Some Different Moments from RugbyTown7s

So the first day of the RugbyTown7s held at Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado is complete.  This blog is not about the action images, though many of those can be viewed at the Army Rugby Media Portal.  No in this blog I have tried to capture just a couple of different moments from day one and also a couple of examples of looking for a different perspective.

The images above and below are examples of how a change in perspective can change the feel of the image and in the case of the first one, change it quite dramatically.  

Arriving at Infinity Park well before play was due to start I had the opportunity to roam freely.  They were testing the scoreboard and I wanted to capture an image of the logo on the scoreboard.  On the left is a standard portrait but by zooming in tighter I could isolate the logo on the scoreboard's black background.  The top of the posts still ground the image as being at a rugby field.

The second pair of images was me trying to capture a sense of location.  The Rockies in the background were in view but quite hazy. Changing from portrait to landscape, a change of angle and waiting for the groundsman on his mower I was able to create an image with more depth, a sense of the stadium (empty) and still have enough of the mountains behind to give that context.

A couple of portraits of coaches looking thoughtful.  The one on the left is Damu, the head coach of the British Army Sevens and a former England International.  The tournament is his first as head coach and it is rare to see him looking so pensive.  The Image was taken as an opportunist one with my working lens, the EF200-400mm opened at f4.0.  As a consequence there is quite a bit of detail in the back ground.

The coach on the right is the SoCal Griffens' coach.  This image was not an opportunist one but one I spent some time with a camera on him.  This meant that I was shooting wth the EF200mm prime opened at f2.0.  The background blur helps to isolate another thoughtful pose from a coach on the side line.  Of course his glasses give the image an extra dimension.  It is an image that justified me bringing this extra lens with me.

The final three images were obtained indirectly due to the heat.  Having won their opening game the Army were about to go in to their usual post match huddle on the pitch.  Damu stepped in and told the players to go to the side of the pitch to be in the shade,  This allowed me to get above them as they had a quick debrief.  The first opportunity arose when a player put an iced towel over his head to help cool down.  However I did not execute this as I would have wished.  However when they went in to their final hands clasp I realised that a shot I had taken many times before from a low angle was now going to be taken from a new vantage point.  The last image I was really pleased with as it is a powerful symbol of team togetherness and respect for each other.

I certainly think it is an image that my client, the Army Rugby Union, would be pleased with and able to use as part of their marketing about what it means to play Army Rugby.