Kicking Off - my kind of awesome

One of the great things of being an occasional teacher on LCC’s photojournalism masters is the talented students you get to meet.  Much of the work is very inspiring.

This ninety second (that’s all they were allowed) photofilm or Eyecue, by Huiying Hu is one of my favorites and is perfectly timed for the world cup. It also shows that a good story is never far away.

Please do watch and take the time to comment. It means a lot to people when you make the effort to give something back. Really.

(If you too would like to learn how to start making photofilms join us for a day workshop in London on the 19th of June, at ‘Photography Still Moving’)

Kicking Off from Huiying Hu on Vimeo.

In the course of shooting for my assignments during the previous term, I literally stumbled upon a team of young football players training in a park near my house. That was the beginning of a delightful relationship.

Over the last few months, I showed up almost every Saturdays, and documented their training sessions. Even after my assignments were fulfilled, I kept going back, sometimes returning with good photographs, sometimes none at all.

The team is mostly made up of second-generation immigrants. Despite their cultural differences, the universal appeal of football proves incredible in uniting this group of children. Governed by the same rules on the field, the boys learn about sportsmanship, fair play and discipline from the coach and also each other.

As a football player myself, I am familiar with the emotions- anticipation, exhilaration, passion to name a few, related to the game. However, I am unaccustomed to seeing such seriousness from children at tender ages of four to ten. At times the boys seem to mimic the reactions of adult football players, while other times they break down and cry like boys their age.

Related posts:

1. Every kind of awesome.
2. Zimbabwe’s orhans – BBC Audio Slideshow
3. One of 8 million, one of a kind