The women of USA Water Polo fall to Hungary in a close game

Yesterday I started my day photographing the women's water polo game against Hungary.  And this time I decided to change things up a bit to see if I could get some different photos for the team. More on that in a sec.

Both teams came out firing and stayed close throughout the game, with each team trading goals to stay within one for most of the match.

I started in my typical offensive spot, but decided to shoot the second quarter from he defensive zone to get some images with a different perspective. 

I also shot a little wider to show more the team in each photo.

When I shoot water polo, and I am facing our goaltender, I watch the shot clock really closely. In this sport, the teams have a set time for which they must either shoot the ball or turn it over. So...when the opposing team has the ball and the shot clock gets down below 7, I back button focus on the goalie and wait for the shot.

I was also trying to find other action besides the big shots and blocks.

I am typically shooting all the games at f/4, so that my subject is in focus and everyone else is slightly soft. This draws your eye to who I want you to look at.

At one point, Steph Haralabidis flipped the ball in her hand, making for a different type of photo.

Another wide shot, and a goal!

Yikes - it is another headless water polo player.

Ashleigh Johnson is ready to make a stop.

I am constantly amazed and the power Ashleigh has, to come so far out of the water to make a save.

Here is Maggie Steffens sporting her new black eye (from the elbow to the nose two days ago).

This is the advantage of shooting at 30 frames per second. I can get that EXACT moment when Ashleigh tips the ball away. It is a real game changer for me. The only bad thing about shooting that many images per second, is the amount of images I need to go through as soon as the game is over. Typically I am shooting around 2500 images in the one hour game. And I am delivering approximately 25-30 fully retouched images within 45 minutes.

The game ended with the US down by one goal. It was honestly a huge win for the Hungarian team, and you could see it in their faces after the game.

After water polo, I headed to the Judo venue to try shooting that sport for the first time. Stay tuned for that post.

__________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

__________________________________________________________________________