I don't know much about gymnastics other than I love to watch it during the Olympics. I don't know the rules, I don't know the traditions, I don't know what makes a good gymnast good. WHAT I DO KNOW is there are some people that are just FUN TO WATCH.
There are some gymnasts who, when they finish their routine, they may or may not get high scores, but I find I just don't care. There are others who, if I could watch them "all over again", they would totally make my day.
One such gymnast is Kristina Baskett. I saw her last night. I was touched. I can officially say, I love this girl! She has grace and style and an excellence that earns her top scores in one of the highest scoring teams in the nation. I could watch her all over again and enjoy the experience more and more each time.
Now admittedly, at some 30 rows up, we didn't have the best seats in the house (how I would love to be down on the floor!), but I had my trusty sports shooter Canon 1D Mark III with a long Canon 100-400 f/4-5.6L IS lens. It's a relative slow lens (which meant shooting higher ISO than I would have liked), but the length of the lens let me get some decent shots even from high above.
On to the pictures!
The very first thing that I noticed right off the bat watching Kristina was that I love her lines. My daughter asked what I meant by that. My answer is the way she holds her body. Everything seems to be on purpose. Fully extended, or bent whichever way, it's like poetry in motion.
Just ... take a look!
Even while her arm is fully extended (seemingly drawing attention to that part of her body), even her feet and toes are purposely posed.
Again, watch the fingers and toes.
And what a gymnast! Such grace AND power! Pardon me for not expecting her to leap so high that I cut off her fingers! (but again, fingers, toes, leg position)
And talk about fun to watch! :)
Wow, I would love to be where those photographers are sitting!
Well deserved hugs from her teammates!
Shoulders, hands, toes. I love watching her!
She won me over with her smile!
Super girl! She flies!!! :)
I could almost swear she caught me looking at her!
I'll say it again. I love her lines!
So much fun!
More well deserved hugs!
Top scoring gymnast of the evening!
Go Kristina! GO UTES!
Do you agree with me? I think she's definitely worth watching. I would love to see her again. I'll be routing for her!
Cool video link I found: Meet Kristina Baskett
More pictures of Kristina and many others can be found on my website.
8 comments:
There's a reason she's a top all around gymnast on the #1 team in the nation, she's THAT good. It's just nature to like the best athletes at what they do. I may not like Kobe Bryant, but he's good and I do like to watch him in action. I'll be sad when she's gone next year. Hopefully someone will take her place and we'll have someone else to snap away at. The best part about her though, I think, is that you can tell she loves it and she's having fun. She's not having to concentrate so much on the moves, because she's awesome, and she can play into the crowd and show off her personality. That's hard to do in the sport of gymnastics!!! You'll hear coaches ALL the time, yelling "SMILE" to the gymnasts to get them to stop concentrating so hard and to relax. She does it in the hardest of skills. She's got an adorable smile too.
Does Kristina Baskett know you're stalking her?
LOL... Nice shots though :D
I work/worked with Kristina last May coaching gymanstics and she is just as sweet and bubbly as you would imagine her to be. She is genuinely an amazing person. David, if you ever have any questions about gymnastics, I would love to try and explain the sport (although I don't know everything).
I worked with Kristina last May coaching gymnastics and she is just as sweet and bubbly as she appears to be when performing. You did a great job capturing her natural flair. And if you have any questions about gymnastics . . . I would love to try and answer some.
Great photos...
I love the photos of the girls in football jerseys...I think it is cool the team does that.
good stuff.
I am so bummed I couldn't go but seeing your pictures helps me know what I missed! I love Kristina too. She is not only an amazing gymnast, but has such a great personality that people love her for more than just her talent. You got some amazing pictures and your timing is perfect!
Found this link this morning. Very nice images. I love photographing athletes in action, and you captured her well. Great photos.
Very nice shots! Kristina is a very beautiful subject. Gymnastics is indeed the most artistic and passionate kind of sports.
Kids Gymnastics
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