Twas the Night Before FreshMeat...

(Actually it was the week before, but that heading sounds so much better)

Rick and I have been hanging out to take derby photos so we thought we would go and visit the Swamp City Roller Rats at their training nights.

Sunday night was the league training night, and as we drove down the road to LeisurePlex, we spotted the league training out on the street. On such a beautifully warm evening I could definitely see the appeal in skating outside!

Not knowing how long they were out and about for, I rushed to set up my camera, and the first lot of photos I could capture had the sun shining right at me! I suppose it really gives them all a bit of a magical glow...


Then watching them train under the guidance of Justass was hilarious. It is amazing the tools they can find outside the track to help with training!


Grass Running?

Sign jumping?

Ummm...

Then it was off for more training inside LeasurePlex. The new rules that have been set means that the beginning of a jam is a lot faster than it used to be. Luckily for me this seems to be the only rule change that will affect photography, and only until I get used to it.

The league are working their way through the other changes. I didn't realise there were so many, and these really will change the way they play. The first few bouts will be interesting to see how everyone settles into the new rules!

Now for a really fun night.

We popped down to the FreshMeat night on Monday night. The official start of this round of FreshMeat isn't until next Monday 18th, so you still have time to get down and check it out.

What I saw was a great collection of people (male and female) at many different levels of skating skills... from Underage Rage who seems to have been born with skates on her feet, to a lovely lady who put skates on for the very first time that night. And she did amazingly well!

As everyone is at different skill and fitness levels there were quite a few league members there to give a helping hand, helping skaters one on one, and occasionally encouraging people to stop talking to the wall and get back out.

If nothing else, the fitness that is achieved from skating is incredible. You can do it all at your own speed (which for me would not be very fast!) and your skills improve along with your fitness.

But there is also the comraderie, the feeling of team spirit and knowing that you are not going to be laughed at when you land on your bum (unless it is a really spectacular fall). This is why I love photographing this sport. There is always someone smiling, someone lending a hand, and a whole team that you can fall back on when you need to.

So if you want to have a look at Roller Derby, DO IT! This Monday night is FreshMeat. You do not need to be a top skater, you just need a sense of adventure and the fortitude to stick with it while you are learning. It is a great sport, filled with fun and skill, and gives Rick and me so many opportunities to capture images that we love!

Check out Swamp City Roller Rats FaceBook page for more info. They also have a blogspot that will give you a real insight as to why people join Roller Derby. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151295597607638.460555.118890772637&type=1#!/swampcityrollerrats

 





Nothing but Air

Last night the Swamp City Roller Rats had a Scrimmage planned. But with only one ref and not enough NSO's they decided to do something different instead. So they packed up their gear and headed to the local skate park. What a laugh!

It is so funny to see the reaction of others at the skate park when a derby league turns up in all their gear. There was a bit of banter, but the sad thing was that the smart-ass comments mainly came from the older ones at the park. And by older I mean they were late teens-early twenties. The funniest comment was from one of the younger boys riding a scooter who announced that skates didn't belong at the skate park! Maybe too many falls without a helmet on?

In a whole different environment it is great to see the skills of the derby girls. I think Underage Rage was born with wheels on her feet. The highest skate ramp... well a picture speaks a thousand words...

 

And then there were the flying lessons. Rage got the height...

 

the others weren't quite so successful...

 

A great time out for the league. A skate park is a public venue, paid for by the public. It really is such a shame that some seem to think that it is their own personal property. Great to see that the girls weren't really fazed by them though!

 

I wonder what he was thinking?

 

 

 

The journey so far (well, parts of it).

One of the things I really love about photography is that there is always something else to learn. Especially in the digital age with new technology being released every minute or so.

I have always been proud of my derby images (except maybe from the very first practice session) but have known that there was room for improvement. I don't use external flashes so getting the lighting right is a massive challenge. Without getting in to too much technical speak, my shutter speed has had to be slow so more light could get in. This meant that photos would get a bit of a blurred look with movement.


