During the warm-up, I'm usually found on the team bench, snapping away alongside my 'shooting buddy' Lauren Freeman, and then in the first interval I'm usually swarming around the Stage area taking shots of whichever band is playing. The second interval is my chance to go and have a natter with friends, or to sit and take a breather (and get some hot chocolate down my neck).
This week I was having a nice chat about photography with another of the Phoenix Lensers, Nick Ogden. Nick's work often features in the club's media output and promotional materials, he's got a cracking eye for action shots, and like me he appreciates the more artistic opportunities that present themselves. So we were chatting away through the interval, and whilst chatting I took a shot of one of the Telford players sitting outside the dressing room. We carried on chatting, and before I knew it the two teams were amassing to go back onto the ice. Normally by this point I'm back in my seat, but on Sunday I found myself with an opportunity to get some shots from a new perspective:
For me, these are the kind of photos that I really love shooting. Spontaneous portraits, people in their natural environment, no poses, just captured moments of time. Action shots provide their own challenges, but for me it's the portraits that win every time.
The end of the game presented another opportunity that was too good to miss. Phoenix's kit manager Paul Turner was celebrating a birthday, which resulted in an impromptu Team Photo on the ice at the end of the game. Phoenix Announcer Pete Hagan had given myself and Lauren the heads-up about it, so we were in position ready to shoot at the end of the game:
The game is over, the players breathe a sigh of relief, and even though they're still on the ice they can let their hair down and let the smiles flow, and those moments are priceless!
Link to match photo album: Manchester Phoenix v Telford Tigers
After the Flickr set had been uploaded and the Facebook set tagged, I received a message in my inbox which put quite a smile on my face. The message was from Martin Clarkson, the Telford Tigers netminder, who had been tagged in a photo by Steve Brodie, Telford's photographer and a friend of mine on Facebook. The message from Martin simply said "Just thought I'd tell you that you took some great pictures from the weekend game. Nice work." The profile icon that sat next to the message was made from this shot:
Seeing that icon, and reading that message, that's one of those little moments that makes me love what I do even more. I don't take pictures for fame, glory or recognition, that's not what I'm in it for, but to get a message like that from someone who I've photographed, personally it means a lot. Thank you, Martin!
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