b'PREFACE ~ MARC ASPLANDIf I can share in words a snapshot in time, I would tell of a moment when I was a young man in a hurry just trying just to get a toe in the door of The Times newspaper. Being the fourth or fifth choice freelance photographer, I was assigned a football match on Saturday afternoon and, by a strange chance, ended up sitting next to Chris Smith behind the goal. As a Saturday used to be a non-edition day for us daily newspaper photographers, photograph: Simon Bruty, Sports IllustratedI made my way back to the old darkrooms shared by The Times and Sunday Times to process my black and white films. After collecting my films from the drying cabinets and taking myself off to the furthest light-boxes to view my negatives - as far away as possible from the hustle, noise and laughter of the many great photographers present - I began to edit from frame 1A to frame 36. With my eye on a magnifying glass, clipping almost every A few of my Fleet Street photographer colleagues might recoil atother frame to be printed I began to feel how remarkably well I the title of this book. The only explanation I can offer to them ishad shot the match. Rolls two and three followed with a growing that The Art of Sports Photography is the best interpretation offeeling of my own greatness, until I received a gentle tap on my the way I see pictures. During my career, right from when I firstshoulder and, looking up, found Chris Smith holding three rolls of picked up a camera as a kid, I felt that photography came naturally.film. He politely explained, I am sorry young man, but I think you I had found an art form, which allowed me to express myself. Iwill find those are mine and these are yours. We swapped films recognise how fortunate I am that photography found me and itand I recognised immediately what a a long way I still had to go.soon became more than a hobby. It became an obsession.Fast forward to the halcyon days I spent with Oliver Holt, then Even at photojournalism college in Sheffield, I was warned notChief Sports Writer of The Times. We were fortunate that to return for a new term as I was just too arty-farty. At my firstthe old broadsheet pages offered us the canvas to produce a newspaper, as a junior photographer, I soon learnt that chequeweekly interview. While Oliver would be afforded an hour of presentations and golden wedding anniversary pictures for theconversation, As all photographers invariably are, I would usually local rag needed to be photographed in a certain way (which wasbe hurried in to take photographs in the last ten minutes,. My not the way I wanted to photograph them).days at the Watford Observer stood me in good stead. Back then, I would have even less time to photograph my subjects I had my own ideas on photography and I am extremely fortunatebefore rushing off to the next assignmentin one case, I had that, on my journey, I could also be touched by the brilliance offive minutes to photograph a couple who had spent fifty years other photographers.Seeing the remarkable black and whitetogether. Listening to Olivers interviews, trying to understand the images by legendary British Sports photographer Chris Smithfootballer or athlete and what made them tick, gave me an insight which graced the Sunday Times gave me an early appreciationinto how I could capture their essence in an image. of the type and style of photography which I longed to emulate.My favourite images would not necessarily feature famous stars or I believe all photographers constantly look and learn from howWorld Cup finals. I have very few of my own pictures on the wall others have captured a moment, and this is certainly true of me.at home, but one of them is of a group of children orphaned by a Being a newspaper man my whole career, I have had a daily dietdevastating earthquake in Turkey in 1999. As Ollie was talking to of the most remarkable images to admire. the Red Cross, I set up a World Cup Final between Turkey and 12'