Soccer mania

Kiersten taking control of the ball

One of the best things about our new mobile lifestyle is being able to spend the summer near the grandkids and watch them as they pursue their athletic interests.

a determined team mate

Kiersten (the nine year old) is in soccer, a game I don't know a lot about, but would have loved to played this as a child.  Being a hyper-active kid all this running and chasing a ball and kicking would have been so good for me.  But in those days girls were not allowed to do anything too strenuous for fear of "hurting" ourselves.  I think the real fear was that we'd do better than the boys.

It was great fun observing the game and the gritty determination in these young girls as they battled it out in the heat of the day.  Even though faces were flushed with heat and exhaustion they kept up the hustle up and down the field.

Ready to kick the ball back into play

Kiersten isn't exactly a burly, heavy girl like the other team's goalie, but there's a lot to be said for quickness and being tough.  I know I have trouble getting anything past her, it shouldn't surprise me that she'd be an excellent goalie.

Photographing sports was never a goal for me, but I have to admit I rather enjoyed the process and the challenge of quickly focusing and trying to follow the action.

Some of the shots were great stop action but I added some motion blur and radial blur to increase the drama that I sensed during the play.

One of my favorite shots here are the feet of two players struggling for position.



Who knows?  Perhaps a whole new photography interest will open up for me?

Long Live the Queen of Sports Photography