What a Kick: How a Clutch World Cup Win Propelled Women's Soccer
of kicks would begin Superstar Mia Hamm scored a penalty kick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Gao Hong Chastain later said all the sounds became muffled when she set the ball on the mark Still Chastain recalled I felt very confident My team trusted me Chastain curled her toes under and fired with the laces of her shoe This kind of shot is called an instep shot and it’s meant to be powerful but not necessarily accurate I didn’t hear any noise I didn’t look at Gao she recalled later As soon as the whistle blew I just stepped up and hit it I just kind of lost my mind The goalkeeper Gao read where the shot was going and dived the right way But Chastain had struck the ball so precisely and with such force Gao couldn’t react in time The ball flew into the upper right corner of the net out of Gao’s range The United States had won
Brandi Chastain screamed with joy after her successful penalty kick clinched the World Cup win for the U S Women’s National Team Thunderous applause filled the stadium Confetti cannons fired the American team screamed and Chastain whipped her shirt off Wearing her black sports bra she dropped to her knees on the turf muscles and tendons standing out in clear relief her white jersey clutched in her upraised fist She screamed with the sheer joy and triumph of the moment Temporary insanity Chastain said later We had been carrying the weight of the World Cup on our shoulders and this was a release of that weight On the sidelines sports photographers cameras fired rapid shot after rapid shot Roberto
Schmidt a photojournalist from Colombia captured Chastain on her knees a female athlete with a body like a sculpture strong sweaty triumphant Magazines and newspapers around the world put the photo on their covers Long before the thrill of the World Cup was over Chastain found herself for a time the most famous female athlete on Earth THE ART OF SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Sports photographers are also journalists They tell a news story by capturing key images Like other photojournalists sports photographers are also artists and craftspeople They need to capture an image that is fascinating or striking to the eye so that the reader will stop to look more closely But the image also needs to represent an entire event scene or emotion in one frame For years my recipe for creating great action pictures has been very simple the best possible composition light and background to magnify and do the best possible justice to the athlete’s performance says Tristan Shu who photographs extreme sports Sports photography has special challenges too Bill Frakes a former staff photographer for Sports Illustrated points out a unique situation sports photographers face Color in sports can often be a significant piece of the information puzzle he said For example Covering a football game at Nebraska where 90,000 people will be wearing red how could you ignore the color For me color affects composition content and mood In addition the scenes photographers shoot are often full of action and the action can be very fast It helps to know the rules of the game Frakes said And if you understand the strategy you’ll be able to anticipate action and set up your shot Sports photographers use special lenses that allow them to shoot photos from far away or with a wide angle such as an entire view of a football or soccer field They usually have a favorite camera but they carry a full bag of cameras and other gear with them to events Longtime sports photographer Peter Read Miller carries four camera bodies and many lenses to every game he shoots His lenses include telephoto super telephoto for capturing details from far away zoom and ultrawide zoom for overall shots He uses two monopods like tripods but with only one leg to help steady cameras with long heavy telephoto lenses He wears a shoulder pouch to hold a lens and a small loupe around his neck to check critical focus the part of a photograph that is in clear sharp focus Because they are trying to shoot players on the field sports photographers often have to almost lie on the ground in order to see through their cameras Frakes says that having all gear in good working condition is one of the most important parts of sports photography And the make-or-break element of sports photography Having complete technical control of your equipment he says You have to master your camera before you can master the shot
Sports photographer Bill Frakes shot from the sidelines during an NFL game in Tampa Florida
