A Weekend of Edinburgh Sports Photography
Edinburgh Caledonia FC. Photo: Louise Anderbjork
The weekend of November 9-8 was a vibrant one for sport in Edinburgh. While headlines focused on the Scotland vs. New Zealand rugby clash at Murrayfield stadium, which ended in a 25-17 victory for the visitors, local venues across the city were equally alive with competitions across a range of sports. As a local sports photographer, it was my job during the weekend to cover the action beyond Murrayfield, taking me across Edinburgh to cover University Leagues in Archery and Ice Hockey as well as a game in the Scottish Women’s Football League One.
The weekend began early on Saturday morning at Oriam, Heriot-Watt University’s world-class sports facility, where archers from universities across Scotland would gather for the first competition of the 2025-2026 league. I arrived ahead of the 9:30 start, taking time to familiarise myself with the venue, the lighting conditions, and the way the competition would run. It was my first time photographing archery, and whilst the dim indoor lighting conditions at first seemed to be the biggest challenge to overcome, it soon turned out that the space restrictions in the venue would be an even bigger problem to tackle from a photographer’s point of view. With up to 20 archers lined shoulder-to-shoulder across the full width of the hall and real metal arrows whistling across the pitch when competition time was on, my safe shooting area measured barely a square metre.
Scottish University Archery League, Heriot-Watt University. Photo: Louise Anderbjork
Trying to make the best out of an unfamiliar and at first difficult situation, those space constraints ended up turning into an excellent creative exercise. In order to capture all the competitors without moving and disturbing the athletes, I had to find a rhythm in which I could swiftly alternate between a 35mm lens for archers standing right next to me, and a 70-300mm zoom lens for those across the hall. This had to be done without too much noise or movement that could distract the absolute concentration as the archers were preparing to shoot, and the best way I found to do that was to try and replicate the athletes rhythm, to the extent that I even found myself subconsciously adopting their breathing patterns to match my camera movements with their bows by the end of the day. This experience is a perfect example of why I love covering a wide variety of sports, as it will never fail to make you think outside the box with your camera techniques and teach you something about photography that you can carry with you to the next sport you cover.
Following a long evening of editing, Sunday brought a complete shift in pace and energy: from the quiet concentration of archery to the dynamic movement of football. I was headed to the SWF League One match between Edinburgh Caledonia FC and Hutchison Vale, covering the game as the team photographer for Caledonia FC. The main difference between being a team photographer and a match photographer is that you focus entirely on one team’s story. When doing so, I find it best to position myself just behind the goal line that my side is attacking, as it keeps me close to the action of scoring opportunities, goals, and corner shots. Thankfully, we would have many of those moments during the 90 minutes that followed, with Caledonia FC celebrating an incredible 8-0 victory at full time.
Edinburgh Caledonia FC vs Hutchinson Vale FC. Photo: Louise Anderbjork
After another couple of hours back in the warmth of the editing studio in the afternoon, it was time to head back out for the weekend’s final event: the University League Ice Hockey match at Murrayfield Ice Rink, where Edinburgh Eagles hosted Leeds Gryphons for the evening. This was my second time photographing the Eagles, and I enjoyed the advantage of having worked with the team before, knowing their movements and playing style which could help me anticipate key moments on the ice before they unfolded. It also allowed me to take a new creative approach to the game coverage to deliver a different set of images compared to the last match. This time, I choose to predominantly use my 70-300mm lens instead of the 50mm that I had relied on a couple of weeks ago. Even if the longer focal length under the rinks artificial lighting would introduce a little bit more image noise, it allowed me to capture a lot of the intensity of the play in a completely different way, which was a tradeoff work making. Especially, as Edinburgh ran away with the game to secure a 21-2 win, it was great to be able to use my telephoto lens to capture those celebratory moments of both sides scoring their goals, and the uniquely supportive atmosphere both within and between the teams throughout the entire game.
It is weekends like these when I am reminded of how glad I am to be doing the work I do as a sports photographer with how much my camera allows me to experience things that I wouldn’t otherwise have been a part of. It is a fantastic feeling to be part of the game in such an immersive way, and I look forward to covering more sporting action in Edinburgh ahead.
Edinburgh Eagles vs Leeds Gyphons. Photo: Louise Anderbjork