Sports | Rosli Othman Photo Blog

Welsh Bockers

May 4th, 2009 [ Sports ]

I went to Cardiff Bay on Sunday to shoot some boys jumping about on stilts. They called themselves the Welshbockers and apperantly they are the first power jumping/bocking club in the UK. These guys are well trained and they used special made stilts to jump like kangaroos and even do back-flips. It’s a new, exciting and adrenaline pumping sports which has attracted new members around the UK and expanding fast. The club meet every Sunday at the Oval Basin in front of the Millennium Centre for some jumping and back flippin! Click HERE for their website.

straping up the stilts

the special stilts they use for jumping

Back flips

more back flips (mind you..that is a high one with no safety net or pad below!)

and some freestyle jumps

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fad manaf: tahun lepas pergi cardiff,lepak gak tempat ni tengok budak2 kecik main benda ni. :) 12.8.2009 15:32:14

Rosli Othman: Datang Cardiff ke last year Fad? Working or holiday? 12.8.2009 15:50:20

My work on Merthyr Express

May 2nd, 2009 [ Publication, Sports ]

The editor at Merthyr Express decided to play with my work this week - a BIG one too!

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Grange Harlequins v Treharris Athletic

April 26th, 2009 [ Sports ]

I went to Cardiff this time to cover a Division 2 game between Grange Harlquins and Treharris Athletic. Treharris won 4-1 despite being 3 steps below in the table. This is the best shot from the game.

(Grange - Red, Treharris - White)

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This week on Observer

April 22nd, 2009 [ Publication, Sports ]

Made it on Pontypridd Observer again this week. This time I didn’t get a by-line (probably the designer had to leave it out because of the limited space). Anyhow, It’s still is nice to see your work get inked every now and then..this is my 5th publication on the Observer and I’m looking forward for more.

No by-line this time and the designer did some fancy editing on it as well.

the original shot

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radiohed: dah lama tak singgah sini..waaa..ko makin kerap kuar suratkabar..syabas!! 23.4.2009 06:56:56

Rosli Othman: radiohead: thanks mate, feel free to drop in anytime! 23.4.2009 07:41:43

Wrong Timing or Camera too Slow??

April 19th, 2009 [ Sports ]

As usual, I went to Ponty Town’s game yesterday and as predicted the action does happen a lot on their side of the pitch. They’ve managed to put up quite a fight but Penrhiwceiber Rangers were too tough for them and the Rangers end up with a 3 points in their bag. As for me, I’ve been trying to get this particular shot for the past few games now, a shot of the keeper flying to save the ball and I did get my chance yesterday but I guess I blew it BIG time. It would have look great on the paper next week! Either my timing was wrong or my 3.5 fps body was too slow for the action, one thing’s for sure..I still need a lot of practice. Better luck next time!

Don’t get me wrong here, I would never do this as a professional sports photographer, not in a million years! But just to give you an idea of that golden shot that was playing in my mind during the game yesterday, I’ve made a super-imposed version of the photo to put a ball in the frame. The first image is the original shot (2nd frame from 5 consecutive shots) and the second image is the super-imposed version (how I wish it would be!). Have a look and tell me what you think..is it the timing or I really need a faster body?? 1Ds Mark III probably??

Non of the 5 shots in the sequence had the ball in it!

The ‘would be’ dream shot! but this is FAKE of course.

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dbins: I think the shutter speed is ok, you managed to freeze the motion. This is more to the timing... you have to anticipate the moment even before the striker kick the ball... Looking at the goalkeeper position I guess masa tu dia dah nak jatuh... betul tak? 19.4.2009 14:08:00

Rosli Othman: dbins: Thanks for the comment. Yup, i agree with you this is all about timing. As written above I was not questioning my shutter speed nor my exposure in general but rather my camera fps burst rate (frame per second). I was already anticipating this to come all through out the game so there's no question about anticipation (in fact for the past few games i've covered, this shot was my aim). Everytime the striker came close to the goal my lens was already fix to the keeper and my shutter will go just before they deliver their shots. I guess using a 3.5 fps body makes timing even more tricky compare to a 5 or 10 fps or higher body. Answering you question, the keeper was about 3 to 4 foot above ground at that time. If I remember correctly, just before this frame the keeper did touch the ball mid-air but it was all in split second and my shutter bursts just at the wrong time. Maybe if I clicked a second earlier than I'd get that frame. Anyway, that's how you learn. Thanks for dropping by. 19.4.2009 17:41:21

Faris Fakri: Your camera speed is great the fact that you freeze the subject perfectly. Probably need to click the shutter earlier than expected as it comes very fast doesn't it? I've never tried shooting sports but I kinda like this shot. Nice & clean background with great composition. Wish the ball was in the frame hehe. 20.4.2009 14:38:46

dbins: rosli, just wanna share my experience shooting motogp, in some situation you cannot trust your eyes and the viewfinder. shooting at the track side with the rider passed by at full speed we always missed the shots... all empty frames.. so what i did was i start pressing the shutter button even before the bike enter my viewfinder... like your case, it's not the motion of the goalkeeper but the speed of the ball... you already got the goalkeeper in your frame, now focus more to the ball... good luck! 20.4.2009 16:33:28

Rosli Othman: Faris: By "Speed" I mean my camera "burst rate" NOT my "shutter speed". I can safely say that I have my exposures on my fingertips by now. There's no problem freezing an action given that the light is on my side. My issue now is how to deal with the TIMING with only 3.5 frame per second on my body? There's no problem getting a straight easy shot like defenders coming in for a tackle but this kind of shot still is a challenge for me. I still need to experiment on when is the best time to release the shutter. I think shooting on a 3.5 fps and a 10 fps body does make a big difference. You do rely more on luck on a 3.5 fps I guess. I think I might need an upgrade soon hahaha! dbins: Thanks for sharing your experience. That is exactly what I'm practicing now, releasing the shutter even before the ball was kicked but it seems to me that my timing was still a bit to late. I'm sure it's only a matter of time and practice. I'll get the shot one of these days. Thanks for the notes guys! it's nice to know somebody is reading this. 20.4.2009 17:20:26

Peyek: hehe 40D price is going down rite? upgrade! :D 22.4.2009 20:46:48

adlan_nyer: salam wbt abg rosli.in my opinion,taking sport pic with 3.5 fps camera required BIG LUCK! i have try it before during cardiff game.even though i'm using fast lens(not so fast if compare to urs :P),it still wont help much. 3.5 fps couldnt do frame by frame of action properly.i have try early shutter click and continuesly mode,and i did get few nice pic but again,its all just my luck..myb it is time for SIFU to grab full frame cam?come on bro Rosli,we all support you..err,in sense of moral lar :D 22.4.2009 20:51:27

Rosli Othman: Peyek & adlan: I am looking for an upgrade. Not sure which one to go for yet but surely one better than 40D. 22.4.2009 23:14:56