Following last week, I have finalised the pictures that I want to use and the style that I want to edit them In. I want to ensure that in all of the pictures used for the article, they are all in focus so this meant getting rid of some of the pictures which I though told a good story, like the following.
This photo is perfect for telling Dave Walsh’s side of the story but unfortunately he is out of focus slightly.
The picture above is confrontational and even has Dave holding up the three signs as he shoots three-pointers all the time. I recall Dave saying after the picture was taken that you’ve got to play up for the camera’s sometimes.
The reason Dave was out of focus was because I had the lens set to capture a certain distance from the camera. When I was sat just near the basket the players would normally be a set distance away from me when trying to score so I had adjusted the camera for this distance.
This picture turned out good, quality due to the setup of the lens on the camera.
The picture above was edited in the style that I want my final piece to be like which meant turning down the contrast layer to -30 and turning the exposure to +30. This changed the colouring of the pictures slightly but shows that attention has been paid to them and will give a consistent slick look to the final piece.
The way in which I have been looking at choosing which pictures to use for the different parts of the article have been through trying to choose the best ones that show a different part of the story.
I have been choosing three different pictures for each of the following four categories to use 12 of the best pictures for the final article. The categories include: Best team togetherness pictures, Best fan pictures, Best on-court and Best of opponents struggling.
For example some of the following pictures which I have previously edited were some of the potential picks for the best team togetherness.
I’m currently unsure on whether to use pictures that use the black and white background as I believe it takes away from the quality of the pieces.
A different approach I may take to the editing of the pictures is by just simply editing a contast layer and an exposure layer as these just set a consistent tone and style to the collection of images and if I was to use the black and white style on one picture and then use one where, for instance, It blurs out the background deliberately, then the change in photographic style may make the piece look messy.
There is also the option of just using the black and white background for all the pictures.
The risk I take with doing this is that sometimes this effect doesn’t select everything like with this pictures, number 15’s bottom part of his left arm is in black and white when it should be in colour. It was just cut off because of the change in colour from number 1’s t-shirt.
After discussing with the Journalism Course Director Karl Hodge, i have managed to slim down the different pictures I am planning on using. This had to be done as after each of the basketball games I had attended, I had at least 600 pictures to cut down.
Many of the pictures were either not in focus or the main subject of it was not really in frame as the game was moving at a very fast pace.
This picture gives an alternative perspective as to just something that was going on in the game.
After hearing that a great deal of my pictures looked too much the same I decided to do a take on the article which does not just cover the game but also the events around the game like how the players sign autographs for the fans.
Even how the bench reacted to some of the plays that happened in the game as the energy within the tea also heavily lies on the bench.
This pocture still needs to be cropped for the final product to just focus in on the master and apprentice
It’s important to get a holistic view of what is going on in the games so if I was to use the pictures from the bench, they would have to get rid of all the excess space around what is actually ahppening.
In hindsight I should’ve been closer to take this picture to get a more personal feel to it.
The West Yorkshire Hawks took on the Sheffield Elite basketball team and bested them.
On this picture I ended up adding at least 7 or 8 layers to the image where I played around with things like exposure, contrast and other variables which made the picture look the best that I thought it could.
Sheffield struggled so much and this picture best shows the struggle of the other teams not knowing how to cope.
This is a picture I edited previously where I made the subject in color and the background be all black and white which is an approach I could take to the final piece so that the readers attention is directed towards juts the subject.
Dave Walsh’s aura turned everyone outside of him out of focus because he seemed to be the only player on the court that mattered.
This was the favorite of the pictures I edited today as I did want to focus the attention onto the central player as he had just scored a basket and was the best player on the court on the day.
The above pictures show my progress through today’s session of editing some of the pictures I believe I will use for my final piece.
They all have different levels of brightness/contrast/exposure/vibrance which is not something that will happen when I edit them for the final piece.
