Puget Sound vs Willamette, Sunday, October 25: 5 photos

Puget Sound won 3-0. I suppose it was 'typical' Pacific NW weather--overcast, a fine mist swirling about at times. Quite the natural softbox! C&C welcome.

1.

2. A different kind of drop-kick

3.
4.
5.

Russ,
Great action shots and wonderful sharpness and subject isolation. If you don't mind me asking, were you shooting these with a 1DMkIIn with a 300 f/2.8? The reason I am asking is that I shoot soccer (my daughter's team) and am trying to improve my results.

rand

Thanks Rand. Yes, these were shot with a 1DMKIIN and 300/2.8. Shots 1 and 3 were with 1.4x teleconverter added (420mm). This camera-lens pairing is fast and accurate in my experience.

These look good Russ. I love the last one with her sort of "charging" forward with the ball

excellent color and clarity as always.

-Dann

Nice to see 4 again Russ.

Looks like your right back on track with your PP Russ. These shots look great! Great color, great exposure, and your knack of timing for the header shots is amazing.
Bob

Nice series Russ! Not that we expect anything different

How do you achieve focus on such low contrast uniforms?

Thanks!

Great shots Russ, so I guess we know where you spent the weekend

Looks like your daughter is fitting in quite well with her new team

Thanks for taking the time to post

Bob

Russ a great series of shots. Your usual sharp, peak action images, Really like the last shot perfect perspective and timing. The fans and togs may not like the overcast drizzle to watch in but I think this is some of the best light to shot soccer

Dave

Russ,

Puget Sound is quite a strong team, too! They are nationally ranked #5 in the NSCAA poll and #4 in the D3Soccer.com poll.

Many years ago my daughter played DIII soccer for Trinity (doing well this year also, after several "rebuilding" years). (She wore jersey #4!) Trinity and Puget Sound may well see each other in the postseason this year.

The most fun I ever had (aside from starting to shoot soccer for Trinity while daughter played there) was going to see all her games when she was a senior (that year they finished in the elite-8, losing on kicks from the mark to the eventual natl champ Messiah). You still have two years to go, so start saving up your pennies!

Enjoy,
Bob Walker

Thanks Dann. Really enjoyed your 'brother' series.

Hey thanks, John. Agreed!

Bob: I appreciate your feedback. My timing on headers seems to ebb and flow .

Craig: Thank you. As to your question about achieving focus on the low-contrast unis, I did think about that occasionally during this shoot. Mostly, I just try to find a point of contrast, whether it's the jersey number, neckline or point where the shorts end on the leg. I also have the camera set to expand the focus point, which I find useful.

Hi Bob. Yup, a Tacoma weekend. I'd be happy to spend much more than my weekends there . Fitting in, yes. It's a lot of fun to be a part of. Thanks for your comments.

Dave: Thanks! Hey, I'm getting a bit closer to your homeland . You definitely are right about the light. Very sweet.

Bob: Yes, Puget Sound has a strong team. Currently they're 14-1 with four games remaining in the regular season. Exciting stuff. Of course they have the hopes set on a strong finish in the national tournament. We'll see. I can understand that it would have been a blast to be able to see all your daughter's games when she was a senior. I've managed 3 in person this season, along with another 3 via live streaming video. Beyond that, it's the pure joy of live stats . I'll start saving!

Terrific action in this set... all very good! Intensity really stands out in 1, 2, 3 and 5, and great compositions too. Well done.

Russ, super colors and timing and +1 on the softbox......I love days like that. Nice shot of your daughter on #4 getting ready to send it. On #2 it looks like a soccer version of "clipping" and potential for injury...hope she and the girl on the ground were ok after that one.

Frank Lauri

Hey thanks, dj. Looking forward to your soccer work!

Frank: Softbox +1 indeed . Thanks for your comments. It wasn't until looking back at the photos that I saw injury potential in that sequence. Here are several pics and you'll see it was weird in that it started with a header attempt and then the keeper somehow lifted her off the ground and didn't leave much room for a landing.... All's well that ends well.

Nice...as always Russ...

Bob

Thanks Bob.

Russ,

Nice action sequence above. It looks like both the GK and #4 are trying to avoid hurting each other. I assume both were fine, and I would guess the ref didn't call anything, unless he needed to check and see if your daughter was OK.

You definitely picked the best shot of the sequence to show in the original post -- both feet off the ground!

Bob Walker

Russ how long is the drive for you

Dave

Bob: I'm sure you're right--both vulnerable, both doing their best to have it end well .

Dave: Long! I drove it with my daughter in the summer. It's about 900 miles, took us 15 hours. But it's a relatively short flight, under 2 hours. The choice is a relatively easy one .

Love the nice even light great exposures, #3 and #5 are my favorites love the sequence you posted

Great shots Russ, the rain really adds to that feeling of motion or action.

i'm jealous, great stuff

Hi Russ:

Now these have the pop I thought your previous series was missing. Great job on these.

Ted

Russ...great shots showing some intense action. I live in Pennsylvania and we have a small local Division 3 college nearby (about 2 miles away) called Messiah which I understand has pretty good mens and womens soccer teams. Never been to a game and may take one in.

Many thanks, Mike.

Ronnie: Thanks, and I see what you mean, especially when the rolling ball is kicking up a visible trail of water droplets.

Grant: No need but thanks!

Ted: Thank you. Yeah, that last series was a bit washed out, which I think can be attributed a bit to PP, but mostly to the very bright sun.

Thanks godfreyz. Well, I believe Messiah's women won the national championship last year and they're currently ranked #1 (Puget Sound was at the top for a few weeks). So I guess I'd have to say they have a "pretty good" team . Perhaps they (Puget Sound and Messiah) will meet during the post-season. You definitely should check out a game. Gotta be some very good soccer.