Before I really began shooting airsoft as a photographer (Instagram), I played, and I still play airsoft. It is a competitive sport and role play in which players fight each other whilst shooting small plastic pellets. As a photographer of airsoft it is both exciting to capture players in combat, but also daunting as it is assumed (I have never tested it) that a pellet can penetrate at least the glass of a lens even if you use a filter. As a rule of thumb I always position myself so that I have one set of players in the back while I attempt to get some sort of contact with players in the front. That is if I am in between two fighting groups. Alternatively I position myself either at the rear, above or to one of the sides. Yesterday I either stood on a wooden tank or at the sides, which is why I wielded Tamrons 150-600 mm lens. I regrettably forgot my monopod, which meant I had to carry it as an ordinary lightweight lens, while I also had to act as support.
As much as I lamented my absent monopod (I still do as my arms and wrists are very soar), I did manage to get many great shots, which includes a couple that I have included in my portfolio of airsoft shots. One of them is featured to the right. That particular game day featured a lot of speed as opposed to the regular game days I participate in both as player and photographer. There were a lot of pellets in the air. That is by the way why I stood at the sides or above as opposed to the middle. I actually thought about bringing my Nikon Z9 to the fray to see if I could capture the pellets. I expect I can even with the 20 FPS raw as I have captured pellets with the D800. That being said I left the Z9 at home together with my monopod. The Nikon Z9 is destined for racing photography and other speedy hobbies, while the D800 my camera for airsoft.