Physically demanding water sport splashes photographers with patience
Water Polo
BY BRADLEY WILSON For a photojournalist, taking pictures of water polo presents unique challenges. But the challenges, at least with outdoor matches played in the bright sunlight, are not with the quantity of light. Also, the challenges are not in stopping the action. Because there is so much light, photographers can easily use fast shutter speeds to stop the action. Nor are the challenges in the messy backgrounds. Photographers use wide apertures for low-depth of field and shoot down on the players so the background will be anything but distracting. And because the action is not that fast, composing pictures, not simply shooting snapshots, is a realistic goal. What makes water polo a challenge is shooting different and unique pictures. Water polo shots, offense and defense, have a tendency to look the same. Even when players get emotional and passionate about the game, their reactions are often tempered by their inability to touch the bottom of the pool. As players face their set of challenges, so do photographers covering the games. Camera in hands, journalists deal with heat, with high humidity, with additional environmental conditions and with lack of a comfortable spot to sit or to stand. “Bring towels” was the advice Andrew Mo, a free-lance photographer in Southern California and a graduate of University of California at San Diego, gave to photographers shooting water polo. Primoz Jeroncic, a photographer in Slovenia, took that a step further and said, “It’s usually extremely hot and humid so it’s suffering. The most important suggestion: Don’t forget Tshirt and shorts even if in middle of winter.” Seh Suan Ngoh, a freelance photographer in Singapore, emphasized
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that the conditions are equally hard on the equipment. “Take no assumptions that the ball won’t fly at you and your camera when you least expect it,” Ngoh explained. “A friend of mine recently wasn’t paying attention for a moment because he was taking a short break. He ended up having a ball fly right over and hit his 20D and 70-200mm lens, which dropped to the ground, malfunctioning — or rather, not functioning at all — and resulting in a need to be sent for service. The possible shock factor is very high, and the gear servicing expenditure may be higher. It helps to have your camera environmentally sealed to give you that safeguard against major splashes.” Still, from a good vantage point, photographers can get lively action and reaction shots. WHERE TO STAND With a limited number of vantage points, photographers see two basic choices when shooting water polo: Get up high or down low. “I’ve found that my best experiences are when shooting at the extremes,” Mo said. “Finding a high angle such as a diving platform can clean up your backgrounds. On the other end, ‘hitting-the-deck’ — shooting as close to the pool/deck surface as possible — can help with making your images more engaging.” Jonathan Young, a 2004 graduate of the University of California of Los Angeles and now a New York Citybased photographer, said he prefers shooting on the deck. “I try to stay low to get water, ball and players all in one shot. The splashing water gets in the way sometimes, but when it comes together, it’s gorgeous,” he said. “There are two basic shots for water polo: the players shooting at the goal
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Goalie Nicholaus Mayfield blocks the ball from becoming a goal. “I came into the season thinking that it would be easy,” he said, “but I quickly realized, after three water polo balls had hit my face, that the game is harder than I thought.” Photo by Ryan Tucker, Downey High School (Modesto, Calif.)
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The game Seven players from each team (six field players and a goalkeeper) are allowed in the playing area of the pool during game play. Visiting team field players wear numbered white caps, and home team field players wear dark caps. Both goalies wear quartered red caps, numbered “1.” A team may not have possession of the ball for longer than 30 seconds without shooting for the goal or an opponent being ejected. After this time, possession passes to the other team. Each team may call two one-minute timeouts in the four periods of regulation play and one timeout in overtime. During game play, only the team in possession of the ball may call a timeout. One player on each team is designated the goalkeeper, assigned to deflect or catch any shots at goal. The goalkeeper is the only player who may touch the ball with both hands at any time and, in a shallow pool, the only player allowed to stand on the bottom. Players may move the ball by throwing it to a teammate or by swimming while pushing the ball in front of them. Players are not permitted to push the ball underwater when being tackled nor to push or to hold an opposition player unless that player is holding the ball. Fouls, which are common, result in a free throw during which the player may shoot at the goal while beyond the “5-meter” line. Water polo is one of the most physically demanding of all sports. Action is continuous, and players commonly swim 3 kilometers or more during four periods of play.
