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November 2, 2009Posted by Hamish Blair on 11/02/2009 in Cricket shots
Adam's eyes
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Nagpur, India. 29th of October 2004. India v Australia, third Test, day four.
This is one of my favourite cricket photographs. Australia had just won the Nagpur Test which gave them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series. Ricky Ponting had missed the first three Tests with an injured thumb, leaving Adam Gilchrist to captain the team at a short notice. And India was the 'final frontier' for the Australian team: this was their first Test series win there in 35 years.
This photograph was taken with a wide angle lens as the team celebrated their victory on the field. Gilchrist was a natural subject to focus on, and I shot him while he was gesturing towards a small group of Australian supporters in the crowd.
I love the emotion on Gilchrist's face. It adds to the picture that he is still wearing his sweaty whites, his baggy green and his inner gloves.
It was late in the afternoon, which meant despite being a clear sunny day this part of the field was in shadow. To keep the blue of the sky it was necessary to balance the photo with flash. Camera flash, particularly outdoors, can often be more trouble than it's worth. It can take a long time for the flash to recharge after firing. From memory, I took about 10 - 15 pictures of this moment and the flash only fired twice. Luckily for me, one of them was this photo. My other option, would have been to shoot without flash for which I would have had to set my exposure for the shadows and leave the sky all washed out. I could have got some usable photos that way, but it would not have been as nice.
Posted by: Sairam Krishnan at November 3, 2009 1:24 PM
Oh!!! Love it Mr.Blair.... Gilly's eyes say it all.. The sheer exhilaration of leading his team to victory under pressure is reflected.... Do keep posting sir...
Posted by: Kunal Talgeri at November 3, 2009 1:47 PM
Two thumbs-up! :-) Really looks like Gilly crossed the final frontier!
Posted by: faisal at November 3, 2009 3:26 PM
This pic make me a bit nostalgist.It was at calcutta in 2001 ,where I thought the glory was going to be all for aussies but Laxman stole it with an epic. But three years later though there was no waugh or even ponting Aussies had done it. Good old days,it was a great achievement and the pic says it all,how often do you ever see such exuberance in Gilchrist's eyes?
Posted by: Priyanka at November 3, 2009 6:06 PM
A very intense shot indeed! I like this blog, would be looking forward to more posts soon!
Posted by: lareina at November 3, 2009 6:37 PM
I already love this blog.
Posted by: Kabir at November 3, 2009 11:54 PM
Thanks for the camera settings :)
Posted by: harman at November 4, 2009 5:39 AM
yeah,i luv gilly's victory as he himself scored runs in that series and his expressions say it all.he is no doubt the all time superstar wicket keeper batsman and no will be able to get close to his achievements.
Posted by: Zafar Abbasi at November 4, 2009 8:13 AM
Just say "Whaoo!"
Posted by: Damith Pathirana at November 4, 2009 1:13 PM
Yaaaaaaaaahhh gud work. I have nvr seen Gilly n this kinda mood. fantastic camera work
Posted by: Rushbh Shah at November 4, 2009 2:04 PM
It pays to beat India at home in test matches and when you see that happening...no better picture can explain the joy as that of Adam Gilchrist.
A very good photo to be kept in the memories.
Posted by: Rushbh Shah at November 4, 2009 2:05 PM
It pays to beat India at home in test matches and when you see that happening...no better picture can explain the joy as that of Adam Gilchrist.
A very good photo to be kept in the memories.
Posted by: Asif Rahman at November 4, 2009 8:49 PM
One of my favorite photographs too. You can see the sheer passion in the man's eyes and this is the kind of stuff I pay to watch cricket for.
A great ambassador of the game, is Adam Gilchrist.
Posted by: sami at November 4, 2009 9:39 PM
despite the 2-1 end result, it was one of the most entertaining contests with the chennai test being rained out. this pic just goes to show that if the passion for the game is there, the body will follow- no matter how old.
