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 iconic Picture of the Day.
PETRA KVITOVA IN FULL FLIGHT
Green-grass shots are eagerly sought after in the first few days of the tournament when the immaculate swards of the courts are at their most pristine and emerald in hue. “This peak-of-action shot taken by Joel Marklund on July 1, 2016, at 7.34pm is particularly striking because the background of ‘nothing but green grass’ makes it instantly recognisable as Wimbledon, which is the perfect shot for us,” says Bob. “There’s a lovely soft evening light. The ball is just off the racket and the player’s eye is absolutely on the ball.”
Photographers are always chasing light. “From 5.30pm onwards, you get nice long shadows as the sun sets lower, and this provides the conditions for the most beautiful shots,” says Joel. “If you can capture great athletic action in that light, you get the best pictures.”
From 5.30pm onwards, you get nice long shadows as the sun sets lower, and this provides the conditions for the most beautiful shots
Some athletes display more facial expressions than others in the exertion of intense competition. “It is fun to photograph Petra Kvitova because the effort she puts into hitting hard always shows in her face,” he continues. “Each player behaves differently; you have to do your homework to know how they move or react. Here, she’s coming forward into the net and that often makes a better picture because it is a different kind of momentum, a different dynamic from a player’s side-to-side movement at the baseline.”
Joel set up a large telephoto lens to take this across-the-net shot from a special AELTC photographers’ position at the back of Centre Court beyond the last row of spectator seats. “We are so lucky to have such a position,” he says. “The background is so clean and at that time of day the lighting is perfect. I try to time my shots. Sports photography is a lot about waiting for the moment, predicting what’s going to happen. I set up a scene in my head and it unfolds – or not!” It certainly unfolded beautifully on that Friday night on Centre Court last year.
Technical info: This image was shot on a Nikon D5, at a shutter speed of 1/2500th of a second with an F4 aperture using a 400mm lens and a sensitivity setting of 500 ASA.
