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As a North Carolina Tar Heel graduate there is nothing better than college basketball tournament time. My road to the Final Four began Thursday in Winston-Salem with my North Carolina Tar Heels playing the last game of the second session. As a number one seed I hope that I will see them cutting down the nets at the end of the month in Atlanta. Don’t worry, you won’t see me celebrating with the team (though it may be hard) as I would much rather have the picture that I will always be able to look back on.

From a photographer’s perspective the NCAA tourney can sometimes be tough in the first couple of rounds because you aren’t allowed to do some of the remote shots that you do throughout the year. However, this also makes you think of other ideas you may not have used during the regular season. For me, Thursday was the beginning of a great month filled with great pictures. There’s nothing better than knowing I will have the chance, at some point along the way, to make a special picture.

In Winston-Salem I have a position on the floor that is usually not considered a prime spot but, never-the-less, it is my spot for the first two rounds. I immediately noticed that the black out of bounds area in front of me might be nice if used correctly. It can produce a nice reflection that adds a little something special or different to the picture. I chose to put a remote on the floor in that area that usually would not have a high chance for a picture. I really just set it up for one picture. The thought was that if someone dove in front of me for a loose ball it would be a cool angle and the black reflection would add a nice pop to the picture. The only thing is it only happened two times in four games and that was actually more than I expected. Sometimes you just have to plan for the unexpected. Fortunately for me it did happen and made a cool frame. However, as a photographer it’s hard to be satisfied and I know it can always be better.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

After the remote and other basic shots were done there was still more to look for. I have never been in this floor position for a game even though I probably shot around 30 or so college games this year. As the day went on I continued to look for something different and creative. I began to notice that I had an interesting angle of the coaches. Being closer than normal to the bench I could occasionally see the coach in the huddle through the players. It was really cool to listen in and begin to focus on the eyes of the coaches and trying to work all that intensity into a picture.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

At each site there will be something new and different. Sometimes it may not be what we want or expect but that is what makes it fun. And by the way my Tar Heels came out on top in their first game and I feel like myself and talented editor Maxx Wolfson did as well. So, it’s on to round two and figuring out who will make it to the sweet 16!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 9:34 pm and is filed under NCAA Basketball, photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.