It’s after 9:00 pm on a Sunday night, Centre Court, Wimbledon.
I am up on platform B with about 15 other photographers. This position often produces the best celebration photos as players turn and face their family and coaches seated above us upon match point. But match point is no guarantee tonight.
Despite the thrill of what is taking place before our eyes (later to be called the greatest Wimbledon final ever) we are all extremely fearful of the two scenarios we face. Firstly, and most likely, as darkness falls, will the match be suspended until Monday morning? Or secondly, will this match actually finish on time, making our big match point photo an extremely difficult technical challenge due to insufficient light.
Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Roger Federer in their finals match. Picture by Kevin Lamarque
Television plays a cruel trick on photographers. TV can raise the light levels in their coverage making it appear to be lighter than reality. When I tell people now how dark it was out there, they say, “It looked okay on TV.” Not so. It was dark. Fortunately I had borrowed new Canon Mark III cameras from Canon Professional Service for the finals. These cameras allowed me to handle dim lighting situations much better than the older Canon MARK IIn’s I had been shooting previously. This switch proved crucial.
Roger Federer returns the ball to Rafael Nadal during their finals match. Picture by Kevin Lamarque
