'Keep Your Eye On It!"

Yes, cricket, that game that is no longer loved like it used to be. But I'm sure most know what makes a good sports action pic and so here is one of my better efforts from this afternoon.

The audience for this Southern Electricity Board (ECB) Premier 1 first team between South Wilts(hire) and Havant (a sizeable town near Portsmouth) were a few dotted around the ground and those in their cars. Probably as many on the pitch as off it...

Yet this free match did provide its moments - I nearly chose one called 'oh, bails, I'm out!' as the bails flew, as well as another where the ball has zoomed to the corner of the pic and the wicket keeper is already about to cry "Howzat!!" A successful call at that.

The biggest problem is one's background - the huge magnification of my Sigma 150-500mm at its longest end and on the DX crop of my Nikon D7000 gave a whopping 15x magnification - equivalent to 750mm in old 35mm terms. Even at the widest aperture - f6.3, which I used at all times, people, cars and buildings, trees, poles and netting uglified the picture - spoiling many. This one's background has the new clubhouse - you can see exactly what time I took the shot - so that seemed more fitting and less obtrusive than many.

One gentleman, which a permanent pint of lager bolted to his hand walked about constantly and is in more shots than the ball is! The first time, he asked me if he was spoiling my view, as he had just walked past. The lens, all 3kg of it and the length of a football pitch (so it seems) was pointing the other way. He then took my negative answer as a passport to stroll in front and across my path as often as his empty pint needing refuelling required!

My kit also includes a £4 Tesco Value camping stool and my trusty Manfrotto monopod. Using the lens' tripod collar, attached to the 'pod, you simply sit and with the lens' weight taken by the monopod, you are free to point the whole thing. There's no zooming (permanently stuck at 500mm) and focussing I did on manual, using my left thumb. With so many of pics with the action in one corner or side of the frame, I didn't want the AF to latch onto the wrong part at just the wrong moment.

It was good to be seen there - the match was important enough for Salisbury Journal to send my mate Tom to take a few and now he knows I can (well, sort of!) do cricket and have this lens. He was using a Nikkor 80-400mm on a D300 - he was envious of my extra focal length, saying that he could have done with it! Before he went, I thanked him/them for publishing the May Day Dawn Dance image in the paper. He thanked me for sending it in. And, as crazy as it seems, on Blip, this former Staff Pick has now amassed a total of 2,0000 views!!! - thank you ALL.

I chatted with the groundsmen during the break which was fun and some good banter, though being told that 'the bloke last week had a camera three times bigger than yours' did nothing for my ego!

I may well edit a few of these (out of the several hundred) and post a link on tomorrow's blip, if any are interested.

Having gotten up with a migraine, then had to shoot a group doing a workshop at 2.15, I then went straight up to the cricket, returning at 6.30. Downloading, looking through them all and editing a few, then writing this has taken to 8.15 - my point being that I've simply not had time to comment on other's blips today. However, now that the wonderfully awful Eurovision Song Contest is on my TV, I shall now have a chance to do just that, after a sandwhich. I've already cancelled two music events that I had 'promised' to go to tonight, specially (just plain too tired, actually).

Thanks to all who looked, commented and favourited my Tree Reflection blip yesterday and got it well up into the Spotlights. Appreciated, as always!

I had also promised a few a pic of Irish 'Celtic rock' performer Finnian McGurk that I took last night. He's a "jolly fellow", jolly indeed and was taken in Conrans Irish Bar, in Salisbury.