The back-checker.
Look at the background and edges of your photographs.
A third look at this set of photographs after publishing them in a game album last week revealed a second layer of detail: one of those little bits of dutiful hard work and attention to detail that define teamwork, the back-check. My theme had been the eyes of the defenseman as he worked to contain the puck carrier at the corner; it seemed like a candidate for Faces of Brunswick.
While manipulating this first photo looking for a better, more intent, perspective on the eyes I cropped the outstretched stick and the extended knee of the back-checking forward. At the crucial moment he had closed the passing lane and shut down a two-on-one through the slot freeing the defenseman to contain the puck carrier.
It didn’t seem like an important detail until it was gone. I wondered what the back-checker had done next. Over the next few frames I watched him curl from the passing lane to the front of net to cover the open man, give a quick look to the neutral zone to see who else is coming, and allow the rest of the defense to recover. A text book back-check. It doesn’t make the score sheet. Maybe no one even notices it at the time.
Thank your back-checkers and fore-checkers and always look at the edges of your photos.
