the image that started it all

Looking back through my archives I was in search of one image in particular, for every photographer has that one image that started it all and finally after a bit of hunting through countless file folders I found it. For some it was a stunning landscape, for others a beautiful portrait but for me it was a sports photo. Up until this point I really did not have a solid image that I was excited about, in fact most of my images were assignments given to me from my introduction to black and white photography teacher as I learned the basics of both exposure and darkroom development and to be honest those assignments, while valuable tools to me today did not excite me one bit back then. 

A good friend of mine had season tickets to the San Diego State basketball team, back when attendance was sparse and the team was not as good as they are today. Because the team was so bad I was usually able to sneak my camera into the games under a jacket. At this time I was still shooting film and I had not had much success. My limited success was due in part to being only allowed to shoot from my seat and also from just being a novice without a mentor to help me along in the field of sports photography. Each game I would get to attend I had high hopes that I would get something that made me proud, but the next day in the darkroom always ended in disappointment. Finally one day while looking over my negatives on the light table the lab assistant came over to see what I had and suggested I try a roll of P-3200 film. 

For those of you who may not know what P-3200 film was, it was a film that was designed for low light situations and even allowed the photographer the ability to "push" the film past what Kodak had intended in terms of exposure. While the film brought a lot more grain to the image or "noise" for the digital people it was a true delight to use and I found the added grain enhanced the gritty nature of sports, but sadly it has been discontinued by Kodak as of October 1, 2012.

I remember this roll of P-3200 well, the end of the game was near, and up until this point I had shot two other rolls with mostly safe easy shots, guys at the foul line, in-bounding the ball and some less then stellar action shots. For the most part I focused on the action that was at the end of the court closest to where I was sitting, mostly because my view at the other end of the court was often obstructed by other players and my seating angle. I was down to my last frame when Britton Johnsen of Utah got a turnover and a free run at the basket. With the game well in hand and in favor of Utah, Johnsen decided to throw down a spectacular 360 degree dunk. As luck would have it his brother in the bottom of the frame did not obstruct my view. As Johnsen started his dunk I tracked him as best I could and tried to time my shot as he spun in mid air. Once the shutter clicked I looked to my friend and said that I know I have it, I just won't know until I get in the darkroom to see if it was still in focus and at what point in the dunk the camera had caught Johnsen.

The next day needless to say I could not wait to get into the lab and start to work on processing my film and printing my contact sheets. Finally after about an hour of processing, printing and drying the contact sheets I had my answer and my first sports shot that not only made me feel proud but started a passion.

Britton Johnsen of Utah dunks against San Diego State in Cox Arena on Feb 9 2002. Utah won 70-53.