A Killer On The Inside - Jordin Canada's Big Performance In Melbourne

The 2 x WNBA Champion Jordin Canada walked into a packed stadium in Melbourne and impressed many, including myself as I recap from a photography perspective.

Ahhh, the buzz surrounding the beginning of the regular season. Whether that’s an away opener or a home opener, there’s a big feeling in the air.

Being in Melbourne I’m always keeping tabs on what games in the WNBL and NBL are being played here and I knew I had to be there when I saw Southside Flyers vs Melbourne Boomers on the WNBL opening round schedule.

They are both Melbourne based teams so it would be rude not to call it a rivalry right?

The line to get in was out the door, it was a nice, warm enough Saturday night, the stage was set for a great night of basketball, surely. That’s exactly what it was.

I had my camera with me, I was ready to capture some moments from a hopefully close game. But amusing story…I found it amusing at least, or challenging might be a better word, which I’ll dive into real quick.

Just skip to the pretty photo’s if you like, I won’t be offended.

Running on 20% - a short story
I like to think I’m a pretty organised person, actually I am pretty organised, but every so often we all slip up. This weekend was my turn. Whenever I’m planning to do a shoot of any kind I always prep my batteries and SD cards to make sure I’m all good to go but my preparation failed me here.

After some work shoots in recent days I left the spare batteries and chargers in the office and I was already driving home when I realised. As I switched the camera on before game day it only had around 20-25% left of the battery. Not ideal.

Yes I could have simply gone to the office to collect everything I needed but I actually liked the challenge of this.

I have 20% battery only, to shoot an hour and a half basketball game. Fun.

I knew I had to be way more targeted in terms of when I pulled the camera out and what moments I sensed would make for some good shots. It was actually quite enjoyable, it reminded me of what people describe shooting on film like.

You only have a certain number of shots so use them wisely.

Anyway enough of that, Jordin Canada killed it and I managed to get some shots with a battery on 20%.

Attention grabbing

Often when I’m shooting a game my lens has a magnetic pull towards some players.

In amongst the chaos on the floor some players just stand out from the rest on any given night, Jordin Canada was the one tonight.

When I decided that I was going to watch this game live I was already keen to see Canada’s game properly in person and she did not disappoint.

Calculated

I found myself eager for Canada to put up more shots at times, you know, get her own, but she was so measured in terms of when it was her time to score and when it was time to play-make and create for others.

It felt like a perfect balance in this game as she knew when her team needed a bucket and her passing was elite at times, it was very fun to watch how she saw the floor.

There was one pass I recall where I was looking down my camera lens too far so I didn’t get the proper appreciation for how good the pass actually was. It was a semi-transition play where she stopped for a moment and whipped a pass perfectly to a cutting teammate for the layup, completely freezing the defense.

If I had zoomed out for a wider shot that would have been the perfect angle but that’s the joy of photography and videography, you aren’t always going to get it right but when you do, it’s a great feeling.

A new beginning

This photo made me think of where Jordin Canada was to where she was at this very moment.

Finishing your season with the Los Angeles Sparks in the bright lights of the WNBA to finding yourself centre stage in South East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

I always find these things really cool. Players experiencing new places, new cultures, new stadiums from the opportunities that basketball can provide them.

What this means for them, their families, the relationships they can build and the people they meet - it’s a pretty special thing.

An eye opening performance

Watching Canada play for the first time live really put her talent into perspective.

Her resume so to speak, tells us who she is but it’s different seeing it for yourself. Jordin has a smoothness to her game. Some players look like they’re exerting a lot of effort out there and some effectively glide around the court making things happen, you can guess which category I think she falls under.

Unphased but engaged

Canada’s demeanour was something that caught my eye.

Think Damian Lillard.

A killer on the inside but rarely do you see a ton of emotion. I really like this mindset.

Goodnight, Melbourne

This was an amusing moment to me.

Technically an away game for Canada’s Melbourne Boomers, she fouled out and the crowd were humming about the play and as it was only a minute or so left, Jordin knew she’d be walking out of that stadium with the win plus her 15 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists so to me, she couldn’t help but smile.

I’m glad I caught it on camera.

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Hey thanks for reading that, I hope you enjoyed this photo journal concept. This was something that I’ve thought about a lot lately. I love telling stories through my photography so I thought it was a good idea to expand on the story and elaborate on the moments that I captured. Feedback of course welcome.