When you fight with the best, rewards are obtained. Gabriela Sabau and Lars Moeller Jensen are among those who fight and win.
Photo made by Gabriela Sabau

A photographer can take five thousand photos in three days. Imagine what a world championships or Olympic Games would be like. We are talking about eight tournament days. We are talking about thousands of photos and scores of competitors. There is merit in winning the Special Merit Award and not everyone can. Our photographers already have a few, not one, but a few and that is more than a real achievement.

The third edition of the World Sports Photography Awards was the most competitive ever, with over 7,000 images submitted from photographers in over 60 countries; those were the organisers’ words.

Now, speaking about Gabriela, let’s quote her; we want to hear from our photography champions, “Last year I had 2 pictures that won the Special Merit prize. I was hoping that also this year I would be winning but the difference is that last year I was the only one with judo pictures and this year there were 3 photographers from judo in the finalist list. So, in the end it was a surprise for me to win.”

Photo made by Lars Moeller Jensen

As for Lars, we want to know from him what judo has that other sports don’t, from a photography point of view, "Judo photography challenges the photographer by demanding their complete attention at all times. If you are checking your camera settings or not being attentive for a moment, the match could be over and the picture gone forever. However, when you are concentrated on the action on the mat, you are served the most beautiful and harmonious images of human bodies flying in the air and performing highly skilled techniques. It is the essence of classic sports photography."

To be honest, we can’t wait for the next edition.

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