Photography News Issue 71

Interview

“Onmany occasions, players have spilledover from the pitchand fallenoverme” PN: After amatchwhere you’ve been under a lot of pressure to get the shot, is there a sense of relief? DR: If you’ve had a good day, there’s elation, but if not, it can be very disappointing. I suppose it’s very close f/2.8L IS II USM lens for the try line, but it varies. 

 PN: What about technique?Most of the time is it about nailing focus and freezingmovement? Or do you get to use other creative techniques in your sport photography, like slow shutter speeds or abstract framing?
 DR: That really depends on the event. As a rugby match is only 80 minutes, you actually don’t have much time to experiment with photography techniques, angles or shots as, in doing that, youmight miss something important! Somost of the time I try to keep at about 1/2000sec and keep the lens wide open or near to it. ISO is kept high at around 3200. In the smaller matches, if time allows, you get more chance to experiment, so I’mmore likely to do it there. PN: Is there a commonmistake that sport photographersmake when they’re starting out? 
 DR: The usual problem that people have when they’re inexperienced is not filling the frame. They shoot the action and backgrounds too far away. I hate messy backgrounds, so the smoother and the cleaner the better, for me. That means lots of magnification frommy Canon telephoto lenses, and working at wide apertures. Aside from the technical aspects, you need to look out for distractions in the background, too. PN: Do you ever set up remote cameras near the try line for rugby matches? Or does this happenmore often in football?
 DR: I do use remotes, but I decided on this occasion not to bring them as I just can’t carry everything! In rugby, remote images can be very dramatic but, unlike football, rugby players can score across a wider line, so it’s not like you just have the frame of the goal to aim at. PN: Being so close to the action, have you ever been a bit too close? Those rugby players are very solid...
 DR: Onmany occasions, players have spilled over from the pitch and fallen all over me, so it’s really just an occupational hazard! Also, being hit by the ball when not expecting it is not a pleasant experience! But the trade-off is worth it. You can’t get the same kind of pictures if you’re not close to the action.

ABOVE: “Joe Cokanasiga of England goes over to score his team's seventh try during the RugbyWorld Cup 2019 Group C game between England and USAat KobeMisaki Stadiumon 26 September 2019 in Kobe, Hyogo,Japan.When shooting this photograph, I was thinking at last England hadmade a decisive break. I had been tracking Joe Cokanasiga on his break through the Canadian defensive line. I switched tomy Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USMas he approached the try line. I expected him to dive, but he held off the tackler to score, which created a great shape as he planted the ball down”

WHAT’S IN DAVE’S BAG?

and add the metadata that informs a client what is happening in the images, also determining the global territory that each image should be sent to. PN: What’s the first thing you do after amatch? DR: Straight after the match, depending on timings, I tend to do a second edit. This is basically the pictures that we didn’t transmit straight away, but will probably be of use later. PN: Howwas the first England v Tongamatch, for you?What was the highlight froma photographic point of view? DR: The Tonga v Englandmatch went pretty well really. I had to cover the England attack both halves, which was beneficial in this match, as England scored four tries. Luckily, three of the four tries made reasonable pictures. The highlights, for me, was the celebration picture of Manu Tuilagi after his second try, and the tackle on AnthonyWatson. For more information on the Rugby World Cup and Getty images, please visit the Canon hub at canon.co.uk/ about_us/sponsorship/rugby-world- cup-2019 To see more of Dave Rogers’ work, visit gettyimages.co.uk/photos/ david-rogers

to the emotions the players themselves feel – but obviously to a lesser extent. PN: Howdoes amatchworkwhen it comes to editing and image delivery? Do you upload shots throughout thematch? If so, how does it work, technically? Do all the images go to a picture editor, or do photographers at the tournament’s venues back to the editors. The Getty London and Tokyo suites will be the primary editing suites for the images and Sydney will be supporting the two. This is mainly due to time difference considerations. The processing team in the editing suites use a pitch grid to track photographers and cameras; if a player runs in a certain direction, the team knows which photographer will pick it up and what type of image they should expect to receive. As our photographers capture images, the lead editor at each suite will receive and judge them, determining which will make the cut for our editorial feeds andmake any necessary edits. This process typically takes under 60 seconds – an impressive feat, which we pride ourselves on delivering for this kind of live broadcast event. Our lead caption editor will then obtain the reduced selection of images you only send a select few? 
 DR: We have several servers in Japan, and these connect all the

World-class sport photography relies on world-class gear. Camera bodies have to shoot at a lightning pace and give clean results at high ISOs, as well as offering quick, easy and safe image transfer back to the editing suite. When it comes to lenses, even with the privileged access afforded to Getty’s photographers, long lenses are amust tomagnify the action, and they need to be fast to give themotion-freezing shutter speeds and smoothly defocused backgrounds that make for iconic sporting shots. For this year’s RugbyWorld Cup, Dave took three Canon EOS-1DXMark II bodies, as well as a selection of lenses. He explains:“Canon EF400mm f/2.8L IS II USM, as well as a Canon Extender EF 1.4x III converter, are staples inmy kit bag and are needed at most of the venues.The other lenses I use include the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, EF 11-24mm f/4LUSM, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USMand Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, as well as flashguns for before and after thematch.The wider lenses are vital, as it’s not just about tightly cropped action shots for many clients. He adds:“Rugby can be played in very unpleasant weather, so I also take various covers for bothmyself and the camera gear.Waterproof coat and trousers are essential!”

22 Photography News | Issue 71

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