basketball

Shooting Overhead Action Photos of Tennessee Basketball

If you've followed Tennessee basketball, chances are you've seen one of those really cool overhead photos. That top-down, bird's eye view is something you don't see every day, and only very few have access to capturing this unique angle.

The Bright Flashes During NBA Games You May Never Have Noticed

Here's something you might not be able to "unsee" if you've never noticed it before: during an NBA basketball game, whenever there's some exciting action around the rim, there's a good chance you'll also see a bright flash of light illuminate your screen for a split second. These are the powerful strobes installed high overhead by photographers.

Photos of Decaying Basketball Hoops Found Around the U.S.

As we roll into the climax of the NBA season, photographer Rob Hammer has a new personal photo project that may be intriguing to basketball fans. It's called The Basketball Hoops Project, and it consists of photos of all kinds of basketball hoops found across the United States.

Photo Essay: Makeshift Basketball Courts Across the Philippines

Basketball was invented in 1890 in America. By 1900, it was already in the Philippines where the locals had embraced the sport with open arms. Over a century later, one photographer is on a quest to capture just how important this sport is to the Filipino people.

Photographing Tim Duncan, the Best Power Forward of All Time

I covered Tim Duncan during countless games, including their three NBA Finals titles in 1999, 2003, and 2005. I probably took thousands of photos of him, but on the occasion of his quiet retirement, I picked a few out just for this article.

How I Shot NBA Star Anthony Davis Dunking the Sun

Red Bull recently came to me with an interesting idea: "We'd like you to photograph NBA star Anthony Davis dunking the sun.”

I responded, “Can we also have him dunk the moon?”

Photographing March Madness 2015: Kentucky Beats Notre Dame

I was in Cleveland photographing the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 March Madness Rounds for USA Today. This was my 3rd basketball game I covered all season. I am not much of a fan of shooting basketball, but when it’s crunch time and the game is on the line, I love the hustle and determination players put in to try to win the game and move onto the next round.

Photographing Basketball in Rwanda

Back in June, I was lucky enough to partner with a Boston-based nonprofit, Shooting Touch, to travel to Rwanda and document the participants in their "Basketball Health Corps" initiative. They use the sport of basketball and their partnerships with health administrators to teach children valuable skills and preventative treatments when it comes to HIV/AIDS, malaria, and daily health.

First Person View: Covering a Nebraska Cornhuskers Basketball Game

Photographer Nate Olsen is the Assistant Athletic Photographer for the University of Nebraska's athletics department, so he covers all of the school's sporting events. He recently decided to strap a GoPro HERO4 to his head to show what it's like to cover a Cornhuskers basketball game through his eyes and lens. The video above is what resulted.

Identity At Play: Basketball Culture In the Sierra Norte Villages of Mexico

I grew up in Guelatao de Juárez, a Mexican village of approximately 500 people in Oaxaca's Sierra Norte. Guelatao is famous not only as the birthplace of Mexican president Benito Juárez, but also as the site of the annual Copa Benito Juárez, in which more than 200 teams of indigenous Zapotec, Mixe, and Chinantec players compete at basketball over a period of three days.

When Photos DO Lie: High School Student ‘Flip Off’ Photo Sparks Outrage

The photo above clearly shows star Stevenson High basketball player Jalen Brunson flipping off the crowd... or does it? The photo, which has caused an online firestorm and almost got the youngster suspended from a tournament, is being called into question after video and another photographer's coverage show that it captured something that only existed for a fraction of a second -- a moment that was gone before anyone present saw it.

Photographing the “Big Three” of the San Antonio Spurs for Sports Illustrated

With the NBA Conference playoffs nearing completion and the Spurs already a lock for the Finals, I got a call from Brad Smith, the Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated, asking if I could quickly get to San Antonio.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker rarely if ever pose together, but had reluctantly agreed to pose for an SI cover which would come out a couple of days later, to coincide with the beginning of the finals.

The Greatest Sports Photo of All Time

This photo is the greatest sports photo of all time -- at least according to Sports Illustrated. The magazine has published a gallery containing 100 of the greatest images (from an American's perspective), and the #1 image is the above shot of Michael Jordan hitting the game-winning shot to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz and win the 1998 NBA Finals in 6 games.

Basketball Fan’s Secret Weapon is a Giant Photo of His Own Face

An Alabama basketball fan named Jack Blankenship has been attracting quite a bit of media attention for his creative method of distracting opposing players when they shoot free throws: Blankenship printed out a giant photograph of himself making a strange face and waves it around while making the same face. His antics quickly caught the attention of sports writers, television cameras, and the Internet -- one screen grab from a recent game has been viewed over half a million times already online.