Back in 2003 when I first moved to D.C., I made a pros and cons list for moving here. One of the first thing I wrote down for the pros list was that the US Men’s National Soccer Team played quite a few matches at RFK, and I would have a chance to go to them. Little did I know, a few years later I would be an accredited photographer covering the team!  It’s Gold Cup time again and once again the USMNT came through D.C.to host a match at RFK. This year’s opponent was Jamaica, one of the better team’s in this year’s tournament. The US was lucky to make it this far and had played some lackadaisical matches but picked it up and got a big 2-0 win.

I rented a 400mm lens to shoot this match with. It took a little getting used to, but it was nice to be able to catch some of the action at midfield, as opposed to waiting for the action to get in the final third of the field. And since the match was during the afternoon, there was plenty of light, which let me crank up my shutter speed.

The US went on to beat Panama (the team that beat them in the round robin phase) in the next game to set up a match with Mexico in the Gold Cup Final. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, the ultimately lost 4-2 and had to settle for second place. Full gallery below:

The annual Legg Mason tennis tournament here in D.C. is always one of my favorite events around town to shoot so I was a bit bummed this year to only have the time to shoot one day of the tournament.  Luckily it was the men’s singles final, so that worked out well.  The tournament always happens during the first week of August, when it’s ungodly hot out and there are a million other things going on. I had assignments from the Post every other night that week so it definitely cut into my tennis time.

After all the Americans lost earlier in the week (giving the papers something to write about and preventing me from getting any shots of Brooklyn Decker!) the final saw David Nalbandian versus Marcos Baghdatis.  Not household names by any means, but both good players that gave everyone an exciting final. Nalbandian proved to be too strong and too fit for Baghdatis and won in two sets.

I find it quite funny that half the reason that I bought my Nikon D3 was to shoot sports with its 9 frames per second but due to my concert shooting responsibilities, I haven’t been able to shoot many sporting events at all this year.  That said, it was nice to crank up the fps and let the camera do its thing.  A friend even let me borrow her 300mm, so I had quite a nice set up shooting this match.

See the whole photo set below:

2010 Legg Mason Tennis Final – Images by Kyle Gustafson

Taking advantage of the upcoming break in the MLS season due to the World Cup, D.C. United scheduled a series of friendlies during their downtime, the first of which was against AC Milan and their bevvy of talent which included Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf and Pato. All three were in uniform for the match, which turned into a surprise United victory.

This was the second time I’ve had the pleasure of shooting AC Milan.  They provide plenty of eye candy for soccer spectators with Seedorf controlling the middle of the field, Pato flying up and down the wings and Ronaldinho providing the flair up front.  This match was no different.

I didn’t get as many good shots as I had hoped during this match due to equipment difficulties.  I borrowed a friend’s 300mm but it just would not work with my Nikon D3.  After a bunch of tinkering, I found out it would work with my D700, so I ended up shooting the match with my back up body.  It could have been worse, but I certainly missed that 9 fps action.

Check out the full photo set below:

D.C. United v AC Milan @ RFK – Images by Kyle Gustafson

Yesterday was a day that I will remember for a long time.  I’ve been a Duke fan for over 20 years and I ever thought I would have the opportunity to shoot one of their games. Sure, the outcome wasn’t what I wanted (far from it) but it was quite a thrill to sit on the baseline a few feet from the Duke bench and take in all the action from such a great vantage point.

Naturally I ended up “watching” most of what I saw through my camera viewfinder, but even then it was easy to see how much Georgetown’s defense bothered Duke.  The Devils never found a rhythm on offense and often ended up with contested jumpshots. Easy baskets and good looks were few and far between.

Georgetown on the other hand, had no problems getting good shots, particularly in the lane.  Duke’s front court did not have an answer for former Duke recruit Greg Monroe down low.  He led the Hoyas in what turned into a rout in the second half. Georgetown shot over 70% from the field for the game and made Duke look as bad as I can remember.

This was my first opportunity to shoot a sporting event with my new Nikon D3.  To say I came away impressed would be a huge understatement.  All of these shots were taken with a 70-200/2.8 at either 2500 or 3200 ISO. Doesn’t look like it does it?  Most of these photos are straight out of the camera.

Oh yeah, President Obama and most of his cabinet were there too.  And I sat directly in front of Tracy McGrady. I’ll have all of those photos for you on Monday.

Follow me on Twitter to see what I am shooting next!

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to shoot the annual BB&T Basketball Tournament here in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center. The tournament featured a double bill of Army v. George Washington followed by Maryland v. Villanova.  The second game featured Villaova’s Scottie Reynolds (who played his high school ball in Northern Virginia) facing off against Maryland’s Grievis Vasquez, and it was quite a treat to be seated on the baseline to capture the action.

I’ve shot basketball a few times and it’s much different than the soccer matches I am used to. The action is non-stop and moves very quickly. I brought both my cameras but ended up using my 1Ds Mk II and my 70-200mm/2.8 for the most part.  The 70-200 gave me enough flexibility on a full frame sensor to shoot both ends of the court.  Shooting two games in one night taught me a lot (like my body doesn’t like sitting cross-legged for over four hours straight) and I can’t wait to give it another try very soon.

See more of my  sports photos here.  Follow me on Twitter to see what I am shooting next.

