Ball Sports

What an interesting photograph! I love the visual elegance and simplicity of this image. Shot from above you really get an image that stands out. Two figures caught in balletic movement around a football in a really unusual backdrop - not grass or dirt, but water! I love how the only way you know it's a football pitch is the corner flag planted in the "lake" of water the two figures are in. Two figures, a ball, and a red flag in a watery backdrop. I also love the wave of water enveloping the player's leg as he twists and turns. Such an unusual image really well composed. Congratulations!

Here is a photograph that looks at ball sports in a different way. With snooker or pool, because it is not a sport that's full of action, the photographer has concentrated on other elements in order to make the sport visually striking. In this case it's lighting and composition. the light is concentrated on the table itself surrounded by darkness, with only the lone figure picked out in the otherwise dimly lit room; which gives the photo mood. The photographer has also used a slow shutter speed to show the balls careering over the soft blue surface. The figure is nicely arranged centre frame underneath the one light source. and there is no visual distraction to take your eye away from what is going on. A really well thought out photograph.

Wow! what a striking image!. I assume it's not been photoshopped with the figure stuck onto the sky borrowed from another photo. The first thing you think about when you see this image is how did that basketball player get into that position and how did he jump that high?! I have seen many scenarios where players take running jumps onto trampolines in order to get the hight to generate these mid-air dunking shots. The point behind these shots is to get the player to exaggerate their mid-flight dunking movements, which is exactly what the photographer has done here; to make them look like they are literally super-human. The subject here has executed a perfect in-flight form as heads towards the basket. The photo made all the more surreal as we don't see any reference to the foreground or trampoline underneath him - just him against the moody sky and the tree-line. A fantastically striking and surreal image.

This is a brilliant action image with all the elements needed to make it stick in the mind. Not only has it caught the exact moment of optimum action with the outstretched volleyball player in the foreground in mid flight managing to keep the ball from touching the ground; but its also caught the drama and emotion in the eyes and expression of his team mate in the middle-ground - mesmerised by the ball. Meanwhile, the opponent in the background looks on in tense anticipation. Plus you have context in the crowd behind. It's also important when you take ball-sports photos, to try and fit the object of all the athletes' attention - the ball - in there somewhere; which this photographer certainly has done. The photographer has also made you feel like you are right in the middle of the action by taking the shot from ground-level in amongst the sand-grains! The late afternoon light also adds to this flawless photograph. Congratulations on a great sports action shot!

This image has so much drama! Running towards us, the central protagonist in this little narrative has a face caught in a desperation as he tries to get away from a pack of hunters chasing him down. You almost fear for what might happen to this foreground figure clutching for dear life to this ball, bare chest glistening with sweat, making you root for him as he makes his escape. The fact that it looks like a stadium that gladiators would normally be in, plus the bare chests and old-fashioned flamboyant outfits they are wearing; only makes this image even more dramatic. The arrangement of athletes in this image - slightly out of focus - behind the man with the ball, make this a well-composed and striking photograph.

This is an image that stays in the mind because of its mood and composition more than anything else. A lot of ball sports photographs focus on action and movement, but this image is all about atmosphere using the gorgeous soft light and colours of a sunset; made all the stronger by a lovely composition. It's important to notice the arrangement of lines in this picture, and the arrangement of things within them; because that's where the strong composition is. The photographer has made sure to fit nicely within the lines of the band of blue sea, all the volleyball players and the net. Above them is the lovely sky starting from a deep orange glow fading into a blue above. And suspended in mid air and completely isolated in that sunset sky, is the ball; directly above the net, with all the silhouetted players looking up at it. A beautiful image.

Wow, what a great action shot. And shot in such an unusual way. Usually, photographing Basketball matches means using a long lens to home in on jump shots around the base board, but this photographer has thought about taking the photograph from a different angle using a different lens. Placing the camera on the floor using what looks like a 24 mm focal length, they have taken not only the action showing the players, but also managing to show everything - the glistening court, lights, crowds and all. What stands out for me is the moment where we have an arc of players frozen in various modes of flight, where the central figure holding the ball is at the apex of that arc of five players; suspended in the air right above an opponent watching him, mouth agape. The two players either side of the central figure with the ball, with their arms raised high, complete this really well-composed action shot. A visually striking image. Well done!

