I was in Louisville, KY a few weeks ago and again had the opportunity to photograph the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) state championship track meet. This is a huge day-and-a-half long event that allows for me to have creative flexibility.
My job is to shoot a bunch of pictures for KHSAA so they can use a few in their program the following year. I have the luxury of not having to get athletes names or to focus on specific schools.
Every year I try to shoot a little differently. I think of different ways to use lenses and light to craft a beautiful and clean image. This year was no different.
The first event I shot was discus. My goal was to achieve the right moment while framing it in a square of the protective netting.
![khsaa_2009_04 Discus thrower - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_04.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
Discus thrower - ©2009 Max Gersh
After shooting a bunch of races from track level, I carried all of my gear up a ladder on top of a press box. It is kind of difficult to climb these ladders one handed with a 400mm f/2.8 lens in the other hand. The elevated shooting position allows for the track to become a clean background for the runners.
![khsaa_2009_03 Runners - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_03.jpg?resize=700%2C465&ssl=1)
Runners - ©2009 Max Gersh
While in the mindset of shooting with clean backgrounds, I got really low on the track to shoot the pole vault. I wanted to get a tight shot right at the top of the bar. Since my frame was so tight, I pre-focused on the bar and waited for the vaulter to enter my frame. The sky provided a clean background.
![khsaa_2009_01 Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_01.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh
On the first frame, I partially cut off the athletes left arm. However, his body was spread in a pretty cool way. The second frame was also a cool moment as he was coming down on the other side, releasing the pole.
![khsaa_2009_02 Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_02.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh
As night began to fall, the stadium lights came on giving a cool night time shadow look. The darker it got, the less I focused on action and the more on interesting framing and composition. This was runners at he starting blocks just before a race.
![khsaa_2009_06 Runners at the blocks - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_06.jpg?resize=395%2C600&ssl=1)
Runners at the blocks - ©2009 Max Gersh
For some of the races, athletes were corralled into these waiting areas track side. It gave me an opportunity to silhouette the runners against the sky.
![khsaa_2009_05 Runners waiting - ©2009 Max Gersh](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/khsaa_2009_05.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
Runners waiting - ©2009 Max Gersh
All of these images were shot on the first day of the meet. I haven’t even looked at the second days images yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have a few more images up.