Welcome to The eighth edition of the series - Scenes from a bike
This Edition facts:
Location: I've been to this place hundreds of times, I saw my very first game of Australian Rules Football at this ground in 1983. It's Arden Street Oval in North Melbourne, Australia. They no longer play the top tier AFL football here anymore, the grandstands are all gone, replaced by community friendly hills and trees, but they still us it as a training ground and they play reserves games here.
Why am I here today? Well to continue testing my new lens but more importantly to see the return of one of North Melbourne's players - Ben Cunnington (Number 10) in the photo above. You see Ben had Cancer, Ben had surgery and then Chemo, Ben is now cancer free and 379 days after his last game he's back (albeit in the reserves)
This take on even more meaning because our team (in blue) are struggling, we have won 2 games out of 20 this year in the seniors, we are likely going to finish last (as we did last year as well) Ben is a spiritual leader of the club, and we need some good news.
Before last year, the last time we finished last was 1973. Also we are playing Sydney, We beat Sydney for the premiership (think superbowl) in 1996.
Date & Weather: Sunday the 7th of August, Winter, but not too cold.
Equipment: My Fujifilm X-T3, and my brand new 70-300mm Telephoto zoom, you need a fair amount of length to photograph Aussie rules football - for example the shot above is in the middle of the ground, which is about 80 metres away.
The Concept & Finances: The concept is simple, I've bought an electric bike, on this bike I explore my hometown, Melbourne Australia and take photos, Priority 1 - Finding new places in Melbourne, Priority 2 - taking better photos, Bonus - Earn back the cost of the bike by creating content and getting paid for it on HIVE. The bike cost $1,100 USD. So far I've earned $39.84 from the previous 6 posts (with one payout pending) meaning I've paid for 3.6% of the bike and I have $1,060 to go.
Other stuff: I'm going to focus on a few player in these shots, they are all on the seniors list and playing in the reserves for various reasons i.e. coming back from injury, personal issues, or form.
Let's see what I shot.
16f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 450mm
Let's start with some intros - this is Ben Cunnington. He is a quiet man, a country boy who doesn't like the limelight, it not surprising that in the 1/4 time break he is in the middle of the group.
14f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 287mm
This is Tarryn Thomas, he is a bit flashier, the hair is brand new. He is in the reserves because he's recently had about 4 weeks away from the club dealing with the death of his grandmother. He is regaining his fitness/touch.
22f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 450mm
This is about the only time I'll show you Sydney doing something good (even though they won). it's a nice shot though, and again you can see Ben 'Front and Centre' if the North player had knocked it to the front Ben would have been away.
13f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 450mm
Here is Tarryn about to kick a goal
10f, 1000ISO, 1/1000, 54mm
Ben with one of his classic 'don't argues' he is about to push out of that tackle. by the way, his opponent here is Kennedy who himself has played almost 300 games and is have some injury issues.
20f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 450mm
This little pocket rocket is Phoenix Spicer - he is young, has played just 3 or 4 senior games, and is back in the reserves to get a bit more experience
16f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 310mm
Here his is again using his strength to get free of the tackle and fire out a handball.
16f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 310mm
Which allows this guy - Atu Bosenavulagi to streak away
14f, 1600ISO, 1/500, 334mm
This is a shot just because I like Ruck contests - the game starts/restarts with a bounce down and these tall guys try to tap it down to someone.