Shooting more than hoops

A promotional photo shoot for Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor’s The Complete World of Sports (abridged) a middle school gym was picked to provide an authentic athletic background. I was early, and since the stage manager had brought in some equipment, including a semi-flat basketball, hey, why not take a few shots?

It had only been 40 years since I shot hoops. The brain said I could do it, the body followed the motions, the ball swished every time, far short of the hoop. Dodds did better, above.

Pictured from left are actors Benjamin Stowe, Chad Yarish,

and Dodds Delzell of Sonoma County Repertory Theatre, or The Rep.

But the promo shooting didn’t get any points. The background of the folded, built-in bleachers didn’t identify themselves well enough for the photo’s purpose. And I didn’t have powerful enough lighting equipment to include other easily identifiable sports background, like the hoops. We still had fun.

The final promo image, shot with studio flash, was given a custom-designed background logo by The Rep’s managing director, Amber Wallen.