ICONIC IMAGE – DAY 1
As The Championships’ photographic manager, Bob Martin appreciates the finer details of the images which every day capture the essence of Wimbledon. In this series celebrating the best of the AELTC’s talent behind the lens, he nominates his Picture of the Day 2018.
Grigor Dimitrov: Into the Shadows
It was billed as the clash of the heavyweights and the first round match between No.6 seed Grigor Dimitrov and the unseeded three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka did not disappoint. In a way it was a lose-lose match, as it would be sad to see either of these talents heading home early.
The Bulgarian had won the pair’s last four matches, but Wawrinka – though he has slipped out of the Top 200 in his recovery from injury – was always going to play with defiance at the only Grand Slam he has not won. For two hours and 50 minutes he pushed and pressurised Dimitrov and it was the 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist who was despatched away from the limelight.
“This is a beautiful composition with Dimitrov lit by the sun as he runs into the shadow that has started to creep across Centre Court,” says Bob. “The triangle of fresh grass, the ball and the shadow of the player in action makes it a very pleasing graphic image.”
It was 5.44pm when the shadow of the Centre Court roof had created an interesting contrast of sunlight and shade on the green grass – and Joe Toth, operating the robotic camera on the top of Centre Court from his desk in the underground Photographers’ Room, captured this iconic image.
“This was a pairing that could have been a semi-final so I was giving both players even coverage,” says Joe. “We know that at that time of day the shadow creates this corner and a player running into the corner will be nicely illuminated. We know that happens, so you are always hoping you get a player lunging towards you, reaching for the ball. And on the first day of The Championships, the grass will look very nice and green.
“It was a rather fortuitous shot, but I helped set up the robotic cameras we have on the crane and on Centre Court, and tested them extensively so to shoot and then get a great shot is quite rewarding.”
Technical info: This image was shot on the robotic camera from the top of Centre Court, a Nikon D5, at a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second with an F8 aperture using a 200-500 lens set at 310mm and a sensitivity setting of 400 ASA.