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The ball and pool • Water polo balls, generally yellow, vary in size and in weight for men, women and juniors. Ball weight is 400-450 grams (14-16 ounces) and inflated to approximately 90 kPa (13 PSI) of pressure. Water polo balls come in two main sizes: size 5 (0.7 meters or 28 inches in circumference), intended for use by men, and size 4 (0.65 meters or 26.5 inches in circumference), intended for women. • Dimensions of the pool are not fixed and can vary between 20 meters by 10 meters and 30 meters by 20 meters. Minimum water depth must be least 1.8 meters (6 feet). • Goals are 3 meters wide and 90 centimeters high. • Middle of the pool (analogous to the 50-yard-line in football) is designated by a white line. • Setup has now been merged into one 5-meter line since the 2005-2006 season. In the past, the pool was divided by 7- and 4-meter lines (distance out from the goal line). Along the side of the pool, a green line marks the center area between the 5-meter lines. • The “5-meters” line, designated by a yellow line, marks the area where penalties are shot. • The “2-meters” line, designated by a red line, marks the space inside this line where no player of the attacking team can be without the ball. SOURCE: wikipedia.org and Federation Internationale de Natation Water Polo Rules 2005-2009
Kacy Kunkel of the University of California at Los Angeles struggles with Stanford’s Laurel Champion in the Bruins 3-5 loss to the Cardinals April 18, 2003. Photo by Jonathan Young.
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and the players in the whole-set directly in front of the goalie. I find it’s best to photograph the players shooting by being to the sides of the goal, directly behind it on the deck, and the whole-set from near midtank on the deck.” Steve King, a photographer in Ann Arbor, Mich., advised, “On the deck, you have to dodge the occasional bad pass and keep knee guard/pads on — and you’re going to get wet/soaked. But this way you fill the frame with the players, not with the water.” Jeroncic said, “Shooting water polo from a high angle never really worked for me. It’s just too weird for my taste, and it never looked as good as I thought it would. My favorite position is behind goal, a bit left or right of goal. You get shots of player from straight front when shooting on goal. At least for me, these are pretty much the only useful shoots since most of other stuff are just bunch of splashes, which don’t look all that great on photos as they do in real life. But you have to watch out for ball from time to time.” King said he believes the best position really depends on the action. “Hardly anyone faces the net so pick your favorite spot on either side or behind
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one net if you want to see their faces. Some of the best expressions are found shooting the war going on in the hole (players in front of the goalie), and great pictures of shooting and saves happen on the edges,” King said. “The lighting or sunlight heavily dictates what you can do since some pools have a dark end, usually away from the swimming starting blocks, or sharp shadows outside due to diving towers or buildings. I still like to stay low since it’s an engaging ‘you’re-right-there’ kind of look, and sunlight dances off the water very nicely at that angle too.” Jeroncic tries to avoid shooting merely a bunch of splashes. He sometimes looks for action at the goal. But even at the goal, low light makes for slow shutter speeds, a challenge in a fast-action sport. Always he stresses the need to look for creative angles that will make the shots stand out. Rodrigo Pena, a staff photographer The Press-Enterprise (Riverside Calif.), explained that he likes to vary his positions, often at about a 45-degree angle from the goal. He also pays attention to the light. “I look at the way the light is falling and choose a side of the goal based on the light. Sometimes I like to shoot the event backlit for the nice rim light and flying water WINTER 2006
drops. Sometimes I like to shoot (using) front or side light for the extra shutter speed,” Pena said. “There are two basic shots for water polo: the players shooting at the goal and the players in the wholeset directly in front of the goalie,” Young said. “I find it’s best to photograph the players shooting by being to the sides of the goal, directly behind it on the deck, and the whole-set from near mid-tank on the deck.”