I want to make all the pictures have consistent levels of all mentioned above as it then gives a slick look to the final piece and not that they are all telling a different story or look like they were taken by different cameras.
As of today, I have attended two separate basketball games a the University of Huddersfield, watching and taking pictures of the West Yorkshire Hawks basketball team.
However, I have found that some of the more interesting shots have been those of the other team as they show the effect that one of the best teams in the division can have on others.
For example, in the game against Sheffield Elite I took the picture below where it shows he clear disappointment and frustration through the body language of the opposition.
The black and white background in the picture almost reflects the mood of the team.
Looking to the future I think a combination of pictures which show the struggle that the opposition goes through, the toughness of the Hawks, the community around the Hawks and the togetherness of the team would make the 12 pictures tell the story I have planned.
I have also already interviewed the founder of the team, the head coach and one of the players, asking them questions about how they have found this past season, what their hopes are for the future and how important the support has been to the team.
The player that I interviewed has consistently been one of the best players in the squad and through the pictures it has shown that he is one of the leaders on the team.
Number 3 is Dave Walsh who is one of the best scorers on the team, here he his talking the team through the next play.
What I need to do now is go through the 200 pictures that turned out in focus and choose between these so the I can get it down to 12 and still tell the story.
The process I may use for this is rating how good pictures are in terms of blur, the action going on in the picture, how far away the person is and other variables which make a decent picture.
Basketball in the UK has never been anywhere near as big as sports like football, rugby or cricket. As a matter of fact, basketball had the lowest level of engagement amongst adults across the top 20 sports in the UK according to the latest EY Sports Engagement Index. But the Yorkshire region is actually one of the most engaged across the UK. It’s home to at least 6 of the teams within the top 3 divisions of English Basketball. One of those teams was only formed in 2023 and has just wrapped up play for their second season. That team is the West Yorkshire Hawks.
The Hawks gather for a team-talk before and after every game to go over tactics, what is going to help them succeed and how they prevent their opponents from scoring.
The team was founded by Mark Mills, a lecturer at the University of Leeds in their Business School. Even though Mark works at that University, the team is actually based at the University of Huddersfield, where they are linked to the BUCS basketball team that produce strong talents annually.
Mills said, “It’s been another season of learning for us. Week on week we are growing as a club. That’s kind of our goal. The results on the floor have been good. Are we frustrated that we haven’t won the league? Of course we are, but we are having an impact in our community. I am so proud of every single one of our players for what they’re doing.”
Mills was unfortunately referring to the Hawks narrowly missing out on taking the top spot of Division Three and earning promotion to Division 2. The Hawks were looking hopeful to come away with the trophy until the last few games of the season. Unfortunately, they came to face the eventual champions in the Sheffield Sharks who came away from Huddersfield with the victory.
The Hawks make sure to utilise the height advantage of their centre when on the offence, grabbing rebounds and scoring layups.
Mills continues to show his admiration for the local community showing up for the games on Saturday nights at the University. He said, “It’s been unbelievable how we’ve been embraced by the local community. We’re 2 years into a minority sport and we’ve got 200 people sitting courtside who have probably never been to a basketball game before in their life. Now they’re here cheering on the Hawks. They’re learning the sport, having a night out with the kids. It’s exactly what we envisaged when we set the club up.”
Mills initially held the title of head coach after founding the club. After the first season, however, the reigns were passed onto Danny Byrne who was formerly the Head Coach at the Manchester Giants, one of the leading English basketball teams in the British Super League. There was a vast contrast in the two sides going from the equivalent of the Premier League in football to a League Two side.
Head Coach Danny Byrne has found there to be a vast contrast in the intensity of play going from the top tier to the fourth tier of English Basketball.
“Obviously, professionally, (in Manchester) you’ve got a group of Americans that are top-level athletes and some of the top-quality British players that practice twice-a-day either individually or with the team. The intensity is crazy, and they come ready with that energy and that’s what they do for a living so that makes your life easier. You have time for just purely video sessions,” said Byrne.
