AppFrod FC v Scunthorpe United

I joined the regular AppFrod Camera Club football photographers—Mick Barwick, David Hornsby, and David and Julie Smith—at Brumby Hall this afternoon to photograph the pre-season friendly between AppFrod and Scunthorpe United.

After Scunthorpe’s emphatic 7-1 victory over Brigg Town on Tuesday, the home side might have feared a difficult afternoon. Instead, AppFrod produced a disciplined and committed performance, frustrating the Iron for much of the match before eventually going down 2-0.

Scunthorpe’s new signing, James Gale, opened the scoring midway through the second half, racing in behind the AppFrod defence before delicately lifting the ball over the advancing goalkeeper. Will Evans added a second later in the game to secure the victory and complete the Iron’s second pre-season win.

For us as photographers, it was an enjoyable afternoon with plenty of fast-paced action to capture. Pre-season fixtures like these provide excellent opportunities to practise sports photography while supporting our local clubs.

It must be more than forty years since I last sat on the touchline photographing a football match. Back then I was using a simple 35mm film camera and manually focusing every frame—very different from today’s technology. This afternoon I was photographing with a Canon R5 Mark II fitted with the versatile RF 24–240mm zoom, a combination that proved ideal for following the action. While the equipment has changed beyond recognition, the excitement of anticipating the decisive moment and pressing the shutter at just the right time remains exactly the same. It just felt harder to do than when I was in my twenties.