The Title Fight
Two young South African boxers. The one inflicting the pain is Paul Kamanga, one of the future Hottest prospects
Two young South African boxers. The one inflicting the pain is Paul Kamanga, one of the future Hottest prospects
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Apr, 2013Views
710
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Awards
Outstanding
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
Jaw Dropping
Absolute Masterpiece
Exceptional Contrast
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
At Emperor's Palace during a professional boxing tournament. Emperor's Palace is situated east of Johannesburg in South Africa.Time
This was taken at about 8pm in the evening.Lighting
At any boxing tournament you can only rely on natural light. No flash photography is allowed except for when the fight is over and the winners are announced. You thus have to pump up your ISO. I stepped mine up to 2500 for this fight.Equipment
Nikon D5100 with a Nikkor 18-200mm F./3.5-5.6 VR ll EDInspiration
Very little sport photographs show gritty emotion as boxing does. I'm looking for the alternative when shooting boxing tournaments. I try and find the emotion, the indicators of who is leading the fight. It provides an edge of raw emotion and determination of those involved.Editing
I processed this in Lightroom by converting from colour to black and white and then using the clarity tool to draw out muscle definition as well as slightly amplifying some of the emotion on the faces of the boxers.In my camera bag
Nikon D5100 with a Nikkor 18-200mm F./3.5-5.6 VR ll ED lens and a Nikon Coolpix P7100 as well as a Nissin Di866 Mark II flash.Feedback
Firstly you have to be able to find yourself at ringside. In order to do this, I started taking photos at my club's local boxing tournaments. This led to me being able to expand this and pretty soon I was able to get access to ringside at professional tournaments, without having press accreditation. My suggestion would be to find out what local boxing publications there are. Approach the publisher with a portfolio of tournaments you've already covered. Take a chance and ask if they can apply for accreditation on your behalf with the understanding that you'll supply the publisher with your best shots without compensation. This may just end up with your work getting published like mine did.