Byrne continued, “I took a year out last year and then came to Division 3 West Yorkshire Hawks and we have two 90-minute sessions per week where you have to try and cram everything in. Everyone has full-time jobs so it’s not some of the players main priority. Some of the players just do it because they love it and enjoy it. Some of the other guys are desperate to get promoted to Division 2 because maybe they’ve fallen down a little bit and want to get back up.”
The maximum salary cap for Super League Basketball teams in the UK in 2022 was £250,000 according to Hoopsfix. This meant that, dividing it up by the number of players in a roster was about £20,833 per player. And that was for the highest division of English Basketball. In an environment where a full-time salary is unavailable at the third division it takes a great amount of commitment and dedication from the players to still show up but also from the staff.
There’s a mix of different activities held by the volunteers in-between breaks in play which include a gigantic inflatable ball that is sent through the stands.
At most of the intermissions on game night, the volunteers at the game do the utmost to keep fans engaged and enhance their experience by either pulling out an inflatable basketball, the height of a tall fully grown adult, and sending it through the crowd or doing something similar with a collection of small inflatable basketballs. There’s even a game at halftime where two younger members of the crowd get to take to the court and compete against each other to put on some oversized Hawks gear, run up and down the court and score a basket.
Mills who is part of this volunteering crew, is hoping to start some sessions for the younger players, next season. He said, “Nothing is confirmed but the plan is that we will grow. Fingers crossed; we will have more basketball. We’re looking at potentially some pathway junior teams and junior sessions to start-up. We have got a lot of junior fans, so it makes sense. Maybe there will be some more opportunities both men’s and women’s. If we can get it nailed for next season that would be great but if not, then definitely the season after.”
Fans storm the court at the end of each game to get pictures with their favourite players and get autographed jerseys.
At the end of every game the Hawks crowd get their chance to come onto the court and interact with the players, getting signatures and taking pictures, imitating the environment of a real NBA game but better than court-side tickets. Win or lose the Hawks players take their time for the fans who create an incredible atmosphere weekly. Helped by the speakers blasting out the words ‘DEFENCE!’ every time the Hawks are defending their basket; the crowd joins in with the chant and makes sure to provide the squad with all the support they need.
Every team in the division has lost to the Hawks at least one this season and most have struggled to find a solution to this.
The loud crowd and tough opposition mean for a tough Saturday night for the away team and the Hawks’ player of the season only adds to this. Dave Walsh has played basketball at multiple different teams in the Yorkshire region including the Division one side Bradford Dragons.
Dave Walsh was hailed as one of the leaders on the team by Head Coach Danny Byrne and ensures to create a winning atmosphere.
Walsh is regarded by both fans and teammates as the resident sharpshooter, who knows no limit to his range of three-pointers. When the Head Coach, Danny Byrne, was still in Manchester, he tried to sign Dave multiple times.
Walsh had mixed emotions about the second season. He said, “This season has been up and down. We’ve had some huge highs and a couple of lows. We’ve dropped games and points which have put us in the position that we are now in. We could’ve walked away as the league winners but second in the league is something we’ll take.”
After playing Cheshire Wire, the Hawks’ last home game of the season on the 15th of March, Walsh expressed his excitement for what was to come in the playoffs; “I think we’ll be ready. We’ve got a couple of weeks off now so there is plenty of time to practice, and plenty of work to be done. Luckily, we can keep this season rolling over and hopefully we can get to the finals in Manchester,” said Walsh.
The opposition always try their hardest in order to imitate the form of Dave Walsh as that seems to be the way to not miss.
The Hawks faced their local rivals in the playoffs in Sheffield against the Sharks development team. The winners of the division and the backup to the Sheffield Sharks Super League team, who compete at the highest level of English Basketball. The Hawks had faced the Sharks 5 weeks prior in February, but took one of the hardest losses of the season as they failed to win by 20 points which was also the point in the season where they realised, they couldn’t win the league as long as the Sharks kept winning games. The playoffs were then a similar story for the Hawks as they lost by just 11 points against the Sharks at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield.
