Pick of the Pix Series, Lift Off

Bradley Wickman packs a wicked sidekick. Here he is on the main elevated ring at the 2007 World Champs in Quebec. I really like this image because not only has it caught a great technique and the impact it’s having on his opponent but we’ve captured the intensity of expression on Brad’s face, the Argentinian coach yelling instructions (that’s normal) and the referee just caught in the frame. These elements all come together to make it successful.

Capturing this image is not a decision. Sparring happens too fast to wait and snap. I find you have to take hundreds of images and take each one when anticipating that a good move is coming up. If you wait for it then click the shutter you are usually too late. Sometimes, when there is a flurry of kicks and punches I just let the camera shoot off 5-7 frames in a burst and hope that one of them captures the ingredients that make it work.

I always look to try and capture the face and/or eyes in sparring… they make the most interesting images to me. Great technique but with no faces showing just doesn’t rate… you need to capture the emotion in the face.

Specs: 1/400s 110mm f/5.0 ISO:1600