Julie Deer
October 2026 - Not Getting Away
Original
About the Image(s)
The national football game played in Australia is call Australian Rules (Aussie Rules). We call it football. This term should not be confused with the games of soccer or rugby which are very different games.
Footy is played using an oval shaped ball and an oval shaped pitch. It is a very physical game and the players wear no protective clothing except for the occasional shin pad tucked into a sock.
Check out this YouTube link to see part of the Grand Final (Rose Bowl equivalent here in South Australia). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFfqjuq-9Mo
The blue team in both my photo and the video is called Norwood. It's the team I have followed all my life. They won the Grand Final.
Our Camera Club was given special permission a few weeks ago to attend a game and take our professional cameras. This is a very rare experience. It certainly made us all appreciate the skill of sports photographers!
I have denoised the photo and then played with sliders in Lightroom to crop, lighten shadows and add texture. What would you have done with the image?
12 comments posted
Hi Julie, you captured a great sports moment! There's so much action going on, and you caught great expressions on the players and mud flying! You have good separation of people. The only thing you might want to change is to even out the space on the left and right. There seems to be more space on the left, and it's kind of tight on the right. Unfortunately, I see the guys in the background of the original are looking kind of bored for some reason. I'm surprised the players aren't wearing helmets and protective gear like in American football. Posted: 10/01/2026 16:32:32
Hi Janice,
Thanks for your comments. It was hard with the cropping as the guy on the ground has his feet dragging along the ground which is why the image looks a bit lopsided. I will play around and see what I can do. The people in the background possibly are bored. The blue team was a long way ahead and it was late in the game. Protective gear and helmets has never been part of this game. I hope you watched the youtube link in my description above to see how the game is played. It really is a physical game. Occasionally a player might wear a helmet, but it is more like a padded bicycle helmet with no bars. It is padded on the outside too so that the other players don't get hurt. Concussion is becoming a big part of the game. After a head knock with the ground, the player is taken from the oval (field) and tested. They must not play for at least a week if they are concussed. The helmet is worn if a player has had several concussions during their career. It does not happen often. Posted: 10/02/2026 01:42:53
Thanks for your comments. It was hard with the cropping as the guy on the ground has his feet dragging along the ground which is why the image looks a bit lopsided. I will play around and see what I can do. The people in the background possibly are bored. The blue team was a long way ahead and it was late in the game. Protective gear and helmets has never been part of this game. I hope you watched the youtube link in my description above to see how the game is played. It really is a physical game. Occasionally a player might wear a helmet, but it is more like a padded bicycle helmet with no bars. It is padded on the outside too so that the other players don't get hurt. Concussion is becoming a big part of the game. After a head knock with the ground, the player is taken from the oval (field) and tested. They must not play for at least a week if they are concussed. The helmet is worn if a player has had several concussions during their career. It does not happen often. Posted: 10/02/2026 01:42:53
Hi, Julie. What a great capture! It's nice when camera clubs get to do something special like this. I might leave a little more room on the right side, maybe just cropping out the person wearing red. I have never heard of this sport before. Always good to learn something new! Posted: 10/02/2026 15:47:41
Hi, This game was part of the state league of Australian Rules Football. It was many years ago the premier game in each state. Since the mid nineties, each state has a couple of teams in a so called national league. Victoria (the state next to South Australia - bottom eastern corner of Australia_ has many teams in this league. These days the crowds of people are not there to watch the games like they used to be. Posted: 10/20/2026 11:14:17
Hi Julie - congrats on the Grand Final Win! (All fans get to take credit when their teams win!) I don't do a lot of this type of photography, but I do think you have a fantastic capture. Your crop brings us right to the action; the expressions on their faces and the postures tell a great story. I think the detail with the feet and hands grabbing, dirt flying is also very good -- so much fun! It doesn't feel lopsided to me. I am wondering if you can darken the background some - the sign and the two gentlemen in the top right draw my eye a bit. Thanks for sharing! Posted: 10/02/2026 18:46:32
Hi Shari, Thanks for your comments. I have reworked the background and removed the signs etc and you are correct that the image now looks a bit stronger. Posted: 10/20/2026 11:15:35
Hey Julie, well, you seemed to capture everything I would want to see in an action sports shot. I really can't see anything I would do different. I love the mud and I love the expressions on the faces of the players. One note. I opened the image in ON-1 NoNoise AI and it did a really good job of sharpening the players faces. I am really impressed with your shot. Posted: 10/05/2026 00:22:56
Thanks for your comments Don. I have not tried photographing Aussie Rules Football before, but hope to have another go sometime next year. I have photographed our Grandson's high level soccer many times. It is just the luck of the draw as to the faces and bodies being in the right place when you press the shutter. Posted: 10/20/2026 11:19:34
You have really caught the action here and great expressions on the faces. It is unfortunate that background is messy, my only suggestion would be to tone down the notice and clone out the lettering which always catches the eye. I have done a bit of photographing amateur rugby union and find standing where there is more of a plain background and waiting for action on the field to develop is better. Posted: 10/20/2026 10:36:37
Hi Andrew, I have since reworked the background and removed signs and writing and fixed the area at the top right. Unfortunately the field that Australian Rules football is played on is huge. It is oval in shape and the grounds vary in size/ This one was 165 metres long and 110 metres wide. It is the narrowest ground where Ausie Rules is played in Adelaide and one side boundary is actually a brick wall! Compared to a rugby field of 100 metres x 68 metres. It makes it tricky to find a spot to photograph from. Posted: 10/20/2026 11:10:35
Rugby Union pitches seem big enough, especially if all the action is at the other end! One pitch has plain woods at one end and houses at the other so I stand so as to get the trees in the background. Posted: 10/20/2026 11:52:42
Hi, Julie,
I am late this month to review the pictures; but I learned a lot from the comments.
I am not much a football/soccer/rugby fan, but your photo capturing four muscular men struggling against each other piqued my interest in your national sport.
You were right about cleaning up some background. It's a wonderful photo. Thanks for sharing. Posted: 10/22/2026 18:40:45
I am late this month to review the pictures; but I learned a lot from the comments.
I am not much a football/soccer/rugby fan, but your photo capturing four muscular men struggling against each other piqued my interest in your national sport.
You were right about cleaning up some background. It's a wonderful photo. Thanks for sharing. Posted: 10/22/2026 18:40:45