Varsity Blues

Basketball happens at 1/800 of a second.

Varsity basketball moves fast in a dim gym. Most of my frames come from low on the baseline, where drives, blocks and rebounds happen right in front of the lens.

On a Nikon Z f with a 70–180mm f/2.8 I held 1/800 s or faster and let ISO climb as high as 6400, so the hands stay sharp and the ball stays round.

One frame, the whole story.

From a game's worth of bursts I keep the frame that explains the play. Against Windsor that was a rebound: five hands, one ball. In black and white the gym falls away and only the reach is left.

The habit comes off the court with me: wait for the one figure that tells the scene. In December 2024 it was a firefighter standing over a burned-out car.

Same patience, quieter subjects.

Away from the gym I carry a 500mm lens into parks and trails, and I contribute my bird and wildlife photos to eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's citizen-science platform, where every sighting helps map where species live and when.

Sport trained the reflexes. Birds ask for the opposite: stay still long enough for the subject to forget you're there.

And when the subject is light.

On a trip through the American Southwest in May 2026 I swapped to a 16mm: a slot canyon at midday and Delicate Arch at sunset.