NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gerald Herbert insists on making sure he provides the best coverage possible when photographing New Orleans’ NBA team. That means laboriously hanging remote cameras in the Pelicans’ arena hours before every home game. For their game against the Lakers on April 17, Herbert got a sweet spot right behind the backboard glass. It allowed him to capture Pelicans star Zion Williamson as he goes to the basket against Anthony Davis while LeBron James watches the action. Here’s what Herbert had to say about making this extraordinary image.
Many people don’t realize how much work can go into covering a sporting event. Being based in New Orleans, the Pelicans are one of the teams I cover from beginning to end of the season. For the last 14 years, whether they are at the top of the standings or the bottom, I treat each game as both a challenge and a privilege. I always hang remote cameras because the team and the arena allow it. It is a challenge for the technical difficulties that always conspire against you and a privilege, not only to have the access for the remotes, but also to share the images with a grand audience. Lots can go wrong with remote cameras, such as your prefocus being slightly off, radio interference on your remote triggers, batteries dying, a wrong camera setting, etc. So often you have to kiss an entire game’s worth of images from that camera goodbye and just start fresh the next game.
