TOM JENKINS

Ever since Tom Jenkins was a child, he has had a passion for sports, he claims that he would have been in front of the lens rather than behind it as a child he was obsessed with sport, but he states ‘my ability didn't match my enthusiasm.’ Learning and loving photography at school made Tom realise he could approach a career associated with sport from a different angle. He studied a Documentary Photography course run at Newport, South Wales. He left in 1989 and started to freelance for the agency Allsport and papers The Independent and Sunday Telegraph, over time he managed to get more regular work for The Guardian and has been there ever since.His book of sports photography 'In the Moment' was published in June 2012, which he claims is one of his career highlights along with doing photography at six football World Cups and four summer Olympic Games. He now lives in London with his wife and two children and has been going all over the world covering sports events for 25 years

The main focus of the photo is the player in the middle. It is very clear to see that he is the main subject of this photograph as the rule of thirds technique has clearly been applied. This rule states that the first place everyone looks when seeing an image is directly is the middle therefore a lot of the time the main focus of a photo is in the middle. From this photograph it appears to be focusing on the number of the back on the main subjects kit, ‘10’. The number ‘10’ is reference to the player of which is in this photograph, fans of rugby who support England will immediately recognise the player from their kit number which makes the photo much more understandable to rugby fans, for example, I immediately knew that this photo is of Jonny Wilkinson. The photograph has a very shallow focus as it wants you to focus on the player, this is made clear by the fact that the fans seem much more blurry than the main subject. However, despite the photo being a shallow focus, the surrounding of Wilkinson makes the photograph as special as it is. In the background, you can see slightly, ‘Rugby World Cup 2003’, and a fan of rugby will be aware that this is the year that England won the World Cup which makes the photo much more impactful, Jonny scored the winning drop kick to win the World Cup, and from his posture and position, you can see how tired and drained he is, and via the fans expressions and how they are trying to reach him, it is clear to see they admire him, which makes the background of this just as important as the main image. The image has high key lighting from the stadium lights which adds to the happy mood the picture already created. The lighting of which glares down on to Jonny individually looks somewhat metaphoric to a stereotypical angel or saviour which is very impactful.

The main focus of this photograph is the goal keeper and the 2 players shown in the background. From being a Manchester United fan, I know this photo is from Manchester United FC VS Liverpool FC in 2009. Additionally, I know the players of which are seen in the photograph is the keeper, Pepe Reina, the goal scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate of his, Wayne Rooney. This action shot of Reina diving to save the Ronaldo penalty attempt is timed to perfection as the ball has left Ronaldo’s boot and from this photo we can see his determined expression, and we can also see Reina travelling towards the ball. From this picture it is almost impossible to see if the ball is in or not which makes it extremely eye catching and a very skilfully took photograph.This photograph has a shallow focus as the photographer wants you to focus on the 3 main subjects, the goal keeper and the 2 opposing attackers, this is made clear as the audience is blurred as are some other players of which can barely be seen. If you use the rule of thirds on this photograph and separate this photo into 9 equal squares, the very central of the photo is both Ronaldo’s facial expression and Reina’s saving attempt, which is very metaphoric as when taking a penalty, the whole of the viewers are looking at and dependant on 2 people, the taker and the keeper, therefore this photograph is excellently took and captures this intense moment to perfection. The wide angle shot is used to see the main players and represents the stretch that Reina is putting it to try and save the penalty.

The main subject in this image is Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprint runner. Immediately, it is clear to see that this photo is from a low angle, this is to make Oscar look bigger and stronger. This could be metaphorical of his career and disability, stating that although his legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, he is no weaker than any other runner in the world, and could be a statement of which is representing the whole of the Paralympic Games, stating that that are just as talented as The Olympic Games. The natural high key lighting of which is seen in this photo is not only related to happiness, but also simply referring to the Summer, as that is when the Paralympics are held. The rule of thirds applies to this photograph as if you look directly in the middle of the photo, it is clear to see that this is a runner with a robotic leg, which relates to the Paralympics immediately. The shallow focus directs the audience attention to the athelete and highlights his importance to the photograph