Posted by: Moiz Uddin at November 5, 2009 4:53 AM
X-cellent - Just excellent - Well keep it up. Thanks
Posted by: Moiz Uddin at November 5, 2009 4:54 AM
Xcellent - Just excellent - Well done keep it up. Thanks
Posted by: Harsh at November 5, 2009 5:51 AM
Love the idea of this blog and also the fact that you explaining how u took the shot. It'll help us budding photographers understand the art a lot more.
Posted by: Syed Arbab Ahmed at November 5, 2009 8:13 AM
That passion for the game made them what they were, "SIMPLY UNTOUCHABLES".
from Karachi, Pakistan.
Posted by: David Frith at November 5, 2009 9:56 AM
Beg to differ. That raised fist and gaping mouth are the ugly symbols of modern cricket. Grace, Bradman, Sobers and co. played hard without stooping to this awful imagery. Let's hope the game will soon enter a more dignified era.
Posted by: Sushil at November 5, 2009 12:58 PM
Well i belong to NGP and clearly remember due to BCCI politics getting hotter (Mainly Dalmiya Vs anti dalmiya group) local authorities decided to give India run for thier money by Making super fast green pitch... rest is history as they say... Ind lost in no time.
Posted by: Shahbaaz at November 6, 2009 3:57 AM
Being my fav cricketer of all times, I cannot miss anything 'Gilly'. This photograph has what I love about the man, determination! the fist clenched, the eyes filled with a thousand eemotions, the teeth grating against each other and all done with elan, he is simply the best idol I have had in my life. Long live Gilly and all the best to you Sir. Great Pic.
Posted by: yock at November 7, 2009 3:05 AM
David Frith's comments wishing for a return to standards of days gone by and his dislike of the ugliness of showing emotion are thought provoking. I think his hopes of a return to a more dignified era are unlikely to come to fruition.
I find the emotion clearly shown by Adam in this shot all the more meaningful in that he is respected as a thoughtful cricketer with high moral standards (as shown, for example, by his decisions to "walk" when he knows he is out).
It is the journalist's job (in this case a photographer) to report what happened, which Hamish seems to have done most effectively.
His technical explanation gives a fascinating insight into the difficulties in a job we mostly take for granted especially if we haven't tried it ourselves.
I too look forward to further blogs in this series.
Posted by: Prashanth at November 8, 2009 11:33 AM
I'm angry with you for posting this pic for the first of many in your new blog and remind us Indians of the painful loss at Nagpur that sealed the Border-Gavaskar series Australia's way.
But apart from that, this is a wonderful new attempt in reliving history- moments encased in a frame for posterity.
Kudos to you for taking the pics and for Cricinfo for hosting this blog. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Sidhanta Patnaik at November 8, 2009 12:33 PM
Look at that satisfaction on Gilly's face. A rare moment in the history of cricket.
Posted by: Tom Shaw at November 8, 2009 2:13 PM
A most excellent blog and most excellent picture sir. more please
Posted by: Mayooran at November 10, 2009 12:46 AM
How did you come up with this idea?!! this is absolutely fantastic!!! Not only do we get to see brilliant photos but also tips about photography! luvin it....
Posted by: Mick at November 28, 2009 11:30 PM
Please keep taking these pics!!! Wonderful. And when are Australia touring India next? What about a 5 test series next time?
Posted by: bob blasdall at February 3, 2010 2:45 AM
You are a genius Mr. Blair. In my opinion this is one of the most expressive, intense "live the dream" cricket shots ever taken. Extraordinary really extraordinary.
Posted by: Suhail Ahmad at February 15, 2010 4:19 PM
Absolutely great picture. This is a wonderful blog moreover Mr Blair has done a great job by not missing on a single.
Posted by: Atul at March 17, 2010 6:40 AM
its good information about cricket.
I am realy enjoy this blog.
Mr.
Hamish Blair has done a great job by not missing on a single.
Hamish Blair is a London-based Australian photographer who works for Getty Images. He covered his first Test match in 1996 and has spent a good deal of his career since following the Australian cricket team around the world. He has photographed over 100 Tests in the 13 years he has been shooting cricket. In this blog he will pick some of his favourites from among the cricket photographs he has taken and try and tell the story behind them, how he went about taking them and why they are his favourites.