Stadsparksvallen by night

 “I advise you to say your dream is possible and then overcome all inconveniences, ignore all the hassles and take a running leap through the hoop, even if it is in flames.”

― Les Brown

To make this photo i used a Manfrotto lightning stand with an adapter and a ball head to attach the camera. This way i was able to elevate the camera about 4 meters. This was shoot with 1 1Dx mkII with the 24-70/2,L II USM. To be able to compose the image i attached the camera with the WFT-E6 WIFI adapter. Thru which i connected the camera with a app from Canon.

Soccer J-södra - Sundsvall

“In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices.”

― James E. Faust

Soccer with the Canon 1Dx mkII (Elfsborg - J-södra).

A few days ago i recieved my 1Dx mkII.
Sunday i had the possibility to test it out at a soccer game.
Since i wanted to test the Auto focus as much ass possible.
I decided to use it together with my "old" 400/2,8L IS USM and the 1,4X III teleconverter. With the "old" 1Dx, that combination are quite "slow" compared to not adding the teleconverter.

What i can say for now. Is that the auto focus with the 1Dx mkII are very impressive. It's blazing fast. And extremely accurate. Considering that this camera has 14 FPS (frames per second). It's even more impressive.

I don't want to get into all the technical stuff here. But the more FPS, the harder to get Auto focus to be accurate. The major reason for this is that the AF-sensor gets its information while the mirror is down. What the engineers that work at Canon has managed to do is truly impressive.
The first image below are taken with a 1Dx and a 70-200/2,8L IS II USM. The last with the 1Dx mkII and the 400/2,8L IS USM (without TC). All the rest with the combination 1Dx mkII, 400/2,8L IS USM and TC 1,4X III.

  “An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.”

― Washington Irving

Soccer (J-södra - Helsingborg)

“Self-sabotage is the proverbial hammer over the head that finally wakes us up, demanding that we pay attention. For most of us, it takes something devastating to crack us open, to get us out of our minds and into our hearts.”

― Debbie Ford

Soccer J-södra - Norrköping

"You can change by changing the way you think about yourself and your circomstances"

- Zig Ziglar

Soccer J-södra - Falkenberg

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

― John Wooden

A sports photo workshop recommendation & some more soccer photography.

Recently i recommended a Swedish sports photo workshop.
Here: http://blogg.photo-it.net/2016/04/workshop-rekomendation-soccer-orebro-j.html

This recommendation is about the Sports Shooter Academy that will be in Orange County, southern California November 2-6 this year.
I´ve attended this two times before. And i an truly recommend it.

Sports Shooter Academy 13 Promo from Sports Shooter Academy on Vimeo.
About The Sports Shooter Academy from Sports Shooter Academy on Vimeo.

There are several reasons for that.
The instructors are not only great photographers. They are great people as well.
More than that, being in a different environment than you use to do.
Is a great way to increase your creativity. Especially when you are surrounded by people that are passionate about the same things that you are. So I've learnt a lot, not only from the instructors. But from the other student as well.

And when it comes to the part of being in a different environment.
Southern California in November are a great experience by itself.
Especially when compared to Sweden. The weather are just great.
Like a perfect summer day in Sweden.
The pictures below are from Sunset Beach Orange County, California, on the morning of November 4 2014.

To me, the combination of the above. Truly helped me to become a better photographer. And as far as nothing goes terribly wrong. I will do this again, as a student.
I´m expecting to learn even more. Aside from that, i do hope that i can inspire and help others to become better.


For those that want to attend the Sports Shooter Academy 13.
The registration are now offially opened.
You can read more here:
http://www.sportsshooteracademy.com/#!/p/ssa

Interested in doing this, and traveling from Europe?
I do have two recommendations.
1. If you don´t already have a good camera bag that fits into the overhead bin. I can truly recommend the Think Tank Airport international.
https://www.thinktankphoto.com/collections/airport-series/products/airport-international-v2-0
2. That you fly with British Airways. The allow a bag with a weight off up to 23 KG in the overhead bin, even in economy class. Or "World traveler" as the call it.
Also, the have won several prices for their service on their trans Atlantic flights.
In most cases it´s also the cheapest and fastest solution.

You can actually get tickets from Sweden to Los Angeles and back from about €550-720.

Renting cars in USA are a lot cheaper than in Sweden.
Last time, 10 days with a medium size car. Rented with Avis thru British Airways coasted about €200, with all necessary insurances included. No extra costs expect the gas. Gas cost is less than half the Swedish prices...

Below, some photos from the last soccer game i covered the other day. Together with a tear sheet from Expressen. (A major Swedish daily).
About soccer, there will be the UEFA Euro 2016, I.E. The European championship this summer. More to come...

“A leader's job is not to do the work for others, it's to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.”

― Simon Sinek