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Sports photography - part 17 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

by Mike McNamee Published 01/08/2011

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Weather Protection
Cameras

Being a sports photographer means that 80% of my work is outside and that means I will be subject to the weather come rain, hail or shine. At the Ryder Cup, for example, Wales had three weeks of rain in one morning and cameras were going down left, right and centre with the amount of water getting in them. (Yes - even with weather seals)

There are many kinds of weather covers on the market like the Kata rain cover for example but these are not the best for the sports photographer. I use the Think Tank Hydrophobia 600-300 for my 300mm f2.8 lens; this is great as I can fold it away on the lens hood so it's out of the way - then if it rains I just pull it over the lens and camera. The cost is around £100 but when it protects your kit, which is worth thousands, then it's a small price to pay. A great addition to my kit is a simple micro towel that can be bought in most camping stores.

There are other brands of rain covers such as the AquaTech range, but for my 70-200mm f2.8 I use a simple rain cover that cost £6; it's called the Rainsleeve and made by a company called OpTech. If money wasn't an issue then I would buy the 70-200 cover made by ThinkTank.


Laptop Protection
ThinkTank also do a cover for a laptop primarily designed for use in bright sunlight; I use mine for wiring images pitch-side, in the rain. If the rain is heavy then I leave my laptop in my camera bag, in the built-in weather cover. Then I get the laptop out only when I need to wire images. For example, last season I was covering a Cardiff City evening game and there was torrential rain.

I didn't have my laptop cover, so I got one image of Cardiff scoring at the other end, locked the image in-camera and swapped memory cards.

Then I downed my cameras and headed up into the stands to get some cover and do a quick 'edit and send', only one image was sent before the news desk deadline. In The Mirror the next day my image was used half page.

Clothing
I would not like to add up the amount of money I have spent on outdoor clothing, but when you're static for two hours in the cold or wet it can become pretty uncomfortable. So for the really cold, wet nights I have winter, lined trousers along with ski trousers. These are great as they are warm and waterproof.

I also have a pair of normal walking trousers and waterproof over-trousers I use if I need to be mobile (at say a golf tournament, for example). But when I'm sitting down for a game, then mobility isn't an issue for me.

For my upper body I have base layer t-shirts and an under-armour body suit, then thermal jumpers and then a water- and wind-resistant jacket. On the really cold nights, the ski jacket is a good choice. Ok, I might look like the Michelin Man but I'm warm and comfortable which means I'll be more focused when it comes to doing my job.


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1st Published 01/08/2011
last update 18/07/2022 16:35:44

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