Phil Esposito's Revenge

Keep your camera trained on any star player returning to face his or her former team.

New York Rangers’ forward and former Boston Bruin star Phil Esposito (L) raises his stick in celebration after scoring his fourth goal of the game past Bruin goalie Jim Pettie to pace the Rangers to a 7-4 win in Boston (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

Revenge by a player who was traded is a great storyline for fans and the media, but one that doesn’t often play out successfully.  When former Bruin Phil Esposito returned to Boston as a member of the New York Rangers, his current team was having a very successful year, but the Bruins were not.  “Espo’s” return and possible revenge was seemingly all that was discussed in Boston during the days prior to the game, though he had been traded a while before.  I positioned myself at center ice with my 300MM lens so I could easily photograph the entire ice rink and both teams’ goals.  Esposito got his revenge by scoring four goals and leading his Ranger team to victory against his former Bruin club.  Whenever Esposito was on the ice, I kept my camera focused on him, but other players blocked my view of his first three goals.  On this last one, I had a clear view, as both a happy Esposito and the dejected Bruin goalie gave me contrasting reactions as the puck lay in the net.  This was another “victor and vanquished” photo, but it was far more significant because it told the story of a player’s triumph when returning to face his former team.

3 Tips:

1) The return of a traded player is a great storyline and terrific photo opportunity.

2) Concentrate on photographing almost everything the returning player does during the game because you are likely to see emotion if the player does exact some revenge.

3) The best photo is of the returning player looking happy or celebrating, even better if his former teammates look sad or dejected in the same image.  

A Heavy Burden

When photographing a weightlifter, watch for some of the most powerful facial expressions you'll see in any sport. 

Powerlifter strains to lift the barbell during a competition in Tewksbury, Ma. (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

When I shot powerlifting for the first time, I expected to photograph big, muscular competitors holding barbells over their heads.  What I found, however, was that close-ups of them straining to lift the heavy weight made the best photos.  Therefore, throughout this event, I focused on shooting the athletes as tightly as I could, showing only the bar in their hands, excluding the weights on the end of the bars.  I also concentrated on photographing while they were lifting, not after they were finished with the barbell over their heads.  This lifter had a great expression, and almost seemed to stretch his lower lip over his top as he labored to lift the weights.

3 Tips:

1) Weightlifting does not provide fast-moving action to photograph.

2) The best photos are of the contestant’s face showing the strain or concentration of lifting the heavy load.

3) At times you may want to show the barbell and weights, but other times the facial expression is all you need.

Run Through the Sprinkler

Combine children with weather to create very powerful photos.



Young boys run through the sprinkler to keep cool on a hot summer day in Lowell, Ma. (© 1980 Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

It was an oppressive summer afternoon and I was searching for a picture of someone coping with the hot weather, when I spied kids playing in the water spray from a yard sprinkler. I watched for several minutes, trying to devise a unique picture. The sun was backlighting the kids and the water spray against a perfect background of dark trees, so it made for a nicely lit photo. I stood at the perfect angle to capture the backlighting, shot several images of the kids playing, including this shot that was more artistic and beautifully lit than most sprinkler photographs.  

Reminder:

1) One great weather-related picture is kids cooling off from the summer heat.

2) Sprinklers and swimming pools are the most frequent ways kids cool off.

3) Use the sunlight to highlight the subject and make it stand out again a clean, unobtrusive background.

"Rescue Me"

Listen closely to the local police radio for breaking news photo opportunities like rescues. 

When a young boy ventured from the banks of the Merrimack River and found himself stranded on rocks in the middle of the river, he was rescued by Lowell, Ma. firefighters, who rowed out to grab him, pulled him into the boat and lectured him as they rowed back to shore (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

One hot summer Sunday afternoon, a kid was discovered stranded in the middle of the Merrimack River.  The young boy had wandered along the rocks into the center of the river at a shallow spot, but when the water level began to rise, he was marooned in the middle.  When I arrived on the scene, three members of the Lowell, Ma. Fire Department were rowing out to the rescue.  I was there in time to photograph with a long lens and get a sequence of photos – the boy stranded on a rock as the boat arrived, the kid being lifted into the boat, and the fireman lecturing him sternly during the return trip to shore.  It was a compelling series of three photos that definitively told the story.  No doubt that kid learned his lesson and never did anything like that again.

3 Tips:

1) Rescue photos usually require long lenses because you typically can’t get very close.

2) The best pictures are just as likely to be of the rescuers as the people being rescued (sometimes the spectators also provide great images).

3) Look for emotional facial expressions -- intensity during the actual rescue, or relief afterwards.