it is a portrait. I am not sure whether I need to apply this as strictly in rugby union, a lot of action takes place in a ruck (with the ball on the ground) or a maul (with the ball being handled standing). Not having played, I am not sure what is going on in there, but a former player can probably deduce something. The most photogenic moment remains when the ball is about to emerge.

I also caught a picture that can only come from rugby, where the player is holding the ball. I had not noticed how much the light had dropped, and the automatic settings gave a shutter speed of 1/160s, making the ball appear in the image as perfectly still, with movement occurring all around it (the effect is clearer if you click on the picture to see a larger image).

The rest of the weekend was a busy sporting one, although not for photography. My friend Roger was staying with me, so it was ice hockey at Manchester Phoenix (fortunately indoors), and rugby league at Warrington Wolves. Both these outfits can afford professional photographers, so I could watch without the need to think about pictures. There is a snag, particularly at the rugby league - I am not at all used to seeing the action at the other end of the pitch without the assistance of a 300mm lens.

The rest of the pictures from the game at Waterloo can be seen here.