my sports photography –
(above): Newburgh Free Academy guard Michael McLeod (#4) photographed in the school’s gym in the City of Newburgh, NY on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. McLeod is the Times Herald-Record’s 2010 Player of the Year. Times Herald Record/CHET GORDON
This mindset is a year-round exercise of preparation, creativity and logistics. It’s usually the cause in itself for many sleepless nights, gnashing of teeth, and what has become a continual, yet albeit need for packing enough lighting gear, extra cameras, and supporting hardware like clamps, umbrellas, stands, radio transmitters, and extension cords to cover a championship game. Sometimes it’s just a 15-minute portrait made in the school’s gym; catering to the subject’s schedule, as the top image illustrates earlier today. It’s good when the pre-visualizing of the finished image in my mind’s eye actually has a good chance of materializing. It’s always a good feeling of relief when an athlete is pleased with the image(s) on the back of the camera. When all those elements come together in what can sometimes be a hurried session due to factors outside of my control, you can almost hear my heels clicking…
In looking back at a lot of the sports imagery I’ve made in the past few weeks, you come to also realize again that it’s not always the peak-action, last-second, buzzer-beater images that hold a viewer’s attention and interest. Getting in close with a subject to reveal something intimate about their character, either in a controlled and lit portrait setting or in sort of a “behind the scenes look” in a feature moment of a single image or series of thought out story telling images, is just as rewarding to me as a photographer and critical viewer (and former photo-editor) as covering any other big event. A good image is a good image, and my efforts are continually showing the viewer that I worked a little harder in discovering some new truths or nuances about whatever my subject matter happens to be at any given time. Stay tuned… ~cg.
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