The UW trio cover shoot

Loaded with background info and the expectations of the upcoming basketball season, I wanted to produce a cover that incorporated the psychology of the "game-personalities" and the attitude-- namely: 'The Pac-10 is OURS" (cover); and, "If you wanna challenge the axiom....we WILL bring it" (feature shot).

As you may have guessed, Venoy and Isaiah were definitely up to the task. The personalities they had displayed on the court are not contrived--put the ball in play, and the intensity might be amplified. (Isaiah was a natural in front of the camera...required little directions. Venoy was true to Venoy--intense.) I loved my role, which was to temper the enthusiasm--or to channel it, rather. But, I'd say the freshman may have felt overshadowed. To my recollection, Abdul did not smile one time while I was shoot them as a group. So, I improvised. I decided I'd shoot them each separately and then construct a composite--this would be for the inside copy.

One thing that I definitely learned from shooting for the Mag...you've got to visualize the text--and you MUST PLAN AHEAD for the gutter. It's not rocket science, but lack of foresight will cause an editor to pop a cork (really).

The final product and the final cover of Sports Northwest Magazine.

Stay tuned.

1 personality is tough enough.... Guard Dawg cover part 2.

As promised, I will continue the previous post and highlight the cover shoot I did (for SNM) with Venoy Overton, Isaiah Thomas, and Abdul Gaddy. As foreshadowed by the image in the previous post, the challenge of the (pre)shoot was trying to conceive a means to direct 3 different personalities (2 of which are LARGE personalities) to produce an image that was/would be mutually rewarding. (In the end, I wanted them to be vested.) Regardless, the idea/objective of the shoot was to create an image that highlighted the attitude/success experienced by the Huskies (in 2008-09 season) and the expectation/hype of a forthcoming "final four squad" in 2009-10.

I wanted to draw from the perception (of each player) that was rooted in their

2008-09 season (call it the "leg-work"). Since, I had been able to shoot court-side, for the 08/09 season, I had substantiated some distinct opinions about Venoy and Isaiah.

First up: The Senior, Venoy Overton.

Lessons/descriptors from 2008-2009:

Grit:

Venoy Overton came into the 08-09 season fulling a new role...and I would say he came into the season ready to prove he WOULD fill a vital roll on the team.

He came into the game, and he played hard.

His defensive vigor became the hallmark of his junior season.

He was voracious!

(which did get him into early foul trouble in the NCAA tournament, when faced with non-conference officiating)

He hustled in transition to get down-court and block shots.

And his efforts usually provided the emotional

spark needed to motivate his team at critical moments to transition game-momentum.

Stealing the ball...and taking it full-tilt to the bucket.

And, more than once, I watched Overton take a hard screen

--each time he seemed content to take it and DEAL it, as if to say, "Alright. You want some of this? Take it. ...and how did you like it? Bring it."

No. 1 brought it.

Up next: Isaiah Thomas....

College Basketball Season--editorial coverage

Since the University of Washington Huskies played the Georgetown Hoyas today, I thought I would begin a series that features a shoot fro October that features three Husky guards: Venoy Overton (Senior), Isaiah Thomas (freshman-phenom-turned-Sophomore), and Abdul Gaddy (true Freshman). The editorial piece (written by Todd Dybas, now of the SeattlePI.com) and cover adorned the November issue (College Basketball Special) of Sports Northwest Magazine.

Back in June, I started to shoot editorial coverage, portraits, and story pieces for Sports Northwest Magazine--a local sports rag. Unfortunately, SNM has stopped providing coverage...and with it, the Seattle metro area lost another media outlet.

(Ironically enough, the editorial outlets with access to the local events seem content to use the "Googles and Amazon.coms" of the world--press-wire, the associated press, and Getty-- for images. It is an interesting lesson in economics with the "fallen" using the very tools that were their destruction, yet still touting the necessity to support LOCAL outlets.)

But, I digress.

Since a select few images get published, despite the tremendous amount of effort that goes into editorial sports coverage, I want to run a series of entries and present images I enjoyed. In particular, I will try to share the "idea" behind the image and the art--since most editorial outlets do not like to publish images that attempt to step outside traditional editorial coverage (a trend that I hope changes RAPIDLY...Sport Illustrated and ESPN The Mag are leading the charge).

to be continued...