Football with the big boys.

Back when I first started in the world of press photography I was working for a lovely little weekly paper the Coventry Observer. The paper was really a training ground for me and allowed me to get my feet wet in all sorts of different situations and events.

One of the highlights of working in Coventry was the local team Coventry City FC. It is a fairly large team in Uk football, but one that suffered a few poor seasons while I was there.

Taking pictures at an average sport job is a fairly simple affair, you generally turn up, mention who you are (if there is a gate) and stand somewhere along the side of the pitch and hope it’s not too cold.

Taking pictures of Coventry City was a different matter altogether. First issue is where to park as parking generally costs a small fortune. One option was the local retail park, which was perfect for those days where I had shopping to do, or I was only attending for one half of the game due to other jobs on the day. The other options was to park miles away and walk in or pay for the parking. After a while I got to know the owner of a local pub who gave me parking almost a stones throw from the ground in return for a few shots from the game.

Once arriving at the ground you then travel to the main entrance to the Ricoh Arena (conveniently located as far as possible from you) to pick up your pass from the media reception, and then travel back round to the other side of the ground to get inside the ground proper. This is sometimes more tricky than others, as on occasion I was forced to arrive for only the second half, and by this time there was no one manning the gates forcing me to hammer away in the hope that people will hear.

Once you are inside the ground, you are on the floor faced with the pitch in front of you and thousands of fans taking their seats around you. You move into a maze of passages below the stands where you find the photographer’s room (not an easy task first time). The photographer’s room is a tiny little box of a room where you find a bib, programme, team sheet and several other photographers from local and national newspapers agencies and me who hasnt got a clue what is going on.

This is the work involved in getting onto the pitch, once their life gets much easier. You find a spot along the touch-line you are happy with, where the team you are shooting will be attacking, set up a little camp stool (no chairs for photographers and no standing either) and settle in for the game.

As far as taking the shots go, im no expert but it involves predicting the plays, keeping focus as best you can and a little bit of luck that events go your way. I was always a little short on kit at these games, as most photographers carried at least two camera bodies, one with a really long lens, another for close in action and possibly a third on a remote behind the goal. I had one body with an 80-200mm lens attached meaning that I could shoot about a quarter of the pitch, as a result I was often seen on Sky Sports looking a little bored when the action was out of my range.

The following shots were taken at an away game visiting Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was a very different experience, not just because the ground was so much larger seating over 76,000 people but also in the media rooms. The photographers room for example was not just a cupboard but a large room with internet access, power points, plus free food and drink. Also we had benches on the pitch! nothing fancy just a piece of wood with photographer printed on, but this was luxury. The final score? Coventry won 2-0!

There are lots more photos form my time at the Coventry Observer and more sport here Images of news.