Forum: Looking Back

Find an old image that has some meaning for you.  Scan / take a photograph of the image somewhere that either contributes further meaning or contradicts it.  Post a short summary of that experience.

Original image: Washington Post (2012) – Jason Richardson Hurdles (semi) 2012, London

The original image, taken during Heat 1 (Semi Finals) of the Men’s 110m Hurdles at the London 2012 Olympics, is a masterclass in the flight phase of hurdle technique.  As Head of Athletics, it is something that I show upcoming athletes to stress the importance of maintaining the trail leg at right angles (for both the knee and the ankle), when above the hurdle.  Richardson went on to win that heat and then gain a Silver medal in the Finals.  Interesting and technically brilliant, but for me, little of that has particular meaning.

Dominic Price (2012) – Olympic Games, Men’s 110m Hurdles Final, London

I was in the stadium on that day: 08 August 2012, sadly without a pass allowing me to look down the straight.  Nevertheless, I was well positioned, immediately above the television interview booths, just beyond the finish line; able to capture an image that encapsulates the winning moment for Aries Merritt while showing the top five positions in the race.  However, photography was not my main interest… in the lane to the left of Richardson, during the semi finals, was Team GB’s Lawrence Clarke, someone I have known since he was eight years old and to whom I introduced the hurdles in 1999.

At school, Lawrence showed promise (clearly!) and went on to win the event at Sports Day in subsequent years.  We remained in contact as he rose through the ranks of GB athletics and he was always kind enough to send me tickets when competing.  On that day in 2012, against all expectations, Lawrence qualified for the finals with an impressive PB of 13.31s.  In the final he came fourth, 0.27s outside a podium place.

My composition shows Lawrence Clarke competing at the London 2012 Olympics, on the grass track where he learnt the discipline, with the addition of his bib label and running spikes from the 2012 Olympics.

Interestingly, neither my image nor the Washington Post’s are particularly flattering of Lawrence – of course he was coincidental to the latter, with an American newspaper keen to promote their athletes rather than ours.  To neither have I given wall space, but that does not detract from the fact that they mean something to me: content and meaning in this case being more important than composition.