NBA Photos
January 1, 1950
10.99 x 8.67 in
National Basketball Association
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ROCHESTER, NY - 1950: Red Holzman #22 of the Rochester Royals drives to the basket during an NBA game circa 1950 in Rochester, New York.
NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1950 NBAE (Photo by NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images)
Also from the first official NBA season, the above photograph demonstrates how basketball is a dynamic sport, which reveals a major hurdle in basketball photography. This hurdle comes in the form of a question to the photographer.
How do I capture the frenetic motion of the sport while also properly capturing a moment in time?
In the case of this photo, the subject's face and body are not fully focused, a result of his barreling drive down the sideline. As a motion shot, this image gives the viewer the perspective of how fast-moving the game is. In the two other photographs from this era, the subjects are frozen, while this image seems to be one in a larger moment. This motion proves to be an argument for consuming basketball media through the medium of film rather than photography. As a result, at the end of this era, the NBA reached its first broadcast deal for the 1953-54 season (Fischer, 2024). Going forward, NBA moments could be viewed across the country as the dynamic sport it is, while also still having photography to enshrine important moments and figures.