[Leica] A newbie here..NOW:" How not to cover a football game!" ; -)

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Doug Herr said:
>>> ask Ted how he knows this ;-)<<<<

>>Unfortunately if it's football you could be run over by high flying ball
>> players sometime. :-( Basically don't go there! :-)<<<

Oh well here goes. :-)

While shooting a professional football game kneeling right on the sidelines 
expecting the ball carrier to go wide away from me because if he came toward 
me there was little room to run. Bad thing to assume anything in football 
unless yer right in the huddle. ;-)

I use my left eye only as the right has little vision so it's usually closed 
while I'm shooting.

Ball is snapped the runner is coming right in my direction instead of going 
wide away from me as I assumed the play would go.. Damn! I swing to my left 
to stay with the runner through the viewfinder. While I'm follow focusing.

HOWEVER!:-( :-(

What I didn't see were three opposing players coming right in my direction 
from the right to tackle the ball carrier!

As I was lying on my back in the grass wondering what the hell hit me, my 
first thoughts as all photographers do..... "How are my cameras?" Then you 
wonder how your body is as the ball players walk away leaving you with more 
body hurts than if you were hit by a Mack truck!;-)

Then a real old timer photog came over and said to me....still lying on the 
ground,  "Ted you are supposed to keep both eyes open!!"  I said "hell it 
wouldn't have made any difference I still wouldn't have seen them coming!"

So unless you are prepared to be run over by the biggest football players 
you can imagine, particularly while you're kneeling on the ground. DO NOT 
COVER FOOTBALL!"  its a fun game to play but dang it hurts like hell when 
you don't have all the padding on.

Oh and cameras? Well they were Leicaflexes SL's so they were OK and ready to 
work long before I could think about kneeling down at the side line again. 
Certainly without a prayer when I did. ;-)

So there you go Alex now you know! :-)

ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
1817 Feltham Road
Victoria BC  V8N 2A4
250-477-2156