I’ve always admired wrestlers and what they do. The hard
work they put in all year round. The intense training. The discipline. The will
power to not eat what you want to eat. The ability to wear those singlets and
grapple around with other sweaty guys on a mat that’s been sweated on for hours
and never been wiped down!
After today’s wrestling tournament, I have also developed
a deep respect for the families of wrestlers. They have to endure marathon
hours of sitting and waiting and watching . . . bunched together on bleachers
that only have been opened on one side of the gym . . . hoping to keep your comfortable position
because it might get taken the moment you get up to take a piss! Not knowing
when you’re going home because the matches are taking forever.
And what about the referees. They get no love. They also
rarely get breaks. They’re on duty from opening whistle to the final whistle.
Crazy.
Baldwin gym has to rank as the second worst gym to shoot
at during the day (behind Lahainaluna gym). Very dark. Maroon colored interior
makes things even darker. For the tournament, I used my Nikon D7000 because of
its superior ISO ability. I also brought my fast lenses – the Sigma 70-200 2.8
and the Nikon 24-70 2.8. I did not use my D300 because I had just gotten it and
had no idea how it would perform or how to make adjustments to it for the poor
lighting.
The gym was packed. I scanned around for an opening – any
kind of opening that my fat ass could fit into – along the sideline
bleachers/first row. Preferably in the middle, because that would give me the
most opportunities to catch multiple matches going on on the threemats placed
on the floor at the same time. Only problem with that is that being first row,
you have deal with the constant threat of people walking past you and getting
in your line of sight. Oh well. The perils of being an unofficial photographer.
I left Iron Maehara stadium at around 10:45 and got to
Baldwin’s gym shortly thereafter. The tournament was already about two hours
old. No problem. Lahainaluna has so much wrestlers competing that for sure I
would get a fair share of wrestlers in my photos. Luckily I found a position about 3/4ths into the gym,
surrounded mostly by Lahainaluna wrestlers and families. So I felt safe there.
By 4pm, I was like pretty hungry. I had been shooting
constantly since 11am. I had been sitting uncomfortably that whole time. The PA
announcer kept insisting that the championship rounds would begin at 6pm and
that everyone would have to vacate the gym for a while before that. So I
decided it was the best time to grab something to eat, go home, download photos
and clear up the memory cards, recharge the batteries, take a shower (I was all
sweaty from the second-hand sweat watching the wrestlers!) and then go back at
6pm.
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| 132 - Wyatt Chism v. Lorenzo Angel (King Kekaulike) |
 |
| 142 - Bubba Jaramillo v. Noah Caparida (Molokai) |
 |
| 154- Reilly Pasion v. Aaron Alama (King Kekaulike) |
 |
| Joshua Coston and Connor Mowat |
 |
| 217 - Wayne Alibin pulls out a win in the last second over Joshua Torrecer-Hutchins (Maui) |
I should’ve come back at 8pm. Because at 6pm, they hadn’t
started up yet. And when they did, it was for the 5th and 6th
place matches. Holy Smokes. I thought I’d be done by 7:30. At this rate, I won’t
be done until 10:00pm. Again – credit to the wrestlers, their families, the
coaches and officials who stay there the ENTIRE time!
For more pictures, click here.
The gym was packed. I scanned around for an opening – any
kind of opening that my fat ass could fit into – along the sideline
bleachers/first row. Preferably in the middle, because that would give me the
most opportunities to catch multiple matches going on on the threemats placed
on the floor at the same time. Only problem with that is that being first row,
you have deal with the constant threat of people walking past you and getting
in your line of sight. Oh well. The perils of being an unofficial photographer.
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