2014: A Magnificent Year in Review (Part II)
I had the great pleasure of capturing Team USA celebrate their gold medal win during the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Madrid in September of 2014.
UPDATE: I previously shared that my Respect The Shooter photography exhibition at Camaradas would run through Wednesday, January 14th. The exhibition will actually run through the month of January and we will be hosting a closing party for the exhibition on Wednesday, January 28th beginning at 6 p.m. I hope you can make it!
In any given year things tend to move so fast that I seldom have an opportunity to pause and digest the minute or the incredible moments as they happen. While I am always cognizant of what's going on, it's only in hindsight that I really have an opportunity to fully appreciate the road I've been traveling. In this final part of my personal look back at 2014 I share a behind the lens look into the FIBA Basketball World Cup, my adventures with Nike and the Elite Youth Basketball League as well as its elite camps including that of LeBron James, my role in an upcoming documentary film coming to a theater near you in 2015, and more of the amazingness that was 2014.
FIBA held its Basketball World Cup in Spain in 2014 and joining their team of super talented photographers from around the world was one of my most memorable experiences of the year. I wrote about the trip in an earlier post that you can check out by clicking here. Transcending the photography aspect of the trip, I was able to forge meaningful relationships with my new friends from Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Germany, and Romania. I learned more about photography and creative vision on this trip than any other. And, shooting basketball at the Olympic level was a transcendent experience on all levels.
A photo of me creating my shots of Spain's big 3 made the cover of a newspaper in Granada, my first stop in Spain during the 2014 Basketball World Cup.
I couldn't resist the urge to create my shots from the court while I was in Spain. Unlike my cell phone photo documenting the moment, my shot was pure! And, this was after a long day of shooting, so the lights were out in the arena. It made for a perfect situation to take in the experience.
This was one of my favorite game photos during the Basketball World Cup. The official had photobombed part of my shot—as they are wont to do—so when I cropped him out, I ended up with this and was very pleasantly surprised.
In 2015 world famous DJs and radio personalities Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia will celebrate 25 years since the start of their iconic radio show (at Columbia University’s WKCR). The Source Magazine called it, “The best hip hop radio show of all time.” In 2014 the creators of the radio show that featured burgeoning hip hop icons such as the Notorious BIG, Nas, Big L, Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Killa Cam, and a host of other contemporary artists, decided to produce a documentary to commemorate the show.
The Stretch and Bobbito documentary, like their historic radio show in the '90s, will be a monumental look into the cultivation of the gargantuan rise of a subculture that took the world by storm. I was honored to be part of the production team of this upcoming film and I absolutely cannot wait to see the final version.
The Abstract a.k.a. Q-Tip sat down the Stretch and Bobbito for their upcoming documentary film set to hit the silver screen in 2015. I was thrilled to create some images (moving and still) throughout the process.
I was truly humbled to be welcomed as a member of the team that is producing the film set to be released in 2015. Through the experience I’ve been fortunate to film and photograph artists such as Fat Joe, Rosie Perez, and Q-Tip to name a few. I can’t think of a project I’ve been a part of that was more fun and exhilarating than this one. The anecdotes and freestyles I’ve heard first-hand took me on a trip down memory lane, pleasantly back into the 90s—perhaps the most exciting era of hip hop history. Visit the film's website at stretchandbobbito.com for more information and exclusive clips from the show.
Creating portraits of LeBron James with each of the campers invited to his exclusive camp was one of many highlights for me in 2014. Here, I set up a time lapse from my cell phone, which was attached to one of my speedlites, to capture the NBA megastar as I snapped away.
The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) is the defacto high school basketball circuit for college coaches to recruit from in the spring and summer each year. The EYBL is a 40-team league that features the vast majority of the top high school basketball players in America and Canada.
Team Penny—coached by the legendary former member of the Orlando Magic, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway—made it to the Final Four of the 2014 Peach Jam, which pits 24 of the nation's top AAU programs against one another to declare the official best of the best.
Jaylen Brown soared over and through this unsuspecting defender for what could have been the meanest, cruelest, filthiest dunk of the 2014 EYBL season at the Global Challenge in Chicago. This event was part of the Nike World Basketball Festival and was held at Whitney Young High School where the Chi-League also takes place throughout the summer.
Their list of alumni consists of numerous NBA all-stars, champions, and MVPs. In 2014 I was blessed with the opportunity to create my shots from the sidelines of the EYBL, the Ones and Bigs Camp, Elite 100 Camp, KD Camp, LeBron James Camp, and the world class Peach Jam. This was an incredible experience to say the least. As an avid fan of the game, a former player, a coach, and—of course—a sports photographer this was tantamount to hopping in Marty McFly’s DeLorean DMC-12 and traveling into the future of basketball at its most elite level.
This limited edition poster of perhaps my most iconic image to date was printed in a small quantity (sans watermark) in celebration of my Respect The Shooter photography exhibition in December of 2014. There are still about a dozen left for sale. Contact me for details.
If you follow me on social media or keep up with my blog right here, you may know that in December of 2014 I launched my first photography exhibition. Of all of my experiences with photography and creativity in 2014, my Respect The Shooter photography exhibition was probably the one I was emotionally attached to most.
Alex and I review the placement of our images while we were setting up our joint exhibition at Camaradas in East Harlem. The exhibition closing will be on Wednesday, January 14th beginning at 6 p.m. This will be your last chance to see the show. Come join us and celebrate with us before we remove our work from the walls. The opening of this exhibition, on December 1, 2014, was a moving event to say the least.
Choosing a limited selection of images that embody the marriage of my passion for the game to my lust for creating impactful pictures was exhilarating, stressful, stimulating, and even painful all at once. On December 1st, the opening of the exhibition, which I shared with my friend Alex and his Exhibit A, it all came together. As I mentioned in an earlier post, which you can see by clicking here, I was blown away by the love and support that poured in from friends, family, and the basketball community. Click here to see what Slam Magazine had to say about the opening night. The exhibition will continue to run through the month of January and on Wednesday, January 14th we will host an exhibition closing party, so there’s still time to check it out if you’re in NYC. Just visit Camaradas at 2241 1st Avenue on 115th Street (you can take the 6 train to 116th Street and take a short walk from there).
I popped the question to Alexa on a Tuesday and she said, "Yes!", making me the happiest man of the year. Here, we made our toast to a new year filled with adventure, health, and curiosity on December 31, 2014.
The single greatest highlight of 2014 for me was when I proposed to Alexa, my girlfriend of nearly six years at the time, and she said, “Yes!” I’ve reached many milestones in 2014, none greater than getting engaged.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate all of the relationships I’ve been fortunate to make through my amazing adventure as an image maker. The road was not always paved nor was it always easy to travel, but I am thrilled with the journey and look forward to continue creating my shots in 2015. I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year! Feel free to leave your 2014 highlights in the comments below.