Taking Some for the Team!

By Ian Cook

Societies’ member and Convention speaker Ian Cook was present for the duration of the Commonwealth Games, working for Sporting Wales.

Nikon kindly made some of its new kit available, giving Ian the opportunity to work with the Nikon D810 and D4s, along with the impressive 600mm f/4.

For this reason, we have annotated the captions with metadata information. Nikon also stepped in to repair Ian’s Nikkor after a spectator kicked it onto the floor at the swimming event.

The Reality of Professional Sports Photography

In case you are thinking that the life of the sports professional is all glamour, they all took a fearful beating during the appalling rain.

Nowhere was this more apparent than during the cycling road race, described by The Guardian as being akin to setting up a bike turbo trainer in a car wash for four hours.

The win by popular Welshman Geraint Thomas helped to warm Ian’s blood.

The Men’s Road Race

The Men’s Road Race was a trial for both riders and photographers.

Eventual winner Geraint Thomas is in the centre of the image, identifiable by Sky’s blue stripes on his helmet.

About the Author

Ian Cook is an award-winning sports photographer and senior photographer with the renowned sports image library, CameraSport.

Throughout his career, Ian has covered many of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, including the Olympic Games, Ryder Cup, Champions League Final, and Six Nations. He is also a licensed Football League photographer and the official Team Wales photographer for the Commonwealth Games.

Archive note: The equipment mentioned in this article – including the Nikon D810, D4s and 600mm f/4 – reflects the equipment available to Ian at the time of the Commonwealth Games and is retained as historical context rather than current equipment advice.