Get excited

Gymnastics is a hard sport to shoot. I went to Excite Night, UK gymnastics team’s first meet of the season, with no idea what a good gymnastics picture is. I still have no idea what a good gymnastics picture is, but I can guess that it’s one that’s sharp.

During every event the gymnasts are constantly moving, which means that focusing is a pain. And not only are they moving, but they’re moving fast, so catching someone the perfect position while they’re doing a triple backflip is a challenge to say the least, and that means avoiding all the funny faces they make when they fly through the air. I just put most of my attention toward shooting them when they pause during a routine. Gymnastics is also a moment overload. All the girls on the team are like best friends, and they go crazy after someone completes a routine. There are hugs and smiles left and right.

I did, however, discover that gymnastics would be awesome with remotes. You’re not allowed to stand in most places because it would distract the gymnasts, but if you stuck a remote in that spot, it wouldn’t be as distracting, plus there are tons of cool angles to be explored. I can’t wait to go back.

In the meantime, here are some pictures.

So much goes on around this chalk thing, I wish I had spent more time focusing on it. There’s always next time.

During the floor exercises, everyone that isn’t competing lines the mat and cheers on their teammate. I wish I had worked this more too, but since I was the one one shooting I couldn’t spent too much time experimenting.

Too bad this is only warm-ups.