This image makes you wince as you - and the players in the frame - brace for impact!. Rugby always gives you great moments of frozen action, but here the photographer has added something extra and that is the split-second before the physical mayhem where bodies come together, clash and grapple. Here the player bends down into the mid-rift of the player clutching the ball , arms outstretched as the they hurtle towards each other at full speed. Using a slightly lower shutter speed of 160th instead of the usual 500th (or above), means there is the blur of movement in the picture, that serves to enhance the sense of high-speed action and the coming together of bodies. The photographer has managed however to have the figure holding the ball relatively sharp, which is important because your eye needs to have some clear visual reference point. A great action shot.

This is a great action shot and like all good action shots, the central focus can be on the ball and all the action that happens around it, even if it doesn't involve the more dynamic full-on physical action that you'd expect from sports like rugby. Here the balls heads towards us in the foreground watched intently by cricketers. The player in the foreground is giving us all the drama and action we are looking for in a photo as he falls to the ground, twisting and turning as he does so, looking directly back at us as he follows the flight of the ball . His team mate looking on in anticipation behind him. A really well taken shot.

Wow. It's not often that you capture a moment of outrageous action that you don't always see let alone capture in that split second. It's sometimes only when you look back at your photos that you see something that you probably had not noticed when you pressed the shutter-button. In this case capturing something at 1600th of a second, where one player has connected with an opponent in an unusual way. Here in mid-flight a player has grabbed onto an opponents helmet, and in doing so has bent his head right-back and looks like he's committed a foul. Ouch! is the viewers initial reaction to this image. Sometimes a sport photographer has earned lots of plaudits for capturing a defining incident in a game, like a goal or a bad foul. If this photographer had been lucky enough to have been the other side and captured the expression on the face of the victim, it would have been an award winner! Well done for capturing a great moment.

This is a great photograph showing everything you need from a football game. Action, drama, and atmosphere. The photographer has caught a great moment where two opponents battle it out in mid-flight and top speed. Both figures are caught with the exact same balletic movement. I also love how their arms are crossed over each others bodies, trying to gain that tiny bit of advantage as they hurtle towards the ball on the edge of the frame. The drama comes from their expressions - both wide-eyed, desperate and determined; fixed firmly on the object of their desire. The atmosphere comes from the long lens at a shallow depth of field to isolate the two opponents; showing us the stadium and also the smoke hanging in the air from the flares thrown by the crowd. A great photograph.

This is a great iconic portrait of a basketball player in mid-flight. He is caught at that perfect split-second moment when he is at the highest point of his jump just before he releases the ball. His movements are nicely exaggerated; his expression is arresting and his athletic prowess is there for all to see - his muscular torso covered in sweat. I also really like the backdrop which is very different - a surreal backdrop of foliage, thrown out of focus that brings out the central figure even more. A really lovely iconic basketball image.

What an artistic photograph! Which is not something easily achievable from a sports action situation, let alone a water Polo event. How do you make a sport like water polo which on the face of it, is not the most visually dynamic or exciting of sports to photograph?. Well, this is how you take it to a completely new level. An image worthy of being shown in an art gallery, let alone the pages of a magazine or newspaper. The photographer has decided to show the elements of speed and action by using a slow shutter speed to give that blurry effect. As a result, the figures remain anonymous and the movement and splashes of water become the central visual element around them, giving the whole image the feel of an impressionistic painting. The water polo athletes along with the waves of water swirling around them, are in full flow and nicely arranged across the frame. The middle figure has been perfectly captured at the point where his raised arm, holding the ball - dead centre of the frame - looks like he is about shoot (or pass). This completes the composition of the photograph; but not only that, the photographer has shown us that it is water polo, not just figures swimming, which is the essential information we need. The saturated vibrant colour and lighting also make this image a special one. Congratulations to not only a great sports action moment - in a sport that is not easy to capture - but also a truly artistic one. A deserved winner.

Sometimes iconic pictures stick in the mind because they keep all the essential elements simple. In this case there are the three elements needed for a great photograph - decisive moment, composition, and lighting. Here we have a collection of silhouettes (we don't need to see their faces) all perfectly arranged, with the central figure directly beneath the object of everybody's attention, which is the ball, suspended perfectly in mid-air above all six players, that are in various states of movement underneath it. Then we have the lighting which here has a lovely silvery, metallic monotone look as the setting sun hits the surface of the water around the figures. A really well-balanced and beautiful, iconic photograph.