Sports Photography + Eddie Kelly

Eddie Kelly shooting at a rally (from his facebook page)

Sports photography is the photography of people taking part in a sporting activity, for example badminton or Formula One.  Sports photographers will use cameras that have high shutter speeds to quickly capture action as well as good burst capabilities.  Much like in music photography, sports photographers have to anticipate where the action is going to happen and where they need to positions themselves for the best shots.  It requires a good level of prediction and a fair amount of familiarity with the sport.

I like that the road appears to bleed into the dust.
The muted colours help to accentuate the
white and blue of the car.
(Eddie Kelly Motorsport Photography)

Remote triggers are often used for distance shots, for example race finishes or places the photographer cannot stand, such as between rugby goalposts.  Although pictures will usually be at a high shutter speed to create a clear, defined shot, sometimes photographers will lower the shutter speed to photograph the motion e.g. of passing cars instead of the actual object.

A blurred background with clear focus is a common
characteristic of sports photography.  I really like this
photograph because the bright colours go well with the
dull colour of the dust and dirt.
(Eddie Kelly Motorsport Photography)

Eddie Kelly is a sports photographer and policeman who was brought to my attention by my dad, an avid rally fan.  As a motorsports photographer he has amassed a large collection of images from various rallies around the country and has been featured in publications such as the Daily Record.  He creates a solid range of rally photographs that use different techniques such as various degrees of blurry backgrounds.

Car in the Snowman Rally Stage 1.  This photo really
shows the speed at which the driver is going.
 (Eddie Kelly Motorsport Photography)

Snowman Rally (Eddie Kelly)

The above picture was taken at the Snowman Rally and is a very nice example of a sports photograph.  The colours are stunning and I like how the photo is divided up with the hills in the background, then the trees and fields, and finally the car and road in the foreground.  It must have been taken on a high shutter speed as you can still see the snow and dust raised by the car yet it is clear and unblurred.  The road is off-centre which makes the journey of the car from one side of the photo to the other more apparent.  I really like this photo as even though the clarity is beautiful your eye is still drawn to the car, again off-centre.

Eddie Kelly (Eddie Kelly Motorsport Photography)

I like his photographs as they encapsulate the movement and quick motion of rallying, although I'm not into sports and therefore not too enamoured of sports photography.

Sources used:

Amateur Photographer
Wikipedia
Eddie Kelly Motorsport
Eddie Kelly Motorsport Photography
EddieKelly69
Daily Record