After convincing enough of the right people I finally had the go to document this project. This biggest issue I faced was access. Access to the practices, tournament and bus ride to the tournament. I had to speak with coaches, athletic administration and tournament staff then finally I had the go. I was persistent, I called many of these people everyday for a two-week span and some people I called more.
The project itself was difficult to began and difficult to continue and here’s why? After the convincing stage was over and once I began to document I grew relationships with most of the athletes. This made it difficult to photograph them in their most vulnerable moments. It’s easy to stick a camera into the face of a complete stranger but once you know someone its much harder. I solved that issue by quickly grabbing the images I needed and allowing the athletes to have their personal space when needed. I know that they understood that I had a job to do but after I completed that job I tried my best to give them space. This way I don’t ruin a relationship with the team or the athletes themselves. This approach proved successful.
We departed from Edwardsville, Il at 10:30am on Thursday March 5 2015 and planned to arrive in North Carolina at 11:30pm. That plan was quickly brought to a halt while passing through Kentucky. Kentucky underwent a state of emergency due to inclement weather conditions and the bus company we traveled with was forced to stop driving for the night so we checked into a hotel and traveled the following morning.
After a few more hours on the road, we finally arrived to North Carolina. At this point its not too much I can say without ruining the overall story. So take a look and let me know what you think. If you took the time out to read this blog post, let me know what you think by contacting me on social media.
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