basketball « Gunnar Freyr Photography – Photographer in Victoria, BC

10Apr/11

Photos from an NBA game in Portland

Now here are a few photos I shot solely for my own enjoyment. I was at an NBA game in Portland, having loads of fun.

Dirk Nowitzki dunks on Brandon Roy.

I went to the game a week ago (Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers), for only my second NBA game ever. My son and I got great seats; we were only five (VIP?) rows from the sideline, looking straight at the home bench.

I didn't know how the rules were at the Rose Garden, if I were allowed to bring and use my camera or not, but I liked my chances and brought along my camera and two lenses. When I got inside I was asked by a security guard to open my bag, which I did, and the lady startled me a bit when she said "Oooh, I'll have to take this home with me". Of course my brain only registered the first part. She was only kidding, of course, and in I went. Nobody said a word or even gave me a second glance when I waved my camera around, taking photos of some of my favourite players..

LaMarcus Aldridge about to post up against Dirk Nowitzki.

Sure, some of the photos scream at you that they were taken from the stands (they have an out-of-focus head at the bottom), but I'm pretty happy with them nonetheless.

When I first got an SLR camera, and with it an 85mm f/1.8, I shot a lot of basketball games. I kind of miss basketball photography, as I think I've mentioned before. Shooting an NBA game from the stands was a thrill. I can only dream of shooting at a pro game with the big boys, but dreams can come true, can't they?

I guess now I just have to figure out a way to get a seat with the other photographers - right at the baseline.

I'll never be an NBA referee, like Ken Mauer, but I just might be able to get a baseline seat with my camera.

Peja Stojakovic guarding Brandon Roy.

Jason Kidd standing still on the court, while Blazers coach Nate McMillan prowls the sidelines.

Filed under: Basketball, Photography, Sports 1 Comment

3Sep/10

Icelander playing hoops for Texas in Vancouver

North-America is quite big. No, really, it is! So, even though there are a few Icelandic talents all over the continent, I rarely get a chance to see them.

So when I read on Helena Sverrisdóttir's blog, that she would be playing pre-season games in Canada I contacted her to find out if she would be in or around Vancouver.

For those of you who don't know, Helena is an Icelandic basketball star, who is now starting her senior year at Texas Christian University. She was league MVP in Iceland three years running, first receiving the award when she had just turned 17 years old. Last year she was Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-American. So, yes, an Icelandic basketball star - however strange that may sound.

She got back to me, telling me that yes, she would be playing in Vancouver. So I took my family over for a trip, and me and my son Márus (whom Helena had briefly coached back in Iceland) went to see TCU's final game of the trip, against University of British Columbia. Márus didn't know exactly what or who we were going to see. Throughout the day I gave him hints, and allowed him to make a few guesses. When we walked into the War Memorial Gym he asked me one final time who we were going to see play, and as soon as he had asked he saw a purple team standing by the bench. He knew the answer, and he was more than a little happy.

I took two camera bodies to the game and ended up letting my son shoot the second half of the game with my Canon 40D and the 85mm f/1.8. I used the 5D Mark II, and then switched between the 70-200 and the 24-70. The 5D is not exactly a sports camera with its 3 frames per second capability, but it is a lot better than the 40D in badly lit gyms.

When shooting, I discovered that I kind of miss being around basketball as much as I used to, and I also found that I would love to shoot more sports in general.