Justin Fox-Rothwell
Unit 57: Photography and
Photographic Practice
Research of other photographers
work (P1, M1, D1)
Potographer: Bill Frakes (Florida sports photo journalist)
Image 1
and
image 2
Justin Fox-Rothwell
Image 3
image 4
Justin Fox-Rothwell
Themes and focus of the images
All of the images I have looked at in my research are all mid action/impact shots with facial
expressions being the main focus of Bill Frakes work. All of the photos consist of one or two
people in a physical or confrontational aspect all of his work Is up close and intense.
Image 1- In image one this is a just before impact shot it tries to capture those few seconds of
intense momentary waiting within the game before he either catches the ball or gets tackled
Image 2- this is a horse racing shot it’s a wide shot of all the horses turning around the bend the
horses are moving away from the camera and the shot is taken while the horses are at full
speed with the dust rising from the floor he almost tries to give the effect that it’s slow motion
Image 3- this is direct up close shot of the physical confrontation between players the facial
expression again is key to showing the effectiveness of the picture the pain you can see is a
clear indication of how brutal the sport is
Image 4- here it’s a picture of a coach shouting at a referee the photograph is trying to convey
the passion and emotion of sport that affects everyone involved whether you’re a fan, player or
coach it’s emotional
These photos are of physical sports that include speed and hard hits, emotion is plays a major
role in Bill Frakes he captures facial expressions to show the pain. The photos were taken in the
2013 NFL season image 3 was voted as one of the best sporting photos of 2013, and the horse
racing one was at the races in Kentucky 2012
Composition
In the football images all of them use facial expression and momentary before and after
contact shots they are up close and tight to the face the landscape has been clearly blurred,
as so to focus on the one or two people in the frame.
In the horse racing one it’s a behind landscape shot as to capture all the horses speeding
round the bend the photo is shot from the floor to try and capture just the sheer size of the
horses.
Techniques used
Justin Fox-Rothwell
Think shutter speeds, rule of thirds & depth of field
Strengths & Weaknesses
I like the use of up close and direct shots and the use of physical natural emotion the depth of
field and the blurring of the background Is done really well just to highlight the physical and
raw emotion going on with the players during the contact