From Grazed Anatomy. The first Roller Derby Bout I officially shot

So my equipment has been upgraded and I now have a magnificent lens and my images were starting to get quite a bit better. But I was still getting that problem with movement.


Then I was introduced to a great closed group on FaceBook 'F2.8. Fast Glass around the Derby Track'. A pool of dedicated and passionate roller derby photographers who chat about everything from 'Zebra bombed' photos to contracts and copywrite. This is where my first huge learning curve started. Looking at the images, getting inspiration and learning technical stuff was only some of it. Reading how they all find out what the players want to see in the images, knowing what to post to FaceBook (if anything) and even how to be the photography wrangler at a tournament are all covered in conversations. It has now become my daily ritual to catch up on the conversations on F2.8.

So, my confidence was on an upward trajectory... then we photographed in Wanganui. Oh my! The lighting was my worst nightmare come true! Oh, we captured some good images, but there was so much room for improvement.

Since then the hunt has been on to figure out how I can get more light in my images but have a shutter speed that will give sharp images.

And the Eureka! moment came a few days before the Swamp City Rollers Rats last double header bout.

1/320, F2.8, ISO 6400, Ambient light

The problem that I had previously with turning up my ISO so high and then getting really splotchy images (noise) can be fixed in post production. It really does pay to just keep searching till you find the solution.

On my photography journey I have learnt more about roller derby (improving my 'eye' of what to photograph), found a great group of like-minded people on FB (improving all manner of derby-photo related fields), upgraded my camera gear (which just makes me happy) and learnt amazing new post-production techniques.

But as much as all the above stuff is good, it really is just a sideline bonus, because on this journey I am finding much more. I have found a bunch of passionate, goofy, energetic, hillarious women who have welcomed Rick and me into their world. Oh, there are a variety of personalities, and with anything voluntary it may take a while for things to get done, but in the end we are all there to have fun. These women (and men) are what makes it all worth while. It is their world and I am a part of it.

I want this journey to continue, and I want to continue to grow and improve my skills. And I want to say a huge thank you to all the people who help make this world possible. You make the journey worthwhile (with Louis Armstrong 'What a wonderful World' playing in the background).

The Golden Skate.. another NZ icon?

Over 4000 images later and we are now coming to the end of our editing for the National Roller Derby Tournament. What a mammoth effort. The best part has been going through all the images and reliving the day. And there are some real surprise images that I didn't realise I had captured on the day.
 

Peek-A-Boo

Tonight we compile all the images from the 4 of us that were there to cover the event. This will fill in any bouts that I had missed. I really wish I had been able to cover every single game, but that was simply not possible. Don't get me wrong, the other 3 photographers did a fabulous job as well, I think I just want to be everywhere and do everything!

The comments on all the images on FaceBook have been great. In this era of instant gratification it would now be so hard to go back to waiting for images to be developed, processed and then distributed!

The debrief from the Tournament has been held and once again the feedback has been incredible. There are a few things that will change next year, but in all it was a huge success.

Looking forward to next years Tournament and I am already feeing tired. One proposal is to have it over 2 days to allow more teams to participate. Great idea. Even better if teams bring their own photographers. With an event that size I will only be able to cover the Swamp City Roller Rat games. I am not complaining though. Looking at all the image I have taken I have noticed that although I have captured a lot of the play, I haven't captured the feeling of the Tournament itself. I have a few great images of emotions, but this is what I want to show more of.

The crowds at the Tournament were not large and that is something I would love to see grow next year. Thinking cap is on... how do we attract more people to the large Derby events? It didn't help that the final at the Tournament went over nearly 2 hours due to time outs and game stopping. I didn't think that 'winning at all costs' was a part of the New Zealand phychi, and I hope next year will see the golden skate won without bad sportsmanship from either the teams or the crowds (that's all, had my little rant now).

