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2015 Italian Beach Volley Team – Marco Caminati, Enzo Rossi
Shot this with the Canon 5D Mark II paired to the EF 100-400—reliable combo when you need to stay off court and still frame clean, controlled tension. This isn’t peak action. No sand flying, no bodies mid-air. But it’s still competition—quiet, simmering, focused. Marco Caminati holds the ball like it weighs more than it does. Not physically—psychologically. Shoulders squared, gaze dropped. The light from above slicks off his skin, catching just enough detail in the sweat without turning it into gloss. I didn’t correct the warmth much in post. The yellowish cast from the stadium lighting is honest, and artificial as it looks, that’s what the court gave me. Enzo…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team
Conclusions As much as knowing your way through the photography maze populated by ISO settings, lens choice, (auto)focus performance and so on, successfully shooting sport competitions requires a lot of background work and social skills, as well as stamina and concentration. You’re not supposed to attend a Marines bootcamp, a con men conference and a crash course in volleyball, rowing or whatever the sport you have to work with to develop such specific capabilities. But it would definitive helps… Part 1 – Intro, Before the event, getting your media pass Part 2 – Before the event, having your media pass working for you Part 3 – During the event, get…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Beach Wrestlers
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Volley Female Team – Laura Giombini, Giulia Toti
In beach volleyball, there is no hiding place. The court is small, the sand unforgiving, and every move is laid bare in the sun. This frame captures the Italian National Beach Volleyball Team mid-assault, in that heartbeat where effort and instinct fuse into pure action. The player lunging forward is all tensile strength and precision—shoulders squared, arms extended, eyes locked on the ball as if it were the only thing in existence. Her teammate hovers just behind, reading the play, ready to carry the attack forward. The sand tells its own story—scattered divots from past dives, streaks from sudden stops, a textured record of the match’s ebb and flow. The…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Volley Team – Marco Caminati (and a primer on sport photography, part 6)
Part 1 – Intro, Before the event, getting your media pass Part 2 – Before the event, having your media pass working for you Part 3 – During the event, get ready for the show Part 4 – During the event, how to choose which event attend to Part 5 – During the event, shooting the game After the event “Enjoying” the field days doesn’t end up the assignment because the selection and post processing part is as important as taking proper pictures. 1 – Selection and post processing Depending by the assignment, you might be required to (select, process and) send your employer the pictures in real time or…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Wrestling, Italy vs France (And a primer on sport photography – Part 5)
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team
I made this photograph during the Mediterranean Beach Games, following the Italian women’s rowing team in competition. What drew me in was not the finish line or the celebratory gesture, but the moment immediately after exertion, when effort is still written on the body and concentration has not yet dissolved into relief or disappointment. The composition is built around proximity and tension. One athlete occupies the foreground, turned slightly away, her back marked by mud and effort, the word Italia acting as both identifier and graphic element. The second rower remains just behind her, partially out of focus, her expression strained and searching. This staggered arrangement creates depth while reinforcing…
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@ Mediterrean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Soccer Team (and a primer on sport-photography, part 4)
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Shaken
The frame is a study in disarray — not in subject matter alone, but in its very execution. The scene, taken on a busy street, is blurred throughout: the figures, the car, the elegant repetition of arches behind them. Whether caused by an unsteady hand, a slow shutter, or a deliberate choice, the result is an image where nothing stands still enough to become the focal point. Two figures anchor the composition: one in the foreground to the left, caught mid-turn, the other to the right, hunched over something in his hands. Their outlines dissolve into the tonal softness, denying the viewer access to facial expression or fine detail. The…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Handball Female Team (and a primer on sport photography, part 3)
During the event 1 – Get Ready for the Show a – Check the logistic Be sure to have the competitions’ timetable at hand. Every day go first and early to the main press room and ask for last minutes changes. Ask how to check further possible issues (delays, cancellation, venue shifting. etc.) For each venue try to locate a “safe spot”, a place where you can rest or leave your bag (relatively) safe. b – Check the weather forecast If the competitions you’re attending is outdoor, checking the weather forecast is of the utmost importance. Among other things, it helps you choose what gear and dresses bring with you:…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italy Beach Soccer Team’s Goalkeeper (and a primer on sport photography, part 2)
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Anthem (and a primer on sport photography, part 1)
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Off Duty
From the back, their posture says almost as much as their uniforms. Four policemen walk away from the viewer, the word Polizia split and partially hidden by their movement. There’s no confrontation here, no heightened drama — instead, the image captures that moment of decompression, when the weight of vigilance begins to lift. The decision to shoot from behind removes the personal identifiers that a front-facing portrait would reveal. We are left with silhouettes of authority in retreat, the curve of a shoulder, the relaxed drop of an arm, the natural slouch of someone whose shift may be ending. In the background, the urban night hums along: signage, faint light,…
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A Smoker
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Who The Hell Killed the Light Off?
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Lotus Tweak
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Are you Sure?
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Indifference
They might be travelling together, but their body language tells a different story. I spotted them in Venice, sitting mere inches apart, yet continents away in attitude. She looks ahead, arms crossed, eyes shaded, posture closed. He’s buried in his phone call, face half-covered, shoulders turned. The irony of their proximity to water — a place where people typically pause, connect, reflect — only heightens the emotional disconnect. Compositionally, I was drawn to the layered diagonals: the canal’s edge slicing across, the dock projecting out, the visual wall created by their backs. Their separation isn’t just emotional — it’s architectural. Framing them just off-centre, I allowed the background vaporetto and…
