Darts is one of the most challenging sports to photograph, the playing area is small, there is no physical challenge or contact between the participants nor is there a finishing line to be crossed or wickets or goalposts to be aimed at.
The nature of the game is one of hand-eye coordination which is played mostly at a constant rhythm with very little ,if any, change in a player’s throw from one dart to the next, much like they are playing to the beat of a metronome.
I have always tried to cover the sport as interestingly and uniquely as possible , trying to capture the big moments that pictorially tell the story of the match, encompassing the atmosphere of the event and pushing my own photographic skills to satisfy my passion for my work and our great game.
From an early age I loved seeing the work of the great sports photographers of our time, especially those of the late Monte Fresco on the pages of the Daily Mirror or Neil Leifer in the magazine “Sports Illustrated” with their incredible photos of Muhammad Ali.
One such image was of “The Greatest” performing the “Ali shuffle” on one stunning, multi exposure, photograph. I was and still am, in awe of its brilliance and I had long thought how interesting it would be to do a similar image depicting a darts player’s throw.
I did not want to produce it in a studio ,as the Ali photo had been,I wanted to challenge myself to do it during a ‘live’ event.
At the 2019 World Grand Prix at the City West Hotel ,the opportunity presented itself. For my multi exposure to work many things had to align. The stage lighting could not leave even a hint of shadow and there could be nothing in the background which also had to be black.
The semi final between Chris Dobey and Michael Van Gerwen was perfect.
Using my Canon EOS 1DX MK11’s multi-exposure facility set at 3 images per frame, I got myself in the perfect position at the side of the stage, with an ISO of 3200 and camera speed of 640th of a second at an aperture of F4 I set about the task.
I quickly realised that the shot would be more effective of Chris than Michael due to the colour of their respective shirts, Michaels green stood out too much, also although it was all on one photo there had to be distinction between each individual image.
To my delight I’d cracked it, three images yes, but all on ‘One Shot”!
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Lawrence Lustig is a former official photographer to the PDC
Article originally appeared in Darts World 584
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