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The shot of me is from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School varsity water polo in the fall 1999. We won our league, which was great. As a water polo player, I love to see a photo convey what a grueling and fierce sport it truly is. I’ve often heard it described as a cross between wrestling and basketball but being played in 10 feet of water. There’s a lot that goes on underwater, from maneuvering for position to sparring with your opponent, that the crowd and the referees can’t see. If a photo can convey onetenth of that intensity, then I’m happy with my own shooting results. Jonathan Young
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EQUIPMENT To produce the best shots as well as a variety of reaction shots, most photographers emphasized that long lenses are a necessity. “What I have done in the past is bring two camera bodies: one with a 70-200mm lens and one with a 300mm lens or 400mm lens, depending on your access to both the lenses and the pool,” Pena said. “I like to station myself low and near the goal. Doing so with the 300mm lens gets me photos of the goalie across the pool for any saves or goals. I use the 70200mm for swimmers coming at me. I vary my positions.” King said regardless of what length of lens a photographer uses, low-numbered f/stops produce to low depth of field and clean backgrounds. “Stay wide open, f/2.8-f/3.5, as usual to blur backgrounds. I shoot mostly with my 80-200mm lens because I get the flexibility to shoot close or nearly across the pool, not the length though. If I had a 400mm, f/2.8, I might use it to shoot down the length only. Since the 80-200mm zoom gives me flexibility to shoot the entire half of the pool I’m stationed in, I don’t shoot from more than 3 feet away from the gutter.” Pena emphasized that he has a similar philosophy. “I like to shoot at f/4 and sometimes f/2.8 to clear the background,” he said. “If I have a 400mm lens, I might bump it up to f/4.5-f/5.6 to get a little more depth of field.” ACTION AND REACTION Water polo is, in the international arena, a sport as old as soccer, cricket and rugby. However, it is relatively new to American students. While photographers covering water polo matches face environmental conditions that are good neither for the photographer nor for the photographer’s electronic camera gear, the basics of shooting the game are the same as with most sports: • Move up close. • Use wide-open apertures to obtain low-depth of field. • Use fast shutter speeds to stop action. • Look for creative angles. And, after obtaining the “stock” shot, look for more creative angles and innovative uses of light to make one more water polo shot stand out in the crowd. n
History • Modern game, using a ball constructed of Indian rubber, originated as a form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes in England and in Scotland. “Water rugby” came to be called “water polo” based on the English pronunciation of pulu, the Balti word for ball. • Men’s water polo at the Olympics was among the first team sports introduced at the 1900 games, along with cricket, rugby, football (soccer), polo (with horses), rowing and tug of war. Women’s water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after political protests from the Australian women’s team. • Every two to four years since 1973, a men’s Water Polo World Championship is played together with the World Swimming Championship, under the auspices of Federation Internationale de Natation. Women’s water polo was added in 1986. A second tournament series, the Amateur Water Polo World Cup, sponsored by FINA, has been held every other year since 1979. In 2002, FINA organized the sport’s first international league, the FINA Water Polo World League. SOURCE: wikipedia.org and Federation Internationale de Natation Water Polo Rules 2005-2009
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Terminology
ATTACKER A field player on the team in possession of the ball.
Playing for the U.S. Naval Academy, Midshipman 1st Class Jordan Flacco and goalie Midshipman 3rd Class George Naughton defend against a player from fifth-ranked Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco, reprinted from the U.S. Naval Academy Lucky Bag yearbook.
BALL A water polo ball is usually a bright yellow color with a gripable surface, allowing it to be held with one hand despite its large size. The cover is a buffed rubberized fabric over a wound nylon fiber base with an inflatable bladder.
BRUTALITY A violent foul with intention to harm. The fouling player is ejected from the game without substitution. The opponents are awarded a penalty shot, and the ejected player’s team plays one man down for the next four minutes of game time. The referee signals this type of foul by crossing the arms in the form of an X. BUNNY A goal scored on a power shot close to the goalkeeper’s head.
CAPS Visiting team field players wear numbered white caps, and home team field players wear dark caps. Both starting goalkeepers wear quartered red caps, numbered “1.” Substitute goalies caps are numbered either “1-A” in NCAA play or “13” for FINA international play. Caps are fitted with ear protectors. DRIBBLING The technique of moving the ball while swimming forward, propelled ahead of the player with the wake created by alternating arm strokes. Because ball contact is minimal, dribbling creates advantage for the ball carrier advancing the ball. His defender may not make contact unless the attacker is touching the ball. DRY PASS A pass thrown and caught in one hand between players. The ball does not touch the water. A dry pass allows for optimal speed as a result of the fluid motion between catching and throwing.
