2012 Summer Olympics - Field Hockey

Before leaving for London, my daughter requested that I shoot at least one of the field hockey games, since she plays that at her high school. Well...there is no way that I could disappoint my little girl (who is not so little anymore), so I ventured out to the hockey venue to shoot a game. This was quite convenient for me, since this particular venue is located right next to the press center.

The colors in this venue are quite unique. Do not adjust your monitor, the field is really blue, playing off of the London Olympic colors.

This particular game was the women of Belgium vs the women of China.

I was surprised that they started the match by playing each National Anthem, since most sports so not do this, and only play the National Anthem when the medal winners are announced.

Interesting how organized the Chinese women are for the anthem vs. the girls of Belgium.

The huddle before the start of the game.

It has just rained when I was walking over to the venue and you can see the water coming off of the field.

Great colors on the field and on the goalie.

They actually pause the game whenever their is a penalty so that the girls can put on face protection. Once the shot is over, they get rid of the additional gear and continue the game.

The girls of Belgium get a goal.

And celebrate the gaol, only to have the goal called back.

I was shooting with the new Canon 400mm f2.8 lens, so I could not zoom, and this action happened fairly close to me. I shot the action low and really like the isolated ground level composition.

Any time I can incorporate the Olympic logo in the background, I will. It tells a story of where this action took place.

I like this image because the Chinese athlete is framed by all the Belgium girls. Perfect synergy.

Since I only had 30 minutes to shoot this sport, I am hoping to return to this venue later in the Games.