Capturing a moment

Shooting sports action provides many opportunities to tell a story through a photo or photos. This girls' basketball game came down to the wire, with teams trading baskets through the last few minutes. It finally came down to free throws at the end of the game. I was lucky to be on the end of the floor that would let me show the shooter and the scoreboard, which told the story: Tie game, 1.5 seconds left. The first free throw was missed; the second shot is on its way. I love the reactions; the shooter looking and hoping; her teammate behind her at the start of a fist-pump as she sees that the ball is going to go in; the opposing player next to her pulling her jersey over her face; and the looks on the other players' faces as they begin to move into the lane for a possible rebound. The second photo shows the results; the basket was good and the home team is now ahead as the players drop back on defense.

As much as I like these, could I have done better? Yes. The first image is rather static, but in a slightly earlier shot of the player actually shooting the free throw, the ball is directly over her face. Oops. I would have liked to show the ball in flight or at the basket, but my lens wasn't wide enough (I was using a fixed 28mm lens), and I cut off the feet of the players at right. Ideally I would have liked to have shot this from the floor, as a lower angle would have been much more dramatic, but space in this gym didn't allow it — I was sitting on a stage at the end of the court, and was as low as I could get.

As time expired, the players celebrated briefly, but they were then too far away to capture well with my wide-angle lens, and the resulting shots were slightly blurry. By the time I got across the floor to get closer, they were shaking hands with the other team.

The moral? Always be prepared for these situations, and know how to react when they happen. Take lots of photos — you can always hit the "delete" button later.

Tech info: Canon XTi, Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens; ambient light, ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/320.