Even though they officially clinched a spot in the 2010 World Cup last week, I was still super excited to have the opportunity to shoot the US Men’s national Soccer team on Wednesday as they took on Costa Rica in their last World Cup Qualifying match.  The Ticos were still fighting for their spot and the US had firs place in the group at stake, so the match was anything but meaningless. Costa Rica scored twice in the first half but the US came back to tie in the last minute of stoppage time to send the 26 thousand people in attendance into a frenzy.  You can read more about the match over on DCist.

It rained lightly but steadily in the first half, forcing all the photogs to wrap up their gear in whatever rain gear they had.  I bought two Op-Tech rain sleeves on the way out to the stadium.  They aren’t the fanciest thing out there, but they do the job and are under $10.

Follow me on Twitter to see what I am shooting next.

One of my favorite events to shoot in D.C. is the yearly ATP tournament, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. It’s one of the first hardcourt events of the season and while the event doesn’t pull in the the likes of Federer and Nadal, Andy Roddick and many of the second-tier players are regulars. The rest of the field is filled with unknowns, many of whom advance farther than the pros. As a self-proclaimed tennis geek, it’s a lot of fun.

It’s also a tremendous amount of work. The main draw plays Monday through Sunday and this year I made it Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. I couldn’t make the final on Sunday because I was shooting the D.C. United and Real Madrid match. Ah, scheduling.

Tennis is probably my favorite sport to shoot because you have so many chances to snap a great frame. I tend to like shooting backhands because you get a more dramatic pose due to the exaggerated shoulder turn. I generally had the opprtunity to shoot three matches a day and saw plenty of players; Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Lleyton Hewitt, Ivo Karlovic, John Isner, Thomas Berdych, Donald Young, Benjamin Becker, Fernando Gonzalez and a few others. Gonzalez was a lot of fun to shoot, he is very demonstartive and emotional when he plays and that makes for good photos.

Shooting the same players for a week also makes you take notice of the player’s tendencies. Andy Roddick always puffs out his cheeks as he exhlaes while striking the ball. Sam Querrey curls his off hand when he hits a forehand. John Isner does this weird Dr. Spock/ Live long and prosper” type things with the fingers on his off hand when he strikes a forehand. Oh, and did I mention Brooklyn Decker (aka Mrs. Andy Roddick) was there each night?

I shot most of these frames with my 70-200mm/2.8. I rented a 100-400mm for the weekend matches and that came in handy during the day. It allowed me to move up to the upper deck and get some different perspectives as opposed to sitting courtside all day.

On Sunday I braved the oppressive D.C. heat and headed out to FedEx Field to shoot the D.C. United and Real Madrid exhibition match. Real Madrid made headlines all summer by spending exorbitant amounts of money to bring in Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and many other big-time footballers in an effort to return to prominence. This was also a big game for D.C. United, a chance to prove that they can play with the best teams in the world. The final result, a 3-0 Real Madrid win, doesn’t do United justice, as the locals played their more expensive counterparts to a standstill in the first half. Real scored twice in a two minute span in the second half and eventually both teams cleared their bench. But it was a thrill to shoot the last two Footballers of the Year in a stadium with 70,000+ people.

I rented a 100-400mm/f4-5.6 IS USM lens for the game, thinking that the zoom would give me a little more flexibility focal length wise. I had rented the 300mm/2.8 and 400mm/2.8 the last few weekends and quite frankly was not looking forward to lugging one of those around all day. So I went with the smaller lens and I was very happy with my results. I cropped some of these photos quite a bit since I wasn’t able to blow out the background like I wanted due to the aperture I was forced to use, but overall it performed well and I would rent that lens again for a daytime event. I also used it to shoot Saturday’s daytime action at the Legg Mason tennis tournament. I’ll have those photos later.

Who says Americans don’t like soccer? Last night close to 72 thousand people filled M&T Stadium in Baltimore to watch Chelsea and AC Milan, two of the best football teams in the world, square off in the World Football Challenge.

The match was incredibly entertaining, especially given it was just a pre-season friendly. World-class players like Ronaldinho, Didier Drogba, Frank Lamprad, John Terry, Alessandro Nesta and John Terry absolutely wowed the crowd with their football skills. Ronaldinho in particular looked very sharp, making defenders look downright silly as they chased him. He has an amazing array of stepovers and change of pace moves, not too shabby for someone that is reportedly washed up. Didier Drogba was the other standout player of the match. He opened the scoring in the seventh minute by hitting an absolute laser from about 35 yards out. It was INCREDIBLE.

The best part of the night was at the very end of the match, in stoppage time. AC Milan had a free kick deep in the Chelsea half of the field with one last chance to tie the match. Everyone in the stands stood up and started cheering, not wanting the match to end. After the match, both coaches remarked that they were very impressed with the passion of the crowd.

I can’t wait for the D.C. United v Real Madrid match in early August!

If you want to stay up to date with what I am shooting, just follow me on Twitter.

You might have seen footage of last week’s Washington Kastles and New York Sportimes match on Sportscenter. There was a dust up between the men’s doubles teams after two players (neither of them John McEnroe) hit each other during the course of play and exchanged words. I won’t get into it because it overshadows the tennis.

After the doubles match was done, McEnroe went on to beat Scott Oudsema, a kid over half his age, in singles. It was a sight to behold. McEnroe deployed his entire arsenal of angles and spins, completely befuddling his young opponent. I’m a huge Johnny Mac fan and it was a special thing to see. McEnroe played Oudsema last year and was blown off the court by his power. It was quite a turnaround.