I do not shoot as much sports as I used to, and I miss it a little bit. Although one of the reasons I got out of shooting on the professional golf tours full time was boredom, I think it would be interesting to go back and shoot an event or two just to find out if I “see” it any differently.
Of all sports, probably the one I photographed the least has been tennis. I covered the Family Circle Cup for a couple of years when I lived on Hilton Head Island. But the tournament moved to Charleston and I never made the trip. Anyway, that was a long time ago, so when I went to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., this week, I was seriously wondering if I would be able to make any decent images.
Shooting Tennis is difficult. I think soccer is difficult also, but tennis I think is harder. In soccer you have this giant field to cover and moving with the action is really not an option since the action moves so fast. When the players are at the opposite end of the field you need some really big glass.
Tennis can be covered by a 400mm for shooting to the opposite end of the court and a 300mm or a 70-200mm for the near end assuming you are sitting on one of the baselines. Unfortunately you don’t really get to move around much. You can usually get up into the spectator areas and shoot from above, but I think staying up there long if you are the only photographer covering the event for a publication is a recipe for missing something.
I was surprised to see that my timing was pretty much still there. Just like trying to catch a golfer at impact, trying to get the ball in the frame requires timing and anticipation. I remember the first tennis event I shot, back in the days of film, was a disaster. With no immediate feedback, I had no idea that I was way late on most of the shots, so no ball. Although I seemed to be in synch from the start for this event, it was still a great benefit to have the instant feedback. It also enables you to see things in a players stroke that might make for a cool picture with a slightly different framing and timing.
The hardest part of tennis may be just trying to get something different. Something other than the players swinging at the ball for the 300th time. Generally in a match, unless someone goes diving for a ball, it all starts to look the same. You really have to focus on not only the action, but also the expressions that the players give after a point. One thing about shooting athletes, they are like actors in a play, they tend to do the same things again. Looking for these mannerisms is like a character study. And to make sure you don’t miss it you have to be paying attention and be ready.
Overall, I think it was not bad for shooting tennis after such a long time. I may need to find some more matches to hone the skills before the next major event comes along.
Mother Jones picked up my image of President Barack Obama hugging Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) during the State of the Union Address on Capitol Hill Tuesday night. Giffords made only her second return to the House chamber since she was shot in the head last January and just one day before she is to resign [...]
Covering the President’s State of the Union Address (SOTU) at the U.S. Capitol is pretty cool. The event is full of pomp and pageantry but it is also the worst case example of hurry up and wait. Because of the heightened security surrounding the 9:00 p.m. event, it is best to arrive early and before [...]
Hundreds of members of the "Occupy" movement from across the country participate in the Occupy Congress rally on Capitol Hill, calling on lawmakers to have a greater focus on alleviating income inequalities.
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