USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA attacker Alex Bowen (9) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
This weekend, got to cover USA Water Polo Men's Senior National team in a friendly series versus Serbia both at Cal and Stanford. While I've photographed college, Masters, the women's national team, and USA Water Polo events, this was actually my first time getting to cover the men's national team. What a treat!
USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA head coach Dejan Udovicic during the third quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
Water Polo is challenging sport to photograph because for the most part you are only capturing chest up, the white balance and glare off the water, the droplets that might interfere with autofocus, and anything within 2m is sometimes all splash! Not to mention IDing based off cap numbers that change per game.
USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA attacker Alex Bowen (9) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA center John Mann (12) during the third quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
That said, it's an AWESOME sport to photograph and can make for some stunning King Triton-esque images!
USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA attacker Bret Bonanni (8) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
It was great to be back at Spieker Aquatics Complex, and knowing all the staff and security there, I was able to shoot from behind the shot clock across from the team benches and scorers table. This was great kind of back lit yet with the shaded wall for a dark non distracting background save for a USA Water Polo logo, so you can really focus on the action.
USA v SerbiaJune 7, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; USA attacker Bret Bonanni (8) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Serbia defeated USA 18-15.
At Stanford, I wasn't so lucky, as the red coats made me shoot from the shaded side of the pool into the light (though I was certainly more physically comfortable shooting from the shade!) as "per USA Water Polo guidelines". I had my USA Water Polo contact tell them that it was ok for me to shoot from that side of the pool since I was shooting for the team, they STILL said no!
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA attacker Bret Bonanni (8) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
The light wasn't the worst part, but rather the feet of all the VIPs sitting on that side were in the background of a bunch of shots. In other games, I would shoot down on the pool to have that clean background of the water. But I feel like with players this size and caliber, you want that low angle that shows just how high they get out of the water.
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA defender Anthony Daboub (4) during the first quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
When I saw a credentialed hobbyist photographer shooting from that side, my otherwise rule-following personality was taken over by my type A determined "oh haaaaaail no!" personality, and I spent the last two minutes of the game shooting from that side with nice light. Figuring, if I got kicked out, I already had enough action, and if I didn't, I had a chance to make some photos I'm proud of.
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA defender Conner Cleary (6) during the fourth quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
I will say, the red coats are just following direction, and I would normally otherwise respect their rules, they were kind enough (with some convincing) to let me shoot from that side during pre-game and introduction so I could capture the crowd and some out of the water head shots, and maybe they just relaxed a little bit as the game went on. And maybe every once in a while, you gotta break a few rules =)
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; Introductions before a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA attacker Michael Rosenthal (11) before a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA head coach Dejan Udovicic before a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
USA v SerbiaJune 8, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; USA attacker Alex Bowen (9) during the second quarter of a friendly water polo game between USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team and Serbia at Avery Aquatics Center. Serbia defeated USA 16-11. Photo credit: Kelley L Cox - KLC fotos.
