How to Photograph Lawn Bowls

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

I originally wrote this blog just after I had set out my thoughts on How to Photograph Polo, which is a particularly fast and furious sport.  Bowls is almost diametrically opposite in terms of pace, but my experience of photographing at my local Bowls Club was that it is equally – if not more – social than polo.  It also proved to be one of the most competitive sports that I have ever witnessed!

As is often the case when I photograph a new sport, I had no idea how I was going to approach bowls.  In such situations, I have a look on the internet to see what others have done and see if there is a ‘How to Photograph [Sport]’ article – maybe you are doing this right now by reading this blog!  There wasn’t a huge amount of information on bowls, so it was a voyage of discovery …

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2000th sec; ISO 100)

In this case, I actually went along for a recce.  Some of the Club members were having a practice during the week, in advance of the men’s match the following Saturday.  There were only a few people practising and, in the very informal atmosphere, I was able to walk on the green itself (which – understandably – was strictly forbidden on match day) and take close ups of the players.

(Nikon D700; 24-70mm at 38mm; f/7.1; 1/320th sec; ISO 250)

During the recce, I used both of my camera bodies, so that I could try a number of different ideas. The photo above was taken with the full frame Nikon D700, providing opportunities for a wider angle than the crop sensor Nikon D500, which - at the time - I used to use most of the time for my sport photography (I now use a Sony A9II).

While invaluable in preparing for the main event, the light was different in each case.  The practice session was in the early evening, which meant that there were long shadows on the green.  The sun was much higher for the match and the players’ hats cast a strong shadow, making it difficult to get a good shot of their face.  Moreover, the players on the Saturday were wearing their match kit, which was bright white, leading to high contrast.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 160mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 250)

I set out my ‘standard’ camera settings in my blog  'Getting into Sport and Music Photography'.  In the case of the bowls match, I kept the lens wide open to achieve a shallow depth of field and blur the background, as usual.  But as it was such a bright day, I had to set the shutter speed to up to 1/5000th second to compensate for the wide open aperture.  With the ISO set on ‘Auto’, the ISO readings that I was getting were in the 100 to 1000 band, which was fine.

Although I do often shoot JPEG files, on this occasion I did shoot RAW, because I knew that the lighting condition were particularly challenging and that I would therefore want to recover as much detail as possible from the shadows.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 185mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 200)

I was anxious that the sound of my camera – and my presence itself – did not become a distraction for the players who were concentrating hard.  With this in mind, I had offered to take photographs of both the teams before the match started, so that they were all aware that I was there, knew what I would be doing, and had got used to my presence. Of course, if I had had my current Sony A9II with me, I would have been able to set it to silent shooting and I would have been less conspicuous!

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 31 mm; f/8; 1/1250th sec; ISO 160)

On match day, I used 3 different lenses on the Nikon D500 – a 24-70mm f/2.8; a 70-200mm f/2.8; and a 200-500mm f/5.6.  As the Nikon D500 has a crop sensor, this last lens is equivalent to 300-750mm.  This variety of lenses allowed me to get very different perspectives on the action.  The 70-200mm was probably the most useful for ‘straight’ player shots (as above), but the wide-angle lens and long lens allowed me to take more imaginative shots.  

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 240mm; f/5.6; 1/5000th sec; ISO 500)

I took the photo above from the far end of the lawn with the long lens (note the heavy shadows over the faces – recovered as far as possible in post-production). A quite different perspective is achieved in the image below, taken from right behind the players.

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 48mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 250)

As a general rule, I try to get as low to the ground as possible as this makes the players appear ‘heroic’ and you also feel as though you are there in the middle of the action with them - see below.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 320)

I tried to get as many shots of individual players as possible, so that they would each have a good image of themselves, but also tried to capture some of the atmosphere of the game.  This included the total concentration shown by the players, as well as the occasional messages being passed to teammates through sign language …

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 320mm; f/8.0; 1/1250th sec; ISO 250)

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 52mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 200)

As well as the hugely competitive nature of the match, the players were having a hugely enjoyable time.  The contest may have been intense, but it was also sociable, both with teammates and the other team.  

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 160mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 360)

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 110)

Special thanks go to Downton Bowling Club, Wiltshire.  They were immensely hospitable, and I was made to feel extremely welcome. Despite repeated invitations, I politely declined the offers to have a go myself - I left that to the experts!

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How to Photograph Polo

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

Polo is undoubtedly a glamorous and social sport – and one where, along with other equestrian sports, women can compete on equal terms with men.  It’s also very fast, which makes it exciting to watch and fun to photograph.

