Being ready and being there…
Mar 11th, 2008 by John Setzler
I don’t get to photograph golf very often, but when I do, I’m usually struggling to find action opportunities. This particular photograph is rather stereotypical of the sport, and it’s similar to many I have seen before… better than some and not as good as others.
Approaching the game of golf with a camera is quite a bit different than most other sports for several reasons. First of all, it’s not a sport with high levels of action in general like basketball, football, or baseball. It’s closer to baseball than the others in the fact that you can anticipate action to happen at specific places and times. Just being there and being ready is the key.
As I browse through my photo archives, I see hundreds of almost images that suffer from the being ready and being there syndrome. Being in an unfamiliar situation makes it even more difficult. A photographer must be able to adapt to the situation at hand without flinching. This applies to all types of photography, not just sports. A landscape always exists and it’s not going anywhere, but being there and being ready for the perfect light, weather, time of day, and composition is the photographer’s responsibility. In some situations, being there and being ready isn’t enough. In these situations, it’s patience and persistence that pay off. In a previous discussion, we talked about working the subject. The idea of working the subject goes a bit deeper, in many cases, that shooting a bunch of photos from different angles and perspectives. It may often involve returning to a subject over the course of days, weeks, months, or years to harvest the perfect image.
Want to talk about a lot of ‘almost’ images, basketball is the sport for you! :-) As a matter of fact sports, in general, offer lots and lots of almost moments. As we shoot starting before the peak moment of action in hopes of getting that perfect shot.
In basketball, working the shot requires some knowledge of the game, and idea where to get the good shots, access to the area, and a good amount of luck and frames per second.
I’m glad to see that my working the shot post was so provocative. It seems to have stirred something within you. :-)
Paul » Thanks for the comments. “Working the shot” is not a new concept for me, but my approach to it in my own personal photography is just a bit different. I agree with you about basketball. I shoot a ton of it and just finished up my basketball season last weekend. I have tons of great photos of referee’s asses and hands in front of faces. As a sports stringer for the local newspaper, I find myself camped out on sidelines and baselines several times a week.