Carrying 6kg of equipment, I was the unseen Gov Games participant

I have been shooting sports events for over five years now. Such events are usually a test of endurance only for the player, but Gov Games were a test of endurance for the photographers as well. I was carrying 6kg of equipment, running on different types of surfaces, including sand, and tackling hundreds of spectators at the same time.

Gov Games was one of the most physically testing assignments I’ve shot. The media did not have a dedicated slot, and we were to stand among the spectators to get action shots of the players. The game is played in stages, where teams proceed to the next stage after completing the previous one. When the teams move to a different stage in another part of the venue, so do the spectators, as well as the media persons. Whoever is faster gets the best spot.

Being among the spectators, I was playing my own mini Gov Games version, where I had to jump, squat, nudge, jostle and, at times, plead, to get a decent view. And then there was the organizing crew, who kept showing up in my viewfinder all the time.

It was what we photographers call the ‘spray and pray’ situation, which means you release the shutter and hope you have got a good shot, because there’s literally no time to view the photos. Plus, you have to keep moving along with the players as they move from one challenge to the other. And then the lights. As a sports photographer, I am used to shooting on high ISO and fast shutter speeds. But in this situation, with the lights varying from stage to stage, it was a task to nail the shot. Working for a newspaper, I must adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to exposure settings. We are not allowed to go beyond a certain ISO. But I had to make an exception to this rule – either go for a higher ISO or miss the shot.

Planning makes all the difference. No matter how hard the situation is, a well-planned assignment is always a success. Since I had been shooting Gov Games for three days straight, I surveyed the entire area to find the best possible angles, keeping in mind the restrictions that were placed. Anticipating that the F3 team would be winning as they were leading in all the games, I had framed two of my shots. One was from the spectator stands by the finish line, and one from below looking towards the gap between two obstacles where a player has to make a jump. But no matter how much I planned, everything changed at the last minute. The shot I had in mind was that of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, in the air while jumping from one obstacle to the other. While I was waiting for the jump, I realized I was being jammed by spectators all around me and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the spectator stand in time for the next shot. I had to abandon the jump shot and rush to the spectator stands. As soon as I reached the stands, I was not surprised to see lots of people standing in the way of my shot. I was shooting through the people, through any of the gaps that emerged between them. The Crown Prince reached the final obstacle where he landed in the water. The gap between the lifeguard and other crew was just right to get the shot. I did not know that I got that shot until I downloaded the contents of the memory card.

A few takeaways from this assignment: Plan, plan, plan. Have a back-up plan. Never delete any photos. You never know what you will lose. Neeraj Murali neeraj@khaleejtimes.com