Q A and
Dave Rogers With the 2019 Rugby World Cup in full scrum, we caught up with one of Getty Images’ most experienced photographers to find out how he brings home the best shots
how he goes about shooting one of the world’s biggest sporting events... Photography News: So, could you tell us what got you interested in sport photography in the first place, Dave? Dave Rogers: I used to enjoy playing football when I was younger and I still love all sport. I first went on the British Lions tour in 1980 and loved working with the players, media and team, and that mademe realise sport photography was what I wanted to do.
argue with that, can you? Accountant or not, the numbers don’t lie. Dave’s has put in the years to become a hugely experienced sport shooter. Having worked for the past 28 years as a Getty Images photographer, he’s coveredmany events, but chiefly rugby and football, and has shot every Rugby World Cup final since the inaugural one in 1987. He’s also covered the last ten British and Irish Lions tours of the southern hemisphere, as well as the Rio Olympics in 2016. We caught up with Dave after England’s opening matches against Tonga and the USA to find out more about his career, the gear he uses, and
SPORT PHOTOGRAPHER DAVE ROGERS
“I was an accountant for a week and I hated it,” smiles Getty sport photographer Dave Rogers. “It hardly has the same thrill, as you can imagine.” Sitting, as he is, with his Canon EOS-1D XMark II and EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM beside the pitch at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, you can’t really
PN: Do you think there’s an exhilaration to getting a great
sporting picture? In the same way as there is, for example, to the sporting achievements you’re shooting? DR: For someone like me, doing sport photography is brilliant. It’s pretty much as close as you can get to being on the pitch playing rugby! And as the official photographer of World Rugby, Getty Images photographers are guaranteed the best spots pitchside. I’ve definitely had some exhilarating moments capturing games. Photographing rugby especially – because of scoring along the try line, you can get such a wide range of shots, so there’s variety in it, too. However, along with the thrill, even after 40 years I still get nervous ahead of big games. I put pressure on myself to take my best images.
ABOVE: “George Ford of England scored England’s fifth try of the game and he was very happy and reacted by throwing the ball in the air and scream- ing. I used my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM so that I could compose the image with all of the dejected Argentina play- ers in to give the photo some context”
LEFT: “Ben Smith of New Zealand was making a charge to the try line as two Namibia defenders were starting to catch up with him. I used my EF 70- 200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens so that I could shoot loser and frame the image. This was one of 11 tries in total against the spirited underdogs Namibia”
20 Photography News | Issue 71
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