Holland vs. Denmark

I got my only chance to check out the Holland fans on Monday at Soccer City in Jo'burg. They were playing Denmark.

When I got there the Denmark fans were more rocking then the Netherland fans. The Holland fans were intently watching the action without much emotion or cheering in the first half. You could tell they expected to win, but were afraid for the worst.
Their luck changed with the start of the second half.

Denmark scored an own goal to give Netherlands a 1-0 lead and the fans loosened up a bit and started cheering and having some fun.

After the second goal the Dutch fans knew for certain they were going to win the match and it looked like the team could go far in this tournament.

After the game there was a lot of hugging and excitement with the Holland fans. You could tell a lot of the fans traveled and all knew each other.
They were a lot of characters. There was the one guys dressed in an indian headdress...
...and then there was the other guy dressed in an all Orange suit with a military hat know as the Orange General.

After seeing the Dutch fans party and have fun a little bit I hope they do have a long run into the tournament so I can get more photographs of them. And the Denmark fans, I'll see you on Saturday.

Ghana vs. Serbia

On Sunday I got to experience the Ghana fans at their game against Serbia in Pretoria.
They were great to photograph. Passionate and completely into the game from the start till the end. There were several drummers and brass bands in the Ghana section that were awesome to listen to and photograph.
The Serbian supporters seemed just as passionate but they were nowhere as colorful as the Ghana fans. There were some random fans at the match, including a few that held up Jesus banners during the match. I haven't seen those since I was in Korea.And a couple of them even blew their vuvuzuelas...

Along with a huge number of South African fans that were also at the match to support another African nation in the World Cup. And the Serbian fans were more aware of my camera all the time.
During the half time one South African fan made a little extra cash doing some face paintings.

And even though the Serbia fans were louder in the second half...It was the Ghana fans that exploded into ecstasy when they scored on a late penalty kick to win the match.
Needless to say the Ghana fans were ready to party all night and it looks like they might be ready to once again go deep in the World Cup. As a photographer I can only hope they do!

USA vs. England

I was highly anticipating the USA vs. England match. Having been a long time USA supporter I was hoping for the team to do well. However for this match I wasn't sure when I would get a chance to photograph the England supporters again because their next two matches are nowhere close to Johannesburg so I spent my time before the match taking photos of England fans.
There was a little bar right across from the stadium in Rustenberg where a bunch of different fans hung out. It was a fun place to relax before the game...
...and to blow your vuvuzuela!
American fans were also at the game in large numbers decked out with "authentic" South African soccer fan helmet attire.
I was on the pitch for this game and got a photograph of Clint Dempsey's goal that tied the match at 1-1.

After the USA held on for the draw against England the team went to applaud the large section of USA supporters on hand for the game. It was a great way to start the tournament and today I can't wait to get back out there photographing the fans again.

South Africa vs. Mexico

The atmosphere was amazing and the vuvuzelas were blowing load at Soccer City for the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
I've been traveling in South Africa for a few weeks getting the lay of the land, and as one South African told me: "If South Africans know how to do anything, its how to party." After the opening ceremony yesterday I have no doubt about that.
The opening ceremony was a grand affair and cool to watch but what I am here for and wanted to take photos of was the fans in the stands.

Everyone was in a great mood at the stadium as the first African World Cup started. Smiles and flags were waving everywhere..
.

...and of course blowing their vuvuzelas!
When the players were announced the crowd went crazy.

During the match the Mexican and South African fans kept it on a fun and festive atmosphere even though they were rivals for the match.


After South Africa scored a goal it looked like it would be parties all night long!
But a Mexico goal but the South African fans back into their seats.

But with a final result of 1-1 both South Africa and Mexico still have a great chance to advance which lead to the both country's fans to continue partying all night long.

Safari Wildlife lead a wild life

Going on safari before the start of the World Cup seemed like an excellent idea. Not only would it be great to see and take photographs of all the wildlife and a little bit of a different experience.

I thought it would be driving around taking pretty photographs of impala, zebras, elephants, water buffalo and hopefully lions as well, the Big 5 as they are known. But I ended up getting a much more intense experience in how beautiful and how brutal nature can really be.

On the 2nd day of the safari, the rangers were tracking a group of 5 lions that were entering the Sabi Sands Natural Reserve which is just outside of Kruger National Park where I was staying. On the reserve, there are two lions, brothers, who are the dominant lions for the region. They had been named by the rangers Mr. T and Kinky Tail and were two bad lions. Over the years they had killed 45 different lions who had tried to intrude on their territory and take it over. The fights between the lions have based on survival of the strongest for dominance and for many years the two brothers were the dominant lions of the region.

That morning there were rumors that one of the 5 brothers had gotten separated from the rest of the lions and was being chased around by the two brothers. The rangers at the reserve kept looking for them and finally, we found them just as the two brother lions engaged the lost lion.

It was one of the most fearsome and amazing sights I have ever seen. The two brothers were ganging up on the lion and trying to bite its jugular while the other held it down. After a while that didn’t work with the lost lion putting up a brave fight.

Eventually, the two brothers went for the hind legs of the lost lion and basically bit and broke both of its legs so it could not walk. After doing that the lions started to yell out their call for supremacy of the area and frighten anyone else away.

Every once in awhile the lost lion would drag his body around and try and attack the two lions and they would pounce on him. It was a losing proposition.

The struggle continued throughout the day and when we returned in the evening it was a much different scene. The lost lion was lying in the grass, its legs were broken behind the body and in an unnatural position. He was still breathing but it was only a matter of time until he would die.

The two brothers were not in top shape either. Mr. T just had scrapes but Kinky Tail had hurt his front paw and was limping around. They still seemed victorious in the fight but it was not over….

We drove a short distance and found the other four brothers of the lost lion and they were not far away. It looked like the four brothers would try and exact their revenge on the two brothers that night.

Which is exactly what happened. I didn’t see this fight but one of the other rangers saw it and described it to my ranger. Basically in the middle of the night, they had somehow lured Kinky Tail into the open and away from Mr. T and cornered him. He charged at them at full speed running into them and knocking two of them off their feet but the other two jumped on his back and with the help of the other two eventually began to tear him to pieces. Mr. T happened onto the fight but too late to save Kinky Tail and was injured himself and had to escape to survive.

With the dominance of the two brothers gone it looked like the region was shaping up for a long period of fighting until some other lions could claim the area. The ranger hoped that Mr. T could retain his control over the area for 4 or 5 more months until some cub lions in the area could grow up enough to be able to fight for themselves, cause if they were not able to and the 4 brothers take over the region they would kill all the cubs who could be potential rivals in the future. A brutal idea indeed.

One of the most hectic sights I have ever seen.

Red Bulls vs. Earthquakes

Photographed the New York Red Bulls vs. the San Jose Earthquakes this Saturday in Santa Clara. An early red card by Red Bulls Luke Sassano (32) changed the complexion of the game
The teams battled in the first half...
But a goal just before halftime by the Quakes Ryan Johnson opened up the scoring.
The Bulls tried to keep on the pressure in the second half...
But the short mannned side ended up being routed. Final: 4-0 Quakes.