This past weekend I put on a different creative hat. My wife’s business, Timeless Edge Photography, provided photography services at the 2012 Edmonton Region Open Competition, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the photographers who captured photos of the competitors in action.
The competition is a Skate Canada sanctioned event, which was presented by the Parkland Skating Club, and held at the TransAlta Tri Leasure Center in Spruce Grove. Figure skaters from all over Alberta and the Northwest Territories competed.
The very hard working organizers of the event were extremely diligent. As well, the facilities staff were very pleasant and helpful. All the event and facilities staff worked extremely hard to make the event a success, and all the time while having a smile on their faces. It was fun working with our new friends.
Working this event definitely validated my passion for photographing athletic events like this one.
Why I like Sports Photography
I love capturing images from competitive sports and athletics. I’ve photographed various sporting activities including ice hockey, ringette, football, basketball, and etc. However, I think that figure skating is by far my favourite so far. Here’s why…
Figure skating involves strength, agility, and skill, which requires years of practice, repetitive physical demands, and heart. Figure skating also involves an element of expression that, combined with the rigours of the physical demands that skating requires, can be presented in an way that effects you, as an observer, differently than that of a highly physical collision-type sport such as football or hockey.
It’s not necessarily the action that inspires me to photograph sports, but rather the opportunity to capture a image of a person in a moment at which they have inspired to be at. Anyone involved in competitive activities understands the importance of visualization. Imagining yourself in a place where you want be, or who you want to become, is a valuable exercise in growing and achieving success. Athletes do it all the time - visualizing themselves doing something that they inspire to achieve, or practising a routine in your head before you go out and do the routine.
What inspires me as a photographer is capturing a moment where an athlete is realizing what they had previously visualized. Doing so in amateur athletics and sports is especially rewarding. When photographing in an amateur figure skating event, for example, a competitor may skate and fail on almost all of the requisite elements of a routine. However, I can capture a single moment of success in that same routine, such as a simple split jump showing the skater in a wonderful pose high off the ice. When I show that successful moment to the skater, they no longer think about the failures they endured, but rather the success they had at achieving something they envisioned.
It’s those successes that drive people to achieve greater success. I have seen skaters feelings of despair and failure turn to of aspiration and inspiration when I show them photos of what they have achieved. To me, that in itself is inspirational as a photographer – having the of impact on a person’s life that inspires them to be more than they are today. Even it means some failures along the way, they can see that they are achieving success, which drives them to do more to achieve success in the future.