As to the trophy itself, there couldn't be a more appropriate trophy. I understand a huge amount of work went into this and it looks brilliant. I can just see it being another NZ iconic symbol... the Ranfurly Shield... the Golden Skate...

Rick and I went and watched a game of Derby the other day. We didn't take any cameras with us, but just sat and watched. It is incredible how much of the game you miss when looking through the lens. To make the day even better we had Miss Ire (brilliant ref), Soul Jah and Jypsii Whips there to answer all those questions I have always been meaning to ask. I understand so much more about the game now, and that means I can focus on those parts of the game that mean more to the skaters.

Next game is on the 15th September. The poster looks fabulous, and crowds are being encouraged to dress up. A photographers dream! It will be a double header so the half time photos should be hillarious (hmm, wonder if I should offer a prize for best costume?).

Looking forward, I am planning to have an exhibition next year of (surprise, surprise) derby images. Will keep you posted on how the planning is going...

 

 

 



Blog cherry pop

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Why? Because some blogs just waffle on about nothing, something I don't want to be guilty of.

But the world of a photographer is colourful and worth sharing, especially if it involves Roller Derby! Sure there are hours and hours of editing which is not worth writing about, but then there are those time when you think 'I am just so happy to be here and involved in this amazing world!'

This weekend just gone New Zealand witnessed history. Palmerston North saw over 400 derby girls and their supporters descend for a day of competition and comradere at the first ever NZ National Roller Derby Tournament 'Derby Royale'.

13 teams from across the country and I had the priveledge of photographing it!

The Swamp City Roller Rats (SCRR) hosted this event and they did a fabulous job. With 11 elimination rounds, quarter finals, semi finals and then the final all to be played in one day, by the end of the day the programme was only 10 minutes behind time. The feedback from players and support couldn't be more positive. Was it a perfectly run event? Of course not! This was the first of it's kind in NZ and there will always be things that can be done better next time. But the beauty of this is that in all likelihood there WILL be a next time solely due to the great organisation of the first.

So as their main photographer and sponsor of the Rats, how did I find this event? Amazing, tiring, challenging, frustrating, exciting... all of these and more!

Obviously with two tracks I couldn't cover both so I had 3 fellow photographers (one being my ever-patient husband) join me for the day. We had a lockable media room which became a haven throughout the day, somewhere we could close the door and sit for 10 minutes while changing batteries and uploading images. And somewhere we could store our equipment so we didn't have to lug bags around all day.

The best parts: *Simply being a part of this event was incredible. The buzzing atmosphere and watching this whole event turn over with only a few minor hitches was a joy. A bit like a duck in a pond, all calm on top and paddling like mad underneath.*Capturing the perfect image, not once or twice, but right throughout the day. This was helped by the league uniforms. What a joy to photograph. *The crowd and their support at each and every bout. *Sharing images with other derby photographers. Nice!

The not-so-best parts: *Badly spraining my ankle 2 days before the event and having to hobble around all day. *Seeing so many injuries (but only one ambulance had to be called). *Photographers not signing the correct paperwork and not following the rules. *Almost capturing the perfect image and being 'Zebra bombed'. *The media thinking they can sit anywhere because they are the media then writing a story in the paper that was so inaccurate it became a joke (to balance that was the unsolicited public backlash toward the newspaper for their waffle).

 

What would I do differently next year: *Have better control of the photographers and media, but also loosen up a bit and not stress so much about people taking the 'wrong' photo. *Not sprain my ankle beforehand. *Take a wider range of images and not stress about capturing everything everywhere. *Encourage more strongly for leagues to bring their own derby photographers. It is so much fun having other togs to talk to and share ideas. *Have a better briefing at the beginning of the day for media.

 

This was just such an incredible event that I wish you could have all been there to join in and truly witness history in the making. There really will never be another 'First' National Roller Derby Tournament. I was there, and I have the t-shirt to prove it!