Last two days, I was shooting basketball games at our university.
Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian NBA team, had a training camp at our university last week. At the end, they had an inter-squad game and I had an opportunity to shoot photos of it.
The NBA training camp was a big event for our university’s athletics department and, arguably, for our entire town. The Raptors media unit had their procedures worked out in minute details, and they conveyed a message that we, as photographers, were privileged to have access to the players. I fully realize that this was, indeed, the case, considering that the tickets for the only publicly-accessible game were sold out in a matter of minutes. I came to the athletic centre an hour before the game, and the was already a line of lucky ticket holders stretching around the building.
The instructions for photographers were exceptionally detailed. They specified everything from the designated area beside the court (a square of approximately 1 m x 1 m marked by a tape on the floor) to how we were supposed to sit in it (cross-legged, with cameras on our bodies or behind us) to the periods during the game when we were allowed to leave the box.
I believe the hype leading to the event played a large role in creating a positive experience for the spectators and the local media people. The game itself was a bit disappointing, because it obviously lacked the competitive aspect. The pace was quite slow. Despite having almost no breaks, most of the players literally didn’t break a sweat by the end of the game. Of course, this is also due to their impressive physical condition. There were a couple of episodes, when some players showed the speed they were capable of by sprinting across the court. I missed some shots of these moments because I simply could not react fast enough to keep these guys in the frame. Only during these rare bursts of speed could I hear the rapid squeaking of the sneakers on the floor that is so characteristics of basketball matches.
Yesterday’s opening game of our university’s men’s basketball season was a complete opposite in terms of the energy of the players. It was fast and exciting. It was a real completion, which is what basketball is about after all.
I shot compressed RAW files, which allowed practically the same level of flexibility in post-processing as RAW, but did not fill the buffer during continuous shooting nearly as fast.
For these two basketball games, I shot mostly with my new Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
At the art studio where my daughter goes on weekends, there is an impressive balance between order and messiness. I think that this combination is important for cultivating creativity, while at the same time developing skills that can be realistically applied in real life.
However, this is obvious and easy only in principle. In reality, I find that practicing a martial art or music requires so much focus and present-moment awareness that I literally remember very little to take notes of after practice. All my energy, both physical and mental, is spent on doing the thing, not on thinking about it. In fact, I am surprised how some people can ask questions during a kendo practice. Not that that find the answers obvious (mostly, quite the opposite) or the behaviour awkward (even though the structure of a typical kendo practice is not conducive to question-and-answer sessions, we are not in Japan after all). I just don’t find that beyond the very basic level, intellectual understanding of a particular technique is helpful for making progress. It feels like practice is needed at the moment, not another explanation.
