North Star Roller Derby held a closed Mini Tournament last night, (2/17/18) At their practice space in Northeast Minneapolis. Thank you to Wijadi Jodi for inviting me to help cover the event.
I had only been to the NSRD practice space once before and since I had been invited to shoot on short notice I didn't really know what the plan was for the evening. Soon as I walked in the door I got excited though. Everyone was doing their part getting the space ready for the night's bout.
The first thing I noticed was the light. Normally NSRD hosts their bouts at the Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum and I always find myself cringing a little. The light there is not pretty, it's harsh top-down lighting that always gives off a weird greenish yellow cast that makes everything garish. The practice space offered a very welcome change of scenery, space is smaller and all the light was being provided by work lights so everything was much softer, more shadowy and in my opinion much more interesting.
I didn't realize how dark it was in the space until I started talking with Wijadi, and taking test photos. But I found it to be an excellent opportunity to really push the abilities of my camera which was quite exciting for me. I really loved shooting in the practice space, it is a much more intimate setting then the Coliseum and the way I ended up covering the action I feel shares that intimacy. I found myself shooting tighter, trying to get the struggle of players moving through the crush of bodies in the pack. The breakaways feel more earned, and the low light and noise gave everything more of an edge and mood then I have found myself getting from my previous NSRD bout coverage. I was also FINALLY able to catch a few good Starpass shots that I have been aiming for this season!
I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. Thank you again to Wijadi Jodi for inviting me to help shoot.
See you at the next bout!
