Weekly competition 296: This sporting life Competition

Weekly Comp 296
I would like to have seen more entries but fewer pictures means less work for the judge in one respect. On the other hand it's a closely packed field with little distance between the placings so that wasn't quite so easy.
The results are merely my personal opinion, others may form their own views on the images which best depict 'this sporting life.'

Rowing on oil by Axel Luther
It certainly looks like oil, especially in the dark areas bottom left where there is some lovely detail in the oars patterns in the water. The sepia treatment helps to create this impression. Unfortunately the brighter areas come dangerously close to burning out and the rowers don't seem to putting their whole effort into the task.

Iron man my **** by Tyronet2000
This guy has given his all and looks done in. Good grab shot demonstrating a less glamorous side of sporting activity. Pity the athlete wasn't a bit sharper in the image. Top marks for the title though.

He's still got it by Greenway40
He certainly has still got it and you've caught him at the peak of the action. Even though you used a 300mm lens I suspect you also cropped in quite a lot here. The colour of the water, the swirl of the wave and the curving wake of the surfer make a very attractive image.

A good sport by John Riley
I don't think snowballing is an Olympic sport not even at the winter games, but it's a lot of fun and this picture demonstrates that. It's also a good quality image beautifully captured.

Rainbow running by Reklawyksekul
I always imagine cross country runners to be coated in mud but here they are pretty clean. Perhaps they've just set off. The rainbow is a lovely bonus, and it's a wonderful moody sky.

Finish by Valimir
This is a good example of the effort that goes into the final lunge for the line, particularly by the athlete in the centre. But I reckon the girl on the right has clinched it. Nicely caught, especially with the hurdles fading away to an out of focus background.

Clear by Barrie Forbes
Barrie has caught this at the decisive moment, a critical point in sports photography. The horse is at full stretch at the start of the jump and the rider is out of the saddle and leaning well forward, urging her mount to clear the hurdle which I'm sure it's going to do.

Blur which project by Simonarron
This is a very fine example of well timed panning. No doubt there's an element of luck in the positioning of the cars but considerable skill also comes into play when you are photographing moving objects at these sort of speeds. I believe Simon has a wealth experience in photographing motor racing, and it shows here. Getting the two cars lined up, with one travelling much faster than the other was a matter of split second timing. I've seen many good pans but never a double pan as eye catching as this.
Also good attempt at a punny title.

High rider by Roysdboys
Good timing here too. You've caught the concentration on his face very well and frozen the action perfectly. I bet half the crowd was waiting for him to come a cropper.

On the rivet by Sandinista
The athletic effort being generated here is clear to see in the riders' faces. Cyclo cross is a very tough sport and these young riders are clearly shown to be really digging in with determination. I like the sharp capture of the riders set against the oof background of trees. Could the black and white image have been slightly more contrasty? Possibly. Jim, I can't believe that just a couple of years ago you were still a wee novice with the camera. You are certainly no novice now.

I want the ball by Snakey
What I like about this is the close up detail of the players' faces. Sheer brutal determination to grab possession is so well caught here. Also the composition of the players' bodies, almost like a ballet scene. Of course your new 150-500 makes a difference; length of lens is sometimes what distinguishes the amateur from the professional sports photographer. In some sports spectators can get close enough to the action . In others, like football, rugby and cricket. a long lens is essential for close up detail of the players. Bit like bird photography in this respect. This image has all the action and expression I was looking for, grit, aggression, sheer muscle power.

Movement of life by ArsenAl
As well as catching the sporting action brilliantly this shot has pictorial appeal. I love the blurred detail, in particular the wonderful patterns of the running shoes. The vibrant colour is also a very attractive feature.

Starting to hurt by paulb531
Expression is a strong feature of this picture, straight from this morning's event. You can believe the title when it says this is beginning to hurt. The relatively wide aperture, 4.5, throws the spotlight on the athlete and ensures the background doesn't compete for attention. I also like the critical moment when you snapped this, the athlete's leading foot off the ground and his trailing foot bending forward in a launch to the next step. It proves he wasn't holding a pose for the camera.

RNYC race by Geordie01
Bet it was cold at the coast at Blyth today Geordie. I like the formation of the boats; a group of three, one alone and then two together, make a very pleasing composition. Nice lighting too. The band of sunlight across the centre of the image nicely casts a band of turquoise on the surface of the North Sea and catches the sail of the central yacht.

Results:
The Podium:
1, I want the ball by Snakey.
=2, Blur which project by Simonarron and Movement is life by ArsenAl.
The Hcs:
Finish by Velimir, Clear by BForbes, Starting to hurt by Paulb531, He's still got it by Greenway40.

Fast and efficient, I like that!

Congrats to our winners, looking forward to the next challenge!

Thanks for the kind words, David, and well done to t'other David. Fantastic shot.

Congratulations to the Winner and other placings. Thanks to David for the interesting subject and constructive comments.

Judging was - as usual - great. You are so right - they really did a kind of relaxing job in this boat . I like the winning picture with all the mimics that you probably have to make in this kind of sport - you made a perfect capture of that. Congratulations also to the other selected.

Shame about the low entry. You would think sport is a very open subject. Maybe they where put off by the quality of the winners. Well done with the judging David.

Good competition theme. Great winning shot - wouldn't want to mess with the guy with the big arms and tattoos!

Just what I was thinking....great winner!

Thanks David, a very worthy winner among some strong entires

Wow. My first Competition win, many thanks for that David. I'm sure it was a close thing as some of the others are of great quality and I can see why you had a job to split them.
I hope I can set and judge the next competition to the level expected.
Many thanks.

winning shot is great!! thank you David for my second place!