EGGBEATER A form of treading water, named because the circular movement of the legs resembles the motion of an eggbeater. The kick allows the player to maintain a constant position to the water level. Also, by kicking faster for a brief period, the player can get high out of the water for a block, a pass or a shot. FIELD PLAYER One of a team’s six players, excluding the goalkeeper, who swim up and down the field of play.
FOULS Fouls are common in water polo, both as a result of a defensive strategy or as a result of holding (usually underwater) and rough play. ordinary or minor foul: The referee signals with one short whistle blow and points one hand to the spot of the foul and the other hand in the direction of the team that gains possession. Play continues immediately. exclusion or major foul: A referee signals a major foul by two short whistle bursts and indicates that the player must leave the field without impacting play and move to the penalty area for 20 seconds.
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Under pressure, Lupana Morales winds up to shoot. Photo by Ryan Tucker, Shield yearbook, Downey High School (Modesto, Calif.) Treading up, Christina Torres sets up to block the opponent’s shot. Photo by Ryan Tucker, Shield yearbook, Downey High School (Modesto, Calif.) WINTER 2006
Gallery
GAMED A player who receives a third exclusion foul is “gamed.” The individual is removed from play for misconduct and may not return for the remainder of the game. GOAL Players score a goal after the ball passes completely over the goal line, between the goal posts and under the crossbar.
OVERTIME If the score is tied at the end of regulation play, teams play two overtime periods of three minutes each. Overtime periods are common in tournament play.
2002 Decamhian, Del Campo High School (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
2002 Decamhian, Del Campo High School (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
The 2005 Water Polo team started right where it left off the previous year. With seven returning Firsties, the team began their season ranked thirteenth in the country. In October, Annapolis played host to the CWPA Southern Division Championships. Navy made quick work of Merryhurst, and defeated Bucknell in a close one. In the championship game, Midn 1/C Alex Ratcliffe carried the team with five goals, to lead them to a 10-8 victory over Princeton to claim the championship. Four members of the championship team received individual honors. Midn 1/C Alex Ratcliffe, 1/C Jordan Gentry, and 3/C George Naughton were named to the Southern Division First Team, while Midn 4/C Michael Mulvey was named
Rookie of the Year. When the season ended, the team had a 22-7 record, including an eleven game winning streak. In league matches, the team was nearly perfect with a 9-1 record. Midn 1/C Alex Ratcliffe, 1/C Jordan Gentry, 2/C Andrew Plumb, 3/C Aaron Recko, 2/C Todd Carlson, 3/C Tyler Hill, and 4/C Michael Mulvey each finished the season with twenty-five or more combined goals and assists. At goal, Midn 3/C George Naughton’s performance was worthy of the record books. With 193 saves, he is now seventh all time for saves in a single season among Navy goalies. Next year the team looks to build on their current streak of 24 years with 19 or more wins in a single season. With only three rising seniors, the team will look to other experienced players to keep the winning tradition alive.
Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco
Midn 1/C Alex Ratcliffe winds up to fire off another goal. Ratcliffe led the team with 56 goals and was awarded Third Team All-American honors for the fourth consecutive season. Over his four years with Navy, Ratcliffe scored 193 goals and 94 assists, placing him seventh all time in both categories for Navy. Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco
Midn 1/C Jordan Flacco and goalie Midn 3/C George Naughton defend against a player from fifth-ranked Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco
Midn 3/C Tyler Hill escapes the defender and lines up for a shot. Hill is a rising star on the team, accounting for 25 goals and 7 assists during the season. Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco
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PENALTY THROW A shot awarded when any foul is committed inside the 5-meter line and the offensive player had an opportunity to score, or a goal was prevented by the foul. The penalty shot is attempted from 5 meters with play stopped. Any defenders flanking the player taking the shot must be no closer than 2 meters. The goalkeeper must be on the goal line.
RED CARD Shown by a referee to signify that a player or coach has been excluded for misconduct. The individual is required to leave the playing area immediately and cannot return to the game.
Midn 1/C Jordan Gentry looks for an open teammate during the Southern Division Championships. Gentry was later named to the All-Eastern Division Team and the Southern Division First Team. Photo courtesy of Nick Flacco Midn 2/C Andrew Plumb looks to score in the NorCal Tournament, held in Palo Alto, California.
