ICONIC IMAGE - DAY 3
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.
Victoria Azarenka: Backhand on the run
What makes an iconic Wimbledon shot? How about a former world No.1 on Centre Court in sunshine, green grass marked out with white lines, a crowd dressed colourfully for the occasion, and the player giving their absolute all in the quest to win. These are the characteristics captured in this image of Victoria Azarenka executing a double-handed background in her attempt (vain, as it turned out) to upset the form book in her second round match against No.7 seed Karolina Pliskova.
“What I love about this photograph is that Tom Lovelock has really used the technology and characteristics of his equipment, the 105mm lens, to isolate the subject against a very limited depth of field,” says Bob. “Hence you get the beautiful clarity of the player in action standing out against a dreamy, mottled background of the crowd inside Centre Court. It was a gamble when you’re shooting a high-action picture, and it has paid off magnificently.”
From his position close to the baseline, Tom waited for a moment that encapsulated motion and emotion. “It’s not often you get a player lunging towards you, let alone a dramatic lunge close to the camera like Azarenka here," he said. "I really like the way you see how concentrated she is on the ball, really stretching to try and reach it with anticipation etched on her face – ‘Am I going to make it or not?’"
Technical info: This image was shot at 2.01 on a Nikon D5 camera, at a shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second with an F1.4 aperture using a 105mm lens and a sensitivity setting of 100 ASA.
