November - in July

One of the least promising times to photograph football is on a wet November afternoon. The light seems not to have got going all day, and fades even more as the game is going on. You are using a high ISO setting all the way through, and the photos in the collection are those that made their way through the gloom. With the weather we have had recently, this is not a bad description of a July evening, with the addition of warm(ish) air and rain making for an unpleasant humidity as well.

Such were the conditions for Prescot Cables' first home friendly of the season, against Vauxhall Motors. I quickly abandoned the sports mode on the camera and went for shutter priority, straight to 1/250s without trying something higher. I took refuge from the rain in the stand, with its high view across the pitch, which I think is probably better for video than still photography, although for both types it provides a view most clubs do not have.

The performance from both teams was better than the conditions. Prescot took an early lead from James Thomas...

James Thomas shoots for Prescot's goal

...who kept the camera busy with frequent runs to goal, and more importantly kept the Vauxhall goalkeeper busy at the end of them.

On a bright night at this time of year, one might hope to avoid turning the floodlights on until the middle of the second half, but it was apparent half way through the first half that they would be needed.

Results from the end of the game, when I had taken up position beneath the cover at the Hope Street end, were similar to those on a night much later in the year.

Being the first home friendly, many supporters were seeing Dave Powell's team for the first time, and comments suggest that they were pleasantly surprised. Despite conceding not long after our own goal, the team kept a Vauxhall side that their manager said was mainly first team players with a couple of triallists to a draw.

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