With COVID-19, fans have been wondering for quite some time just when sports would come back and what they might look like. Now, we are starting to see several professional sports preparing to start their modified regular seasons, but how are sports photographers being affected by these new changes?
Plenty of photographers, myself included, have seen their specific area of photography affected by COVID-19, while most of us hustle to reinvent ourselves, look for new clients, or work on personal projects. A lot of sports photographers have been left waiting for the powers in control of professional sports to set new guidelines, safety precautions, and let both athletes and staff know who would be let back on to fields. We all knew sports would come back; they’re too large a part of our modern culture to not. But what would it look like for working sports photographers?
Local Boston sports photographer Paul Rutherford has been sharing behind the scenes photos and videos both on his Instagram account and YouTube. Rutherford’s most recent video shows a bit of the gear he is using and what a day for him shooting an MLB game during the COVID-19-restricted season looks like. With no crowds to photograph or packed bleachers to navigate as he moves from one area to the other for different perspectives, it seems like he has more time to just focus on the game. He also uses some of that extra time depending on just how the game is going to experiment on different positions and capture techniques.
Rutherford’s sports photography work covers a lot of New England sports teams, and his Instagram feed is filled with plenty of great sports moments. If you are a fan of sports, especially New England teams, he posts pretty regularly during and after every game he photographs.
