More from the Sydney tennis International

[drifter]

Daniela .Again
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Justine Henin-Hardenne " The backhand "
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I could watch Justine play all day .Great player and a backhand to die for.


Eyes on the ball




Lleyton Hewitt
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This was shot straight after he won ( yeah i know he looks stoked doesn't he ) He called for the doc mid way through the opening set for what looked like an ankle injury but turned out to be a stomach virus .


Me and my shadow



Varied light conditions all day .Overcast one minute ,glaring sun the next .
CC welcome .

[wile_E]

I love the last shot drifter, very well caught indeed!

[shutterbug]

That first image of Hewitt is tops
Maybe there should be a mini tennis meet

So who playes tennis?

[the foto fanatic]

Very good action pix. I really like #3. The ball is in the image, you can see that Justine is focussed only on the ball. Look at her concentration, the early shot preparation (I still don't believe the grip & wrist position used by the modern players, but it obviously loads up the topspin) and the muscle development in the legs, where all her power comes from.

I agree with your comments on her backhand, it is indeed a thing of beauty. Federer's ain't bad either, and it's interesting to note that there are not too many exponents of the one-handed backhand these days, male or female.

[Oneputt]

Excellent shots with vibrant colours. Very nice.

[ozimax]

1st shot of Leyton Halfwit is an excellent shot, action, vibrance and colour, well done.

[Killakoala]

Again excellent photos and as good as any pro stuff out there. The Lleyton H ones are superb.

[drifter]

Thanks for the comments guys .
Steve . Your too kind mate . Much appreciated though . Speaking of the pros has anyone else been reading the Sydney Morning Herald ? They have had a few photo spreads in the sports section this week . Great stuff .Really love what both Tim Clayton and Steve Christo are doing there . I went down to the city a few months ago when the SMH had a photo exibition of there work at Customs house . Think it was a book launch ? ( I was too busy looking at the pictures to notice what the ulterior motive was ) .Great stuff .


Hey shutterbug , i play , but very badly .

[drifter]

I agree with your comments on her backhand, it is indeed a thing of beauty. Federer's ain't bad either, and it's interesting to note that there are not too many exponents of the one-handed backhand these days, male or female.

Hardly any in the womens game .What makes it even more unique is her size .She is tiny and i'd image most coaches nowadays if she was starting from scratch would look at her size and probably force her to use a double handed backhand .Just noticed from experience with coaches who my daughter had when she was interested in tennis .They all want them to use the double .
Womens tennis is not very good at the moment . All baseline sloggers .Boooring .

[avkomp]

some nice shots here. well done.
out of curiosity, do they get sad about what camera gear you take into the tennis like at some other sporting venues??

Steve

[drifter]

some nice shots here. well done.
out of curiosity, do they get sad about what camera gear you take into the tennis like at some other sporting venues??

Steve

No hassles at all . I checked the website for any disclaimers or rules and couldn't find anything .I showed them my gear at the gate and they didn't blink . The lens is a 70-200 . I have read that at the open in Melbourne there is a 200 mm max. restriction. There were several shooters there who had some large lenses and monopods which i thought would definetly be off limits but there were no worries . I guess the main thing is the people around you . I checked all round before i started to make sure i wasn't going to be in anyones way when i was pointing the camera around .

[avkomp]

and thats how it should be too.
common sense prevails!!

wish there was more of it

Steve

[Matt. K]

The photo of Hewitt....Sell it! It rocks!

[sirhc55]

Not only are these shots superb but they bring home the quality of the Canon and of course, the photographer

[DionM]

Very nice shots. The 20D and 70-200 2.8 combo don't hurt either

Out of curiousity, are they uncropped shots? Does the 200 allow you to get close enough?

I must admit that I often find freeze-framed action shots a bit strange to look at, so having said that I really like the last one of Hewitt!

[drifter]

Very nice shots. The 20D and 70-200 2.8 combo don't hurt either

Out of curiousity, are they uncropped shots? Does the 200 allow you to get close enough?

I must admit that I often find freeze-framed action shots a bit strange to look at, so having said that I really like the last one of Hewitt!

Only cropped to tidy up around the edges, half a ball boy here or there . The last one had a little too as you can tell by the odd size .
The 200 was plenty . Half the time i was around 150 .The first Hewitt shot would have lopped half his legs off at 200mm .
That stadium is first class as far as access . You can get as close as the pro photographers there . Literally shooting over there shoulders .

[marcotrov]

Terrific colour, sharpness and composition and great timing. They are excellent movement study images.
cheers
marco

[Alpha_7]

Drifter only just got to these pics but glad I found them, Great stuff. Never been to a tennis match, but I'd have to commend you on capturing the action (and the Hewitt walk off it awesome). Would love to see more if you have some... I have to agree I don't mind watching Justine play, she's easy on the eye, a great competitor and seems to be a pleasant person too.