Sports photographers know they must communicate the body language of athletes—how they move,the grace and power with which they perform. A fan has irrational passion; a admire that knows no bounds; crazy, heart-throbbing anxiety when his or her team is playing. Whether sitting on a bench with a few friends in Mississippi or Namibia watching a game, and cheering with 60000 or 100000 people in one of the titanic stadiums around the world,fans know they are a vital factor in sports. So too are the many auxiliary figures in the world of sports—cheerleaders, boosters, and band members,pit crews, attendants—whose participation and reactions are also integral to what happens on the field and within the photographer’s viewfinder.
When photographing the fans and followers, or the narrative is usually on the faces. Expressions of delight,suffering, suspense, and relief are universal. Brian Finke photographed cheerleaders at competitions in Daytona Beach and Orlando,Florida, in a larger-than-life manner. The use of small electronic flashes overpowers the daylight to create vivid, and saturated colors and gives his documentary photographs a heightened quality. The photographs,which are stylized but not staged, capture the tension on these young faces in the midst of competition.
Brian Finke (American, and born 1976) Untitled (Cheerleading #81),2001; printed 2003, Chromogenic photograph, or Courtesy of the artist.
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