PENALTY SHOOTOUT After two overtime periods, if the score is still tied, the coaches of each team choose five players and a goalkeeper to shoot from the 5-meter line alternately at either end of the pool in turn until all five have taken a shot. If the score is still tied, the same players shoot alternately until one team misses and the other scores to decide the winner.
“RED” Shouted to teammates when 10 seconds remain on the shot clock.
Season of Records Men’s Water Polo Impresses By James Sheehan
PERIOD The game is divided into four periods. The length depends on the level of play. In college games governed by the NCAA, the periods are seven minutes long. In high-school games, governed by the NFHS, periods are seven minutes for varsity, six minutes for junior varsity and five minutes for freshmen/sophomores.
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2006 Lucky Bag, United States Naval Academy
WET PASS A deliberate pass into the water, barely out of reach of the intended teammate and his defender. The receiving player can then lunge toward the ball and out of the water to make a shot or pass.
YELLOW CARD Shown by the referee to indicate that a player or coach has been officially cautioned for misconduct. The individual may continue participating in the game. If a player or coach receives a second yellow card caution, the individual must leave the playing area for the rest of the match. 2003 Talisman, Saratoga High School (Saratoga, Calif.). Laura Phan, Elisha Tam, Jessica Tu, editors; Mike Tyler, adviser WINTER 2006
SOURCE: wikipedia.org and Federation Internationale de Natation Water Polo Rules 2005-2009
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Variations on a theme
CanoePolo
BY SEH SUAN NGOH In this action, Jeremy (in red vest) was trying to “depossess” the ball from an attacking rival player. Aware that he could easily get really carried away by sheer adrenaline, I was expecting major actions to be unleashed. Little did I expect him to execute something resembling an uppercut from the back of the rival — a reaction that ended up as a big fat sloppy slap from the chin toward the forehead. Thankfully regulations require players to wear protection. This was my first time shooting … using a newly acquired Canon EOS 1D camera. This shot was taken seconds after play restarted after a goal by a team. I was trying out the combination nine-point ring focus on the 1D, shooting with a 70-200mm, f/2.8 zoom with Image Stabilization.
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eh Suan Ngoh, a sports photographer in Singapore, was not shy about his experiences when shooting water polo. Though Ngoh has never photographed the sport, he has shot the next best thing, canoe polo, a sport he describes as “much more action-packed.” Canoe polo is a combination of water polo, basketball and kayaking, fast and aggressive with players using the boats for defense as well as for offense. “[Canoe polo] is probably similar to water polo, but with the maneuvering required for a 3-meter long kayak and managing a full-length paddle, this is probably more tactical than physical,” Ngoh said. “Coming from a physical education background, watching this five-on-five game closely matches the fast breaks and steals that NBA provides, and it’s probably to play a game where you get to capsize another’s kayak as part of tackling. If kayaking by itself wasn’t tiring enough, try this game, where the pace can be fairly intense and moving yourself would be tough when you have to squeeze yourself in between a crowd of kayaks.” Ngoh emphasized that the photographers’s vantage points are similar to water polo with high and low angles each having advantages. “For most of the time, I’d perch myself in a
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lifeguard’s platform and shoot from there. This greatly clears up a lot of the background clutter,” he said. Unlike in water polo when shooting from the deck may provide another angle, Ngoh said this approach will not work for canoe polo for two practical reasons: water and clutter. During the men’s games, water will overrun the pool deck and get your camera bags and shoes all wet. Further, Ngoh said, there is the challenge of the background clutter and the difficulty of shooting between a maze of players. Two teams of five members each play two 10-minute halves so the photographer has little time to move around. “The thrills and spills of the game make it really unique from other regular sports found in Singapore. The raw emotions from the players as they push off from the sides of the pool, kitting up the life vest and the helmet, add an odd similarity to American football. Being a fairly young sport, canoe polo has attracted mainly students and young working adults to play the game,” Ngoh said. “This game, along with its raw aggression and intensity of play, got me hooked because no other sport seemed to exhibit such a unique cross of basketball, water polo, kayaking and a dash of American football.” n WINTER 2006