Polo is played all year round – field polo in summer (4 players per team) and arena polo in winter (3 players per team).  The same principles apply to photographing both types of polo.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm f5.6 at 220mm - f5.6; 1/500th sec; ISO 160)

With a grass polo field being some 300 yards long, you need a long lens.  I used to use a 200-500mm (f/5.6) lens on a Nikon D500 which, bearing in mind that the camera has a crop sensor, is equivalent to a 300-750mm lens.  I have now moved to a Sony A9II and use a 200-600mm f/5.6-63 lens.

For arena polo (which is 100 yards long), I use a 70-200mm (f/2.8) which is just about long enough to take images at the far end of the playing area.

(Sony A9II; Sony 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/2000th sec; ISO 400)

I set out my ‘standard’ camera settings in my first blog,  'Getting into Sport and Music Photography'.  For polo, I keep the lens wide open to achieve a shallow depth of field and therefore blur the background; select a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1000th second to freeze the ball in flight; and leave the ISO setting on ‘Auto’ within limits (usually an upper limit of 6400).

(Sony A9II; Sony 70-200mm; f/2.8; 1/1250th sec; ISO 500)

Two key aspects of polo photography (actually all sport photography) are to ensure that the players are recognisable, with their face fully visible, and to ensure that the background is not distracting.

As with other sports where the action moves quickly from one end to the other – such as basketball, rugby, ice hockey and football – I position myself to one side of the goal.  This means that the players attacking the goal will be coming directly towards me and I will therefore have a good view of their face. For safety reasons, I stay some way back because the hard ball would hurt if it hit you - and, more to the point, would damage your camera equipment - and the horses come towards you some speed.

On a hot summer day, with the sun high in the sky, there will be harsh shadows cast by the players’ helmet visor.  On such days, it can be a challenge to capture the action at the far end of the polo field if there is a heat haze.  A bright, overcast day is best. In this respect, contrast the 2 images below as far as seeing the riders’ face is concerned.

(Sony A9II; Sony 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/1000th sec; ISO 500)

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm f5.6at 310mm - f5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 160)

When a polo player is striking the ball, they will be looking down – exactly the same as a cricket batsman watching the ball onto the bat – which means that their face will be obscured under the helmet.  The best photo often occurs when the player looks up to see where the ball is going, as in golf.  Wherever possible, it is really important to get the ball is in a good position.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm f5.6 at 270mm - f5.6; 1/2500th sec; ISO 220)

Unlike sports such as football, you don’t get advertising boards down the side of the pitch, but there can be horse boxes, cars, score boards etc. I have done most of my polo photography at Druids Lodge Polo Club, very close to Stonehenge.  One of their fields has a ridge along the centre line and wonderful views over the Wiltshire countryside, which means that the players often stand out perfectly against the background.

From time to time the Club runs ‘Bring a Picnic’ events during the summer and ‘Fireside Polo’ events in the winter.  On these occasions, it is quite effective photographing the players in front of the crowd - consciously providing a busy background.  These images are good for the club to use to advertise similar events in the future. In these instances, the event itself becomes the main focus of the photograph and the polo becomes secondary.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm f5.6 at 310mm - f5.6; 1/4000th sec; ISO 400)

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm f2.8 at 110mm - f2.8; 1/800th sec; ISO 5000)

The key as always is to find the right moment to capture the action in the most dramatic way.  This is quite difficult with ‘goal-mouth’ action because there can be a lot of players in the limited amount of space (as in basketball and football).

As mentioned above, I sit near one of the goals, so that position provides good opportunities to get good shots of the players as they come towards you and compete for the ball.  If you can get the horses’ hooves all off the ground, so much the better!

(Sony A9II; Sony 200-600mm at 524mm; f/6.3; 1/800th sec; ISO 800)

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm f2.8 at 128mm - f2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 2000)

I always use ‘Continuous High’ to shoot in bursts and use ‘Continuous Focus’ (and Nikon’s 3D-Tracking mode) to keep the point of interest in focus as it moves across the viewfinder or towards/away from you.  Shooting in bursts like this means that you can choose the image that captures the best moment - either of the action or showing the players and/or pony in the best light - and with the ball in the best position. I will never knowingly select a photo that makes a player in any sport look less than their best.

Nikon D500; 70-200mm f2.8 at 200mm - f2.8; 1/640th sec; ISO 5000)

Nikon D500; 24-70mm f2.8 at 24mm - f2.8; 1/640th sec; ISO 5000)

One of the challenges of photographing arena polo is when it is played under floodlights. Most of the arena is surrounded by heavy netting, but there is an area either side of one of the goals where it is possible to take photos without obstruction. Sometimes the lights cause problems with White Balance, but I leave the camera on auto and worry about this in post production. The images above were some of the last taken at an evening match in November 2019 when the temperature had dropped and the steam rising was very atmospheric…

Nikon D500; 200-500mm f5.6 at 340mm - f5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 2800)

Nikon D500; 70-200mm f2.8 at 200mm - f2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 320)

Polo is a great sport for taking candid shots in the margins of the chukkas, particularly of the players and the grooms making their preparations around the horse boxes.  I don’t tend to photograph individual spectators, as I do not wish to invade their privacy.

