Sleep and vegetables.


Vegetables are an important part in taking a great picture.

Tournaments are tiring. Euro Clash meant long days, short nights, and an hour missing, it all adds up. Photographers can be their own worst enemy. Not wanting to take a break in case they miss something. I wasn’t planning on shooting all the bouts but the pacing of the event meant that we all got a break, enough time to find a coffee and grab a Fat Hippo burger. Shooting all the bouts also increased the number of files that needed backing up. Watching the files backing up. Watching the clock. Finally being able to turn everything off and get some sleep.

It’s not just the sleep issue that drains the body, food has a big impact. Fat Hippo burgers are good but after a Derby weekend my body craves vegetables. Good, well-cooked vegetables, maybe from my own garden. Convenience food, no matter how good, is no match for a decent home-cooked meal. It can takes days for the body to re-adjust.

Maintaining the right balance across an event is important. It can take several bouts or days to really get the eye in, understanding the game-play and capturing the peak action. But the lack of food and sleep can have a detrimental effect. Adrenalin can only take you so far.

As photographer I always complain about the available light at bouts. It’s my prerogative. Sleep I can do little about but food, well, it’s something that can always be improved. The venues at Crystal Palace and Newark make me happy, I can shoot at iso 800, stop the lens down a little and still have a fast enough shutter to ‘freeze the action’ but I still haven’t found a venue where the food meets my requirements. Ideally I’d like a venue, with great natural light, a full lighting rig and a Michelin starred restaurant tacked on to the side. If anyone knows of such a venue let me know.

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