- Travel
The New York City-based photographer gives tips on how to shoot high-energy scenes like this picture of a basketball tournament in the Big Apple, featured in the National Geographic Traveller (UK) November 2023 cover story.
Published December 7, 2023
5 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK)
Tell us about this image.
Check out this awesome shot of a tournament game at a basketball court — colloquially known as ‘The Cage’ — in Greenwich Village neighbourhood. It’s a dynamic scene, and one I felt really captured the energy of the game. I showed up around mid-afternoon as I was meeting an art director for a dinner later that evening. It was pure luck a game was happening — I only intended to scout out the location for a little while. But the end-of-day light was great, and the hosts said I could take as many photos as I liked from inside the court. After moving around the back and sides of The Cage for a bit, I decided this was the shot I really wanted: the leading lines from directly behind the hoop were just too good to pass up.
How did you achieve the shot?
I captured this on my Nikon z9 and the sharp, flexible Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens — I shoot 90% of my images on it. I used a fixed high shutter speed of 1/1600s and a relatively shallow f-stop (a camera’s light-gathering ability) of f/4.5 to semi-isolate one player. I set my focus for wide area and 3D tracking, too. The Z9 is great to follow a subject in fast-paced action.
I also set my ISO to floating as the clouds were coming in and out, changing up the exposure every 30 seconds. I didn’t want to worry about that and knew I could adjust it easily if it missed the mark.
What were the challenges at play?
There were only a few angles I could work around. Anywhere a foot or two behind the line at this end of the court was fair game, but I couldn’t work around to either side; the games can be physical, and the refs don’t want players crashing into you if it comes to that. I captured some frames behind the fence, but the tight chain-link meant I’d always get a bit of it in the shot. Great for a fun perspective, but I didn’t want every photograph to be about that.
What elements did you seek out on location to achieve this shot?
After moving around the back and sides of The Cage for a bit, I decided this was the shot I really wanted: the leading lines from directly behind the hoop were just too good to pass up. I pulled back to 24mm to get as much of the crowd on either side and just the top of the hoop,