Most importantly, photographing polo is great fun.  Why not give it a go?!

To read my article on how to photograph polo in the July 2022 edition of Polo Times, click on the magazine’s logo.

To see more images, view the Polo Gallery.

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How to Photograph Cycling (City Centre)

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

My favourite experience is photographing a sporting event that I have never done before. I don’t know what is going to happen and have to work out how to get good images in an unfamiliar environment.

One such experience was photographing the OVO Energy Tour Series cycling race in Salisbury in May 2019.  As it happened, I only photographed the women’s race, which preceded the men’s race.  

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 110mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 140)

This involved a 45-minute race on a 1.2km circuit around the streets of the city centre.  This might have been considered repetitive, but it did provide me with opportunities to try different ideas.  Moreover, the lighting conditions changed during the race, so I had to adapt as the race unfolded.

One of the advantages of this type of cycle racing is that you can get close to the action, with the competitors just feet from you.  Although there were a lot of spectators, the course was long and there were therefore plenty of opportunities to get good vantage points from which to shoot.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2500th sec; ISO 900)

I was using a Nikon D500 and I started with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, subsequently changing to a 70-200mm lens.  I applied the same principles relating to camera settings that I set out in my blog on ‘Getting into Sport and Music Photography’, keeping the aperture wide open to make the depth of field shallow (except where I was panning to blur the background intentionally).

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 70mm; f/5.0; 1/1600th sec; ISO 400)

I started off by positioning myself on a tight corner where the cyclists would have to lean over to turn (just outside Barclays bank for those who know Salisbury!).  I experimented with the wide-angle lens, getting as low as I could and shooting through the barrier to provide drama as the cyclists raced by.

This captured the cyclists well, but there was a problem that the lead cyclists were in deep shadow, while the cyclists behind were in bright sunlight.  Moreover, there was no separation between the cyclists and the background – so Toni & Guy and the Cornish Bakery were extremely distracting!

I decided to move further along the street (towards Waterstones …) and used the same 24-70mm lens to ‘pan’ as the cyclists went by, thereby blurring the shop fronts and spectators in the background and providing a great sense of movement. For more on panning, do to my blog on How to Photograph Motorcycle Speedway.

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 58mm; f/22; 1/60th sec; ISO 1100)

Either the sun had gone in at this point or the location I had chosen was in deep shadow, so the images – while dramatic in terms of action – came out a bit flat.

Wanting to try something different, I switched to the 70-200mm lens, so that I could zoom in on the cyclists’ faces and as another means of isolating the main interest from the background.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2500th sec; ISO 720)

At this point, the sun re-appeared – which was a game changer.  I therefore returned to my earlier position outside the bank and took advantage of the better lighting conditions. The colours just popped and the shadows on the road really added to the effect. 

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 102mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 180)

Having been in a similar position for some while, I decided that it was time to find a different place from which to shoot, so I made my way to the end of the finishing straight.  There were plenty of people already there, but I was able to edge my way in …

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 180)

I have already said that watching the background is really important, but it is also key to ensure that the face of the athlete is clearly visible and therefore recognisable.  One of the advantages of being at the end of the finishing straight was that the riders were coming directly at me and, as a consequence, it was easy to capture the faces.  As the race was drawing to a conclusion by this stage, the expressions were taking on a more serious and determined look.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 140)

With the camera on 3D-tracking, the camera looked after the focus as the cyclists came closer – and with the shadows beginning to lengthen, the light was really good.  As I was standing in a crowd of people, it was not possible to get low to the ground – which would have been my preference – but I was obliged to jostle for position to get what I could.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 130mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 160)

As with all sport, the hardest challenge is to take a picture that tells a ‘standalone’ story. The image above shows a group of cyclists - you can see who is in the lead and you might be able to deduce that they are in the final straight. But there is no information to indicate how far into the race the picture was taken, nor whether the leader was about to be overtaken.

Against this background, I was determined to be in position to capture the moment of victory and this I succeeded in doing.  The winner overtook the competitor who had been leading for much of the race on the final straight and the heroic runner up couldn’t resist a wry smile as all her hard work proved to be in vain. The finishing line in the picture adds to the story and provides the context of the outstretched arms. Success all round!

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 125)

The challenge of this assignment had been to achieve a balance between concentrating on the individual cyclists and the environment in which they were operating.  Too close in and the effect would have been to lose the fact that this was a race through the centre of a city; whereas too wide-angle and the background detracted hugely from the action.

As so often the case, the key was to separate the action from the background, and it helped to have two relatively fast lenses which enabled me to achieve the shallow depth of field.

So, I may not have known what was going to happen when I set out - but I certainly learned a great deal and would love the opportunity to do it all over again!

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