# Local cricket



## tarntyke (Apr 18, 2015)

I tried this for the first time today and found it very challenging. I missed a lot of wickets by chimping the previous delivery. Does anyone have any tips for getting good close-ups with reasonable DOF?


----------



## Roo (Apr 22, 2015)

You're right it is a challenging sport but I like shooting it. At local level you're usually dealing with shooting mainly white clothing against a dark background which can cause over exposure on the whites in addition to the constantly variable weather/light. I used to worry about missing wickets but I realised I'll never capture everything. There's just way too much out of your control - fielders moving into the shot etc. If you're shooting for a club they'll generally appreciate a range of action shot featuring the players rather than just the wickets.

I'm not sure what you used for the shots you have but you have a great set up for getting in close - the 500 f4 and 1.4 tele. Even then don't be afraid do crop hard. I use the Tamron 150-600 working mostly at 600 end. I mostly use a shutter speed of 1/1000 to 1/2000 and work at f7.1 to f8 as its a bit sharper on the Tammy than f6.3.


----------



## fragilesi (Apr 22, 2015)

Nice shots!

If I can make one recommendation it's that if you're ever in Hampshire visit Broadhalfpenny Down and try shooting the Brigands. The standard of cricket isn't great to be honest but it's a beautiful place to take cricket photos. I've only been a couple of times but will definitely go again this Summer. 

As for settings I tend to go for as high a shutter speed as I can to freeze the action and I tend to try and include the ball where I can, it just seems to bring a lot of the shots alive. Normally as you're a good distance from the action you can afford a relatively shallow depth of field. I think all these are F5.6 or 6.3 (Fastest I can go). It's *really* worthwhile to move around the field and use different angles, obviously being careful not to move behind the bowler's arm.

But good luck, for such a supposedly dull sport it offers a lot of challenges, especially as mentioned above those whites!!!

I should mention that my longest lens is the 70-300 so I don't quite have the reach that I would like. At least another 100 would help and it's a small ground there!


----------



## Roo (Sep 28, 2015)

Location, location, location. The scenery helps, especially when the cricket is boring ;D


----------

