Soccer Season Begins

Soccer season is in swing. I'll post pics for comment so please offer input. I'm very much an amateur and would like feedback primarily on the technical aspects including exposure, color balance, etc. Any feedback on focus and auto focus technique is also welcome.


I normally shoot in aperture priority, continuous focus (AF-C) in the Matrix metering mode. Obviously, the focus is more difficult as the distance and action increases. I have a D80 and most of these pics are shot with a low end AF Nikkor 70-300, 1:4-5.6 D during the day.

I get more soft shots than I'd like. I'd also like to blame it on the equipment but I know that's not the cause.


These were shot this past weekend with the sun high overhead.










Same image with effects added.