Even though the Hawks missed out on any silverware this season, they will be pressing the other teams in the division so that it can be secured next season.
So, a spanner has been thrown in the works for the Hawks, but the team won’t let this dampen their mood going into next season. Dave Walsh still hopes that the fans will be happy to see him sport the number three shirt again. He said, “I think there is going to be some changes. I’m pretty sure that the Hawks fans are going to see me in the kit again next season, It will be good and we’re going to really make the push again for Division 2 next season.”
Head Coach, Danny Byrne, said, “I haven’t really thought about it yet, only a little bit. We’re going to try and bring in a few more players and strengthen the areas that we need the strength in. I think we’re going to improve the University team as well. We have a couple of players in there that we need to figure out how to mesh together.”
The University works in tandem with the Hawks in order to develop and grow talent in the West Yorkshire region, but specifically student athletes at the University. The university squad earned promotion from the fourth to third tier of BUCS Northern basketball after a win over the University of Sunderland in mid-March. This of course, means that some players would have to work more than others having to train with both the University side and the club. It may contribute to exhaustion but at the same time, improvement in skill level which in turn may have contributed towards the Hawks finishing second in the league.
It’s a common sign of respect in English Basketball to shake hands with all players and officials involved in a game, win or lose.
The saying, ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’ reflects nicely with what has happened at the West Yorkshire Hawks Basketball Club. It’s not just the players but also the coaching staff, the volunteers at the games, the fans who attend weekly, the sponsors who contribute towards kits, funding and other various expenses and even a whole university.
The Hawks players welcome the fans wanting autographs and pictures towards the end of every game.
The players make sure to acknowledge this through their interactions with the fans. After all 8 of the home games this season the players and fans showed their mutual admiration for each other as they worked to achieve 11 wins and 3 losses record. Only one of those losses at home. The University student Central would be known as a fortress for teams travelling to face the Hawks.
I chose the following pictures to edit in this workshop as I wanted to see the effect in the pictures of one individual standing out on the court. They are both potential pictures I may use in my final assessment and are filled with color, however, I just wanted the focus to be on them.
Before
After
The edits I made to the above image Included, cropping, using adjustment layers o change the brightness and contrast as well as using the object selection tool. After I selected both the player and the basketball, I used the invert select option to select everything aside from the two selected, and turn it black and white.
BeforeAfter
For the above images I repeated mostly the same process, but this time I chose a Hawks player which displayed different colors than just the black and white. The issue I had editing this was the fact that the object selection tool added in part of a player behind number 7 to stay in color so I will look to work on this in the future.
The store manager at ‘Whittard Teas and Coffees’ spoke about how footfall has been affected.
It is now clear that demolition has began at The Core as scaffolding has been erected around the closed shopping centre.
Plans were proposed back in March of 2024 for the building to be demolished and then replaced by student flats.
The idea of the death of the high street has seen many shops close and move online.
Local businesses to the side of The Core of course are going to be going through a deal of change both now and in the future since the shopping centre shut it’s doors.
Gemma Turpin, the store manager at Whittard Teas and Coffees spoke about the change in footfall since the closing.
Whittard Teas and Coffees has seen a rise in footfall since The Core closed.
‘If anything it’s making our footfall better, because it’s driving footfall up the road whereas before they would go onto Albion (street)’ said Turpin.
‘I think it’s because we haven’t got any of the local drug users communing across the way.’
Plans for the student flats include more street links to Lands lane and King Charles street when the student flats building is finished.
Some Leeds locals took to the Facebook group ‘leedsplace’ when it was announced about the closure saying, ‘There’s gonna be nothing left in town soon’ and ‘Leeds city is just getting worse and its supposed to be a city. It’s so behind the other cities in the country.’
Photographic Journalism 
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