When I first got the assignment to photograph an article on Cricket for Town Magazine's March issue I was pretty nervous about it. It was supposed to rain the entire day, so until the night before the shoot I thought we were shooting in an indoor gym where the team practices. This was not an ideal location for cool editorial portraits and action shots, but after a phone call with Hari (the team captain) and Kamal (the team president), they were able to round up a couple more players willing to take part in the shoot. We all drove an hour out to a field in Woodruff South Carolina that had a cricket pitch (I soon learned that's what cricket players call the part of the field they play on). After the long drive I was worried that it would start pouring rain or worse, clear up completely, and mid-day is not the ideal time to shoot in an open sunny field. Luckily I was wrong on both counts.
Rohit pitching, Hari with the bat
Hari, team captain
Kamal hanging out
After I got there and met everyone we started out shooting with my 6x6 foot scrim behind them. This had been my plan for disguising a boring background before I knew it would be foggy, but I wanted to still try it anyway. Everybody took turns posing and doing some different cricket moves - swinging the bat, pitching, etc. As I shot I learned about Kamal, Hari, Rohit, and Ashwin, who have all been playing cricket since they were little kids. Next we moved to the pitch and did some shots of them playing. One shot involved multiple cricket balls flying past me pretty close - closer than it looked in camera, but they assured me I was safe. Town Magazine also asked for a shot of the equipment and as I was shooting that I had the idea of someone laying in the shot. Luckily Kamal was kind enough to take one for the team. We didn't realize until he got into position that the pitch was soaking wet, but he endured.
Kamal with the cricket equipment on the pitch
Before I left I asked to get a photo with the team and then we said our goodbyes. They invited me to come watch a game sometime, and I definitely plan to do so.
Me and the team: Rohit, Kamal, Me, Hari, and Ashwin
The issue of Town came out a couple weeks later (here's a link if you want to read the article) and It's been one of the shoots I've gotten the most positive feedback on since freelancing with Town.
