ICONIC IMAGE - DAY 5
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.
The crowd on The Hill: Slice of life
What makes Wimbledon magical? The tennis, of course. Ditto, the immaculate grass courts and the English garden party atmosphere. But it is the crowd who come through the turnstiles every day to claim their patch of Henman Hill/Murray Mound who add an unquantifiable, unmistakeable, all-day dynamism of good-natured sporting appreciation.
Every figure tells a story – a camper from The Queue, a group of schoolchildren on a day out, an 80-year-old US tennis fan who has been flown to Wimbledon as a milestone birthday treat, a couple celebrating their engagement (proposals are surprisingly common according to the Honorary Stewards), the list could go on and on.
“This is a lovely view of The Hill which beautifully captures the variety and colour of life,” says Bob. “The biggest challenge for me every year is to think of a different way to visually capture the spirit of Wimbledon. We always try to push the envelope and this is a new perspective for 2018, shot by a remote camera set up by the Wimbledon photographic team with a fish-eye lens, which is camouflaged in a central position above the top of the big screen.
“Ongoing work on No.1 Court’s roof allowed for a much bigger screen than before, set back to prevent glare, and this created a horizontal slit. An extraordinarily wide-angled lens gives us this wonderful panoramic view which captures life on the hill, at the bars, people sitting, picnicking, strolling to and fro.
“The camera sends one frame every minute around the clock for 21 days before and during The Championships to Wimbledon.com – that is in excess of 30,000 frames, which collectively creates a unique time-lapse visual reportage of life on The Hill. The camera automatically adjusts exposure and sensitivity settings so we get foxes trotting across at night, the sprinkler system at work, fans arriving and mingling during a full day's play, and staff embracing on their way home!”
Technical info:
This image was shot by a remote Nikon D5 camera positioned above the big screen in front of Henman Hill, at a shutter speed of 1/5000th of a second with an F5.6 aperture using a 16mm fish-eye lens. The sensitivity setting and exposure continually evolves around the clock to ensure clarity of detail even at 2am.
