In less than 72 hours the FIFA World Cup will be upon us. Strangely, here in Germany it is still pretty quiet around the Nation’s favorite sports team, and we are far away from the euphoric mood that rocked our country four years ago and that culminated in one huge party when Germany won the final against Argentina for our fourth World Title. Maybe it has to do with the meager results in the test matches leading up to the tournament. Maybe it has to do with the host country Russia, which is not really known as a soccer nation. I myself am rather bearish on our chances for defending the cup.
But at least we have a chance, as opposed to the US team that didn’t even make it through the qualifiers. Maybe players like this highly skilled soccer dad would have helped the Team USA to make the tournament. His dedication for the ball and the fun he had with his kids was contagious. Eleven guys like him would make for a formidable squad, I’m very sure.
Photographically I worked the scene a bit with this guy. In the first image I intentionally used the unsharp faces of the kids enjoying their ice cream to frame the soccer player as they passed directly in front of my lens, shooting at the long end of my 12-100mm F/4 zoom. This creative composition element created depth in the image, served as a frame for the main subject and also provided a juxtaposition between savoring food and doing sports. My other photos from the scene you can find after the jump…
The second photograph works for the black and red color contrasts, the juxtaposition of the artistic play of the soccer dad against the statuesque posture of his kids. There are three subjects in the frame, uneven numbers are always more pleasing to the eye than even ones – ever wondered why a good florist would never sell you an even number of roses? The background is a bit cluttered, but I shot from a higher vantage point so the subjects at least stand out form a clean fore and middle ground.
I like the gesture of the soccer dad in this last shot. To isolate him from the cluttered background, I blurred the background in Lightroom during post processing, as the f/6.3 f-stop on my 12-100 provided too much depth of field in the shot.
Are you all geared up for the World Cup?
All photos were taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the mZuiko 12-100 mm F/4.
For tips and inspirations around photography check out my free Learning Center.
Wish you all a great week!
Marcus
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I was supporting Germany this time around… Unfortunate what happened.
Great blog, by the way.
Thanks for the support 🙂 and the comment, so much appreciated! Marcus
😃
Great composition Marcus! I’m sure we’ll watch some, but I plan to keep my eyes more focused on the shoreline 😉
Thanks, Amy! I’d rather be at the beach as well 🙂 ! At least we have nice weather for the weekend! Wish you a splendid one as well! Marcus
I am so geared up for football I have written out the entire fixture list to take on holiday. Maybe I’ll see a soccer dad or two. I don’t fancy England’s chances and reckon Germany will do much better.
Thanks for commenting, Jill, let’s enjoy all a great tournament! The start was promising!
I’m not really into football but with a husband and son at home who are keen, I’ll no doubt be following England’s fortunes. I thought that Germany along with Spain and Brazil would be favourites but let’s see what happens!
Thanks, Marion, appreciate your comment! Let’s all enjoy a great tournament, I hope I get to do some more soccer-street-photography! Marcus
I am in the Netherlands and there seem to be total silence about the World Cup. The fact that the Dutch didn’t qualify will have something to do with that no doubt. But still – no fuzz at all? I myself keep forgetting it starts coming thursday already. I will have a look at a some matches though and maybe secretly support the Belgians 🙂 I wish you a joyful tournament Marcus!
Thanks, Peter, I so much appreciate your kind words! Marcus