"Lost My Contacts!"
The sun was shining during the actual game, but the field was still really muddy...
The sun was shining during the actual game, but the field was still really muddy...
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Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Aperture f/5.6 ISO 500 Shutter 1/1600 Focal Length 400/1 
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, IT
Oct, 2021Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I was covering a game (or "match", as they call it ;) ) for my local team in Bologna, Italy, that happens to be the very first registered rugby team in Italy, in 1928. This is a Serie B regular season game against Cadetta Valsugana. The weather was deceivingly fair, for Christmas: having poured the night before, the field had turned into a bonafide quagmire, leading to less than dynamic action by the players, and to both teams soon sharing the same, mud-caked uniform. The pandemic was just a couple months away...Time
Despite being taken at 4pm, the light is incredibly warm, considering the date was Dec. 22, 2019, lending a summer glow to an otherwise Christmas picture. BTW, this happens to be the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in terms of daytime, so 4pm is actually almost sundown!Lighting
Wintertime presents both limitations and opportunities for the outdoor sports photographer. While there is a fair chance of ending up with either rain or fog, or at best a dull overcast, every now and then you are blessed with one of those sunny, crisp days with a very warm light caused by the low incidence of sunrays on the atmosphere: a photographer's delight!Equipment
This was shot on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II mounted on a monopod, through a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L set at maximum aperture f/5.6 and 1/1600 sec., ISO500. Given the fast shutter speeds normally used to freeze the action, no IS was used. Focal length: 400mmInspiration
I always try to focus on a specific subject within the possible picture, in order to obtain shots that best convey the tension of the moment, or are downright funny. I was kneeling behind the opposite endzone to gain those extra few inches of "into the action" perspective (the sports photographer's #1 rule: STAY LOW!), putting to good use the kneepads I had brought along, when the referee whistled and the action ground to a halt and the players slowly began to separate: not easy when you have 30 guys entangled in a muddy pile-up. This one guy lingered on a little longer in the mud, appearing either to like it, or to have lost something, hence the title.Editing
I normally strive to do the smallest amount of post processing as possible, trying to rely on camera settings for best results. all the same, Lightroom is my friend, so I am continuosly developing new presets, fine-tuning them to accomodate each session's unique mix of lighting conditions. Here, I had to turn the exposure up a bit, also helped by some curve tweaking.In my camera bag
I mostly do action events: dynamic sports (US football, rugby, baseball), aviation and live music, so I try to pack the lightest I can. I try to keep everything in a backpack, to allow for mobility even while on location. My kit is based on two Canon EOS 7D bodies (1 Mk.I + 1 Mk.II), 1x Canon EF24-70 2.8 L, 1x Canon 70-200 2.8 L, 1x Canon 100-400 IS L; occasionally, I have also used Sigma 10-20 f/3.5 EX DC HSM AF, and Canon EF 500mm f/4L Apart from live music, I always use some kind of support: I have one of those tripods that allow for on leg to be detached to act as a monopod - highly recommended!Feedback
I generally shoot raw on manual, with auto ISO, setting a maximum ISO figure to prevent the camera sw from going ballistic. I try to shoot as fast as the lghting allows, so the IS is always off (aside from some prop planes shots where you need to go slow to capture blade blur). Stay low, and learn the sports rules to anticipate the action
