LAUSANNE – As 2018 winds down, we’re reviewing a year of 32 World University Championships, the 3×3 World University League – 2018 Finals and many more occasions around the globe. These were FISU events full of speed, energy and life. Close as can be to the action, our photographers on site tried to capture each highlight moment – and yes, they did a fantastic job on the sidelines.
From a multifaceted selection, FISU Staff picked their favourite action photos of 2018.
5. Caught in the Moment. WUC Baseball Organising Committee. Did he catch that ball? Yes, he did! Baseball is one of the hardest sports to shoot as a photographer. For minutes nothing might happen and then all of a sudden, clack, the ball is in the air. While the players on the field are trying to spot it in the sky, photographers focus on the players instead to find out which one is trying to catch the small white ball. Apparently, it went really well for both the player of Team USA and the photographer at the FISU World University Baseball Championship in Chiayi in July.
4. Flag Flying High. Paweł Wojtaszek. The huge screen used as a backdrop at the FISU World University Cheerleading Championship in Lodz, Poland in October didn’t make it easy for photographers as the light situation changed within seconds. However Paweł Wojtaszek still managed to use it in favour of his photos. The result is a Cheerleader from the Republic of Korea flying in front of her country’s flag during the Elite Large Coed competition as if she’s about to land on the so-called Taegukgi. “The clue was not to be in one place all the time,” said Wijtaszek. “By moving, I am catching those one second chances.”
3. Postcard Pilot. Tarmo Haud. When this photo was taken at the FISU World University Ski Orienteering Championship with a drone, the temperature outside was around -15 degrees Celsius. “This meant that the batteries died quite quickly,” photographer Tarmo Haud remembers. He planned every flight carefully so that he could use the flying time most efficiently. Another difficulty: Most of the tracks in Tartu were hidden between the trees, so Haud was flying his drone BVLOS, which means beyond the visual line of sight. Sounds quite tricky. But for the pilot it was worth it: “The cold weather had turned the trees especially beautiful and formed a true postcard winter.”
2. Slamdunk Snapshot. Hsin-Yu Lee. If you have seen this moment in a photo or video from the other side of the court before, you probably know the student who took the second-best action photo of 2018. Hsin-Yu Lee from Huaqiao University watched the whole dunk contest at the 3×3 FISU World University League – 2018 Finals through the viewfinder of her camera – and most certainly she was photographed or filmed several times in that particular moment. It was worth the effort. When she saw that Luis Angel Castro Sanchez from Centre of University Studies in Mexico asked two female players to join him on the court for his dunk, she knew something great was about to happen. That’s when she became the photographer caught on camera while shooting a photo of a spectacular dunk.
1. Bike Fiction. Nuno Gonçalves. “My work is influenced by the world of cinema, in particular by Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie,” says Nuno Goncalves, the Portuguese photographer who took FISU’s photo of the year 2018. “In all of his movies, Tarantino uses this perspective at least once.” Why not try it myself, Gonçalves thought – and used his remote camera at the FISU World University Cycling Championship in Braga in August. It was a well prepared photo, recalls the movie fanatic: “I probably have three different perspectives of that moment because I had three cameras shooting at the same time.” One of the keys to success for this photo were the trees. They frame the action. Another one is the ramp that adds context about the fact that the cyclist was jumping.
This was the final ranking of the year. In case you missed it, here is the ranking of the most fun photos of 2018 and the best feel-good photos of 2018.
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