Pitch perfect
Ivan O’riordan took up photography later in life, but his aptitude for action shots meant he was soon promoted from terrace to touchline
MISSION: Capture decisive moments, and convey the action-packed nature of rugby and hurling PHOTOGRAPHER: Ivan O’riordan
LOCATION: Limerick, Ireland
KIT USED: Nikon D500, D700, D3, AF-S 300mm f/4e PF ED VR, 70-200mm f/2.8e FL ED VR WEBSITE: www.ivanoriordan.com
Iwas 50 before I took any serious interest in photography and started to take photos at Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. My basic tuition came from photography magazines and making mistakes. Around 15 years ago, I started taking photos from the terraces at Munster Rugby matches. I eventually submitted photos to the supporters’ club and was accepted as an accredited photographer. This enabled me to operate pitchside for about four matches per season, which was a great thrill.
Over the years, I’ve had the wonderful experience of being an accredited photographer at away matches in Paris, Marseille, Milton Keynes and Exeter. I’ve also taken photos for my local soccer club, and hurling is a new experience. Hurling is an amateur sport, said to be the fastest field game in the world. Fast lenses are critical for action photos, and the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8e FL ED VR is my favourite. A camera with good low-light
capabilities is important too. My Nikon D500 and D3 enable me to shoot under floodlights, where ISOS can reach 3200.
Leaving it all out on the field
A highlight in hurling is the contest for a high ball, which is not for the faint-hearted [1]. Limerick’s Declan Hannon is about to win this one. While it was a lovely bright day, photography conditions were tricky enough, with the sun occasionally going behind the clouds. I used Auto ISO and shot wide open to blur the background.
The next image shows a line-out in a match between Munster and their fiercest Irish rivals Leinster [2]. The contestants are Paul O’connell and Jamie Heaslip, both captains of their respective teams, Irish Internationals, and former British and Irish Lions. I was on the 40-metre line and my goal was to capture a photo of these
Hurling is an amateur sport, said to be the fastest field game in the world. Fast lenses are critical...
prominent players competing against each other. In this case Paul was in control. I used a shallow depth of field to throw the background out of focus and a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.
The solo run is a major skill in hurling. In this shot Tom Morrissey breaks through for Limerick in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship 2019 final, while facing Tipperary in front of 40,000 spectators [3]. I got to the ground quite early and found a position behind the goal near the corner flag. The pitch was raised, so I rested my elbows at pitch level. I chose which goal to shoot from based on the position of the sun. Because hurling pitches are large, I paired my Nikon 300mm f/4 lens with my D500 to make use of the camera’s 1.5x crop factor and boost the reach to 450mm.
The try-scoring shot was taken during a European Rugby Champions Cup match between Northampton Saints and Munster Rugby at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes [4]. I had accreditation for this match and was positioned behind the goal line defended by Saints. Munster’s Simon Zebo was on fire that day and scored a hat-trick of tries. One of these resulted from an interception inside the Munster half, he ran unopposed and sauntered for the last 20 metres before inevitably touching down. That enabled me to shoot a high-speed burst of shots. This was processed in Photoshop (with the help of my friend John Hickey); the images were stacked, and layer masks were used to carefully paint and reveal each figure in the sequence. This was made easier as the background didn’t change much between shots, and the shallow depth of field meant there were no hard lines to blend.
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