Away From The Action
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| Photo by Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital/Baltimore Sun Media Group |
I shot the first day of the Maryland
state high school wrestling championships at the University
of Maryland
I also wanted to try and capture some shots that went a
little deeper into what was going on that day away from the mats. While
shooting the action on the floor I could see a strong light coming from outside
in the access tunnel to the street. This is where the athletes were warming up
while waiting to wrestle. I had an idea about what to expect in there and knew
I wanted to check it out. I has hoping for strongly back lit silhouetted
wrestlers and that was what I got.
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| Photo by Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital/Baltimore Sun Media Group |
My first attempt worked out OK, it was a wrestler warming up
and I was working different angles to try and get him isolated with a strong
silhouette and not blurring into the dark background. I got pretty close. I
also loved the bright light reflecting off the dark lockers.
After shooting some more action on the mats, I made my way
back into the tunnel. This time I saw a wrestler sitting with his back against
the wall. The bright light was making the floor glow and a strong rim light
outlined the edges of his features. I had my 70-200 and took up a position crouched
next to some storage drums. I didn't want to be too obvious or have him notice
me and stop doing what he was doing. I was not sure if he was just
concentrating before a match or had lost one.
When I was done shooting the images I knew I had something
special and wanted to get his name and story, but didn't want to disturb him.
As I was getting up the nerve to ask, another wrestler came up to him, pulled
him up and hugged him. It would have been an awesome shot if the light was
right, but it happened mostly in shadow.
Still not wanting to bother the first wrestler, after they
separated, I asked the one who offered the hug what was the other name? He said
he didn't know him, but he looked down and looked like he could use some
cheering up. While I didn't have a shot of their moment, I did have the
privilege of seeing it and now the memory. It was a very cool thing for one
person to do for another, even cooler for a stranger to do it.
I finally went up to my unknown subject and asked his name.
He was courteous and gave me all the info I need. He had lost his chance at a
state title in the prelims and would be wrestling in a consolation round later.
I told him I was sorry and wished him luck. I was then back to the mats. I had
probably spent more time than I should have looking for my special shot, but
think I nailed it with this one.
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| Photo by Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital/Baltimore Sun Media Group |
I was also told that this was the last event to be held in
Cole Field House before it was to be refitted to serve other purposes, so I
wanted some shots of the venue. It is a cavernous space. Whenever I shoot there
I am a little awed by it. You walk in at street level and then walk down what
seems like a million steps into the bowl of the building. And those million
steps seem like two million when you go to make your way back up.
I have been trying to get more into Instagram, shooting
quick images with my phone and getting them out into the public, well in an
instant. I loved the red chairs in the field house and the repetitive nature of
the rows of them. I pulled out the Samsung, grabbed a couple of shots and sent
them out with minimal filtration. I really liked the shot.
I then made a panoramic images of the field house with my
phone, but it could not handle the difference in brightness from the mat area
into the darkness of the stands. I then made a really wide shot with my D3 and
17-35mm lens. Not as cool as a good panorama, but pretty decent of historic
venue. I can only imagine what the place was like during it's hay day full of Maryland
students rooting for the Terps.
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| Photo by Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital/Baltimore Sun Media Group |
So while I did get some decent wrestling action, as I said
before, sometimes you have to get away from the action to make a great sports
picture.
See more images at http://www.capitalgazette.com/multimedia/photos/cg-state-championship-wrestling-preliminary-round-pictures-20150307,0,276193.photogallery
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