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As mentioned in a prior blog post, today was the finals of the Hope Premiere League which featured a very pulsating and close match that ended with Evolution FC defeating FC 2024 on penalties. Highlights of the match were the underdogs Evolution taking a 2-0 lead by half time, then getting 2 men sent off in the 2nd half before FC 2024 clawed their way back to 2-2 only to see one of their own get sent off. The match ended at that and somehow or another, Evolution’s goalkeeper managed to pull off some saves to see their way to the cup!

I hardly got to watch the match though, as I was one of the participants in the Game On Carnival, a side event comprising food, drink, game stalls and a flea market. The idea behind my booth was quite simple - take action photographs of people and sell CDs of photos with proceeds going to Hope Centre, a volunteer welfare organisation under the NCSS umbrella.

Here’s a photo of Ming’s brother, Junhan (did I spell it correctly), and wifey setting off from home with all the gear destined for Aloy’s new Mazda waiting below.

Believe it or not, all these took 2 days to prepare and pack.

Here’s the crew setting up at the grandstand at Yio Chu Kang stadium. Due to budget constraints, we didn’t get a tentage in the end, so stall owners had to improvise and set up shop along the terraces. Due to circumstances unforeseen, we ended up with a booth at the far end of the grandstand which ultimately wasn’t that great for business but we still had more than enough customers to keep us reasonably busy. And I guess this being our first time doing such an outdoor event, it might not have been a bad thing!

We initially set up on a patch of grass near the track for better visibility but light rain moved us back.

Also, a big thanks to Pris for helping with the ad board which is where I want to share a short testimony. On the way there, I was semi-panicking because we didn’t have much time to set up, and everyone already had their hands full, leaving no one available to decorate the stall or create the ad board. I was praying for someone, anyone, artistic to turn up and lend a hand. Lo and behold when I was eventually on the track setting up the lighting equipment, I turned around at one point and saw Pris scribbling on the board and making it pretty. Prayers answered!

It may be nice and simple but speaks volumes in how it came together!

Ok now the meaty stuff - what kind of photos was I planning to take?

Here is a shot of Junhan on the track taken with nothing but available light. Yucks! Look at how bland the sky is and the unflattering shadows cast across the face. This is why people avoid shooting in mid-day sun.

Before…

Now add one softbox to camera left for the key light and another speedlight to camera right for the rim light, both gelled with a full CTO (with the camera balanced for flourescent, this gives the sky a bluer hue) and upped to overpower the sun by 1-2 stops (should’ve written down the exact light ratio!), and you get something like this. More dramatic isn’t it!

After!

More cool photos of the actual action shots to follow soon!

The Crew:

• Wifey and Ashley - always willing to lend both moral and physical support! Your presence throughout the whole 6 hours was touching, as you originally wanted to leave after 3.
• Merv - my main photographer, who had to juggle both this and coordinating the other bunch of event photographers.
• Gab - set up the laptops and wireless network, post processed images, showed them to customers, took orders, burnt CDs, etc. Phew! He was literally the other half of the show.
• Aloy - provided transport to and fro even though asked very last minute. Thanks a million for the spacious and very comfortable car.
• Junhan - strong dude who put his muscles to good use by helping to carry a lot of the kit, set up and stabilize the lights.
• Ming - up and coming photographer who assisted with directing, taking a few of the shots when Merv disappeared, and also with the lighting. In fact, I think he got us some customers too!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Photography, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.