I've been shooting sports for a while now and it goes without saying that the better the standard of players/participants then the better the action, generally meaning better action shots. Now I knew the standard at this tournament was going to be a mixture of good players and em..............not so good players, so my chances of getting a pic of a 360 degree dunk was pretty slim. I upped the ISO settings and began shooting. Being honest, I struggled a bit to get to grips with what was going on. Trying to get clean shots without various body parts of other players coming into shot was proving tricky. Slowly I got the hang of it though and was enjoying myself.

As the games wore on the players who were merely there to make up the numbers got tired and the ones who could actually play became more prominent in the games. This allowed me to concentrate on them so as to get semi-decent action shots. By the time the mini-tournament ended I felt I was only just getting to grips with shooting it. It's definitely a sport I intend to cover a bit more in the new year.

I've been lucky enough to have gone to some NFL games in American but the passion that College fans bring for their team outweighs that of any NFL teams support! I took in 2 highschool games in Parnell Park on Friday to practice shooting before the game Saturday. The atmosphere that was created by 5/600 people for one of those games, which was the equivalent of a secondary school game, let me know that Saturday was going to be a great day. Notre Dame have a long tradition and the Navy brought with it their military precison. The Midshipmen marched onto the field with precision before the game and I'm sure everyone in the stadium, American or not, got goosebumps during the National Anthem. I felt privileged to be on the field next to these men and women.

As for the game itself, well it panned out as to be expected. Notre Dame, even without some of it's regular starters, proved too strong for the Navy and it was over as a contest by half-time. Having pitchside access though gave me a feel for how quick this game actually is. A quickness I don't think you can appreciate from the stands or from watching on TV. It also proved a lot trickier to photograph than I thought!!!! It's a game you constantly have to move around to get positioned for shots, and unless you have a long lens then college football can be tough to shoot. They have so many players and a big bench so a lot of the pitch is blocked off. I did struggle at times.

OBryanMS3BW_24 The beauty with this sport though is that there is so much going on, both on and off the pitch, that you are never short of something to photograph!! Truth be told I wasn't overly happy with the images I got from the day but it has only whetted my appetite to improve. I wanted to get pictures of certain players, I failed. I wanted to get pictures of certain emtions, I failed!!! Yes I need better gear, yes I want better gear, but I'm determined to get the best out of the gear I have and learn how to get the pics I want.

At the end of the game both side showed the respect they have for each other and tradition by joining each other for a rendition of each Universitie's Alma Mater in front of their fans. It was a great showcase for the sport and a great day for football fans. It will definitely help the growth of the sport here and I just hope they don't leave it another 16 years before playing here again!

I enjoyed the day so much that I've sent a cheeky email off to the New York Giants enquiring about a press pass for when I travel over later this year!!! Getting a pass to shoot an NFL game would be a dream come true for me. It might not happen this year and it might not ever happen but to get shots of one of those games would be amazing!!!

No harm in asking right?

It was tricky to get the lighting right though as the interior lights at the shoot location were made up of different types of lighting and then the walls of the shop were white. It took me a while to get the settings I needed. I tried using the flash on various power settings and also adjusting aperture and shutter speed. Eventually I got to where I was happy to shoot with and off we went.

The costumes Michelle had gotten for the shoot were top class and the make-up she did on the girls was perfect. It made it pretty easy for me to shoot as we got the required photos pretty much straight away.

The photos themselves were perfect straight off the camera and I was very happy with them. Although to add to the 'Vintage' side of it I edited them in Lightroom to give them that old feeling. Personally I was pretty happy with the results, a taster of which I've included here.

Eric

Ballyclough had the better of the first half and when Diarmuid Herlihy scored a goal midway through the half it looked like they might pull away from Mitchelstown. To their credit Mitchelstown fought hard for the remainder of the half and left Ballyclough with only a narrow lead at the break.

In the 2nd half it was Mitchelstown who completly dominated the game. Their quick, slick football was cutting open Ballyclough. However they were extremely wasteful with scoring chances. From play and from frees they kicked numerous wides which would've seen them have the game wrapped up well before Colm O'Neill slotted over a free in stoppage time to send the game into extra-time.

Ballyclough started extra-time strong and scored 2 quick frees. Mitchelstown came back into it and regained the lead which they held until the final whistle to claim the title.

With the Championship shaping up to be decided between both these sides Mitchelstown will take great confidence from this win. Should these sides meet in the North Cork final it is sure to be another great game.

It was the home side who started the game better and enjoyed more possession than their opponents. City had a number of half chances in the opening 20 minutes but got a bit of luck in the 23rd minute when Daryl Horgan's shot from an impossible angle somehow found it's way under the body of Andy McNulty and spun over the line.

It was Horgan again who almost got the 2nd but his shot from the edge of the area was well saved.

Bohs improved in the 2nd half but City still had a number of chances to increase their lead with Davin O'Neill in particular being wasteful in front of goal. City then suffered a blow as both Morrissey and Dunleavy had to go off injured which resulted in positional changes for the home side.

The forced substitutions for City saw Bohs start to get on top as City defended deeper and deeper. It felt like City were inviting trouble and it came in stoppage time. Tommy Dunne strangely brought on Keving Murray for Kalin Spillane and within a minute Murray had given away a penalty!! Ward made no mistake from the spot and the sides were level.

It was a case of 2 points dropped rather than a point gained and City will need to streghten the squad to have any hope of pushing on up the table.

Having had an urge to do some shoots with models in order to practice lighting etc I got my chance last Sunday when I was asked to do an 'American' themed shoot by Edelle. I'd asked Edelle about helping me practice lighting etc with a nice simple shoot and off she goes and lands me with 4 models!! Straight in at the deep end she threw me!!!!

I'd bought myself a lightstand, umbrellas and flash triggers so was looking forward to trying them out on the day. The venue sounded like a good one but on the day there was a kids party on so we were a bit limited for space. However we got on with and from the start the girls were a pleasure to work with.

With them being friends they kept each other in high spirits which lessoned the need for me to make them feel comfortable. The result was some very natural looking photos which I was very happy with.

As for using the flash off camera....... I found myself being cautious and not trying anything spectacular. Not sure if that's natural but hopefully in time and with a bit more practice I'll experiment a bit more with lighting angles and a 2nd flash etc.

All in all though it was a really enjoyable day and I was pretty happy with some of the shots I got. I think the girls were happy with them too!!

Eric ('',)