Not only had I never shot gymnastics before, but I’d never been inside The SSE Hydro. It’s a huge amphitheatre-like building (right), within the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), which also includes the original SEC Centre, and the SEC Armadillo (left).
I’ve taken many photos of its exterior over the past few years, usually at night, when it glows in different colours, depending on days and events.
On Sunday afternoon, I arrived at the media entrance to the venue, which was through the SEC Centre. I showed security my accreditation, and they took a look at my bags.
I walked through the concourse to the Venue Media Centre (VMC), where I’d be storing any gear that I wouldn’t be using to shoot. Other than the volunteer staff and security, there were only a few other journalists around. I guess everyone was already over at The SSE Hydro!
I wasn’t quite sure how to access the arena to photograph, so I asked one of the volunteers. She very kindly offered to walk me over. There was a specific fenced-off route to take, which involved walking back out of the SEC Centre, under the overpass, and into The SSE Hydro through a door accessed via its secure car park. This route avoided us having to be searched each time we went between the VMC and arena. And what an impressive space this venue is.
I had only just entered the photo position, when a sharp-eyed member of staff spotted that I wasn’t wearing my grey photo bib. Oops! We’re not allowed to photograph without one. So, I had to trek back to the VMC to grab it, and then return to the arena. At least I knew where I was going this time!
I began by shooting the uneven bars from across the floor. Most of the other photographers were at the other side, but I wanted to practise getting wider shots, before moving in closer to the action.
This image is a composition of two photos made in Photoshop. I wanted to highlight the movement of the gymnast.
I had started out with an aperture of f/2.8, shutter speed at 1/500, and ISO 3200. But I soon upped the shutter speed to 1/800, because I was noticing some unwanted motion blur. This certainly helped.
As it turned out, the action soon moved closer to me, when the beam competition started.
I quickly learned that the secret to taking good photos of gymnasts is to anticipate the action. The same is true of any sport, really. This wasn’t easy, though, as they leaped and spun and flipped!