PhotoPlus The Canon Magazine – August 2019

Obviously, it was a film camera; the best
you could get at the time; there was no
autofocus in those days and being film it
meant the more pictures you took the
more it cost. You can always tell
photographers who have done film and
who hasn’t. I was sitting next to someone
last week doing the cricket and they must
have shot thousands and thousands of
frames. Every ball, they must have shot
five pictures – you wouldn’t have done
that in film days! Every frame costs
money. The speed of it too is incredible;
back then you used to process your film
and then try to transmit two or three
photos, whereas now we just plug in our
cameras and it goes straight to an editor.

Yes, it’s a sea change.
It’s a totally different profession in a way.
It’s incredible how it’s all changed. It’s
quite funny though because the
newspapers were more lenient with time,
whereas now, because of the Internet,
they need to get pictures as quickly as
possible to go onto their websites. So the
deadlines have got shorter, not longer.
You’d think that with modern technology

you’d have more time to send your

photos, but it’s less now. They expect it

instantly. It keeps you on your toes! But if

you lose the ‘comms’ you’re really stuffed,

which does happen occasionally.

What will you take with you to

Japan this time?

I’ll be taking at least three EOS-1D X

Mark II cameras. When it comes to lenses,

I’ll be taking the EF 400mm f/2.8L, plus

the 300mm, 70-200mm, 16-35mm,

a 14mm fisheye for ground shots to make

things a bit different, and of course some

remotes to make things a bit easier.

What is your preferred way of

shooting on the job?

Obviously, it varies. Every place is

different and a lot depends on where you

sit. I used to run up and down the line,

but there’s no point these days because

you have to transmit your photos, so you

need to be near communications. You

can still do that, but it makes life more

difficult. I’m going to be based with the

England team most of the time and pick

up other games in that area. I’ll get the

teams running out, hopefully, I always

get one of those early pictures and then

sit down and wait for England to attack.

Where do you think is the best

place to be for that?

I’ll be sitting down near one of the

corners. Getty has prime spots

everywhere; we’re one of the four or five

major agencies that get to sit wherever we

want, this helps us massively.

That’s a huge advantage!

It helps the cause. As I say, when you’ve

got 200 or 250 photographers there, you

don’t want to be in the melee, which

sounds awful, but you want to be set up,

ready to go. What’s good these days is

that they always tell you about 20

minutes before kick-off which way each

team is attacking, so you can go and sit

down in that corner and get ready before

kick-off. Things like that are a real help,

because if you’re in Japan and you’re

down the wrong end you’ll see about 150

photographers running down the other

end trying to get to their spot! We all

have allocated positions these days,

so we’re all given numbered spots.

If you’re down in the corner where

England are attacking and you’re

hoping Jonny May is going to

sprint down to the try line, which

lens are you likely to use?

Well, you start off with the 400mm to

pick him up when he starts his run and

then as he gets closer you should be on

that 70-200mm zoom. The 70-200mm

zoom is the best one for tries right in front

of you. If not, I’ll stay on the 400mm and

do it tight as they come in under the posts

to make sure I’ve got something good.

What are some of the typical

obstacles in the field of play that

make it difficult to photograph the

action on the field?

The difficulty in rugby is that the dead-

ball area can be massive in some grounds

i probably

overshoot, i must admit,

but i think if you haven’t

taken it you can’t have it

later on, so you may as

well take it

The Canon Magazine 69

03

04

DAVE ROGERS