I was walking Ruby back from the Duck Park and decided to walk back via the recreation ground between George Street and Charles Street. It is a big open space and I thought Ruby could have a gallop off her lead. There was a group of lads getting ready to have a kick around on the football field, so I decided not to let Ruby have a run. There was also a young man training on his own with a football, he was wearing a Birmingham City top and had good ball skills as he worked the ball around the field and shot it against a brick wall. I caught his eye and asked if it was a Birmingham City top he was wearing.
Meet Ethan, who was indeed wearing a Birmingham City top. I asked Ethan what was a Birmingham City supporter doing in Arnold. Etthan explained his Mum’s partner supported the “Blues” so he started following them from an early age. I asked Ethan if he went to many matches, he told me he did midweek matches but he played football at the weekends. Ethan plays semi pro football for Hucknall Town FC, who play in level 10 (step 6) of the English Football League.
Ethan asked me who I supported and was surprised when I said Bolton Wanderers. We had a discussion about Bolton Wanderers and their fall from the top tier and financial difficulties.
Ethan plays full back, I asked if that was as a wing back and Ethan told me he sometimes plays in a back 5 allowing him to fly up the field as a wing back.
Ethan had an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in February 2020 (just before lockdown). The injury was career threatening back in the day, but can be reconstructed by removing what remains of the torn ligament and replacing it with a tendon from another area of the leg, which in Ethan’s case was his hamstring. After surgery Ethan had to hire a private physio to help his recovery, as the football clubs and therefore the Physio’s were shutdown as part of lockdown. Ethan hasn’t played a competitive game since his injury and the 2020-2021 league has been curtailed and the season is concluded.
Ethan graduated from Nottingham Trent University two years ago with a degree in Psychology and now works in Mental Health. He’s 24 and I asked him if he thinks he could make it as a full time professional footballer. Ethan told me that he thinks it is probably too late, but would like to play at a higher semi pro level.
Thanks for letting me take your photo Ethan. It was great to meet you, I wish you all the best with your injury recovery, football career and career in Mental Health.
For the photo’s I asked Ethan to stand near the wall he was kicking the ball against as I knew it would make a great backdrop. I was going to post the photo in colour as the brickwork is a rich red / brown colour, but when I converted it to mono, it really changed the dynamics of the photo, creating a really striking atmospheric portrait.
This was shot using my new compact camera, the Sony RX100 VII. It is really cool and small. I was a bit worried as to whether it would be up to “taking street strangers”. You can be the judge of that with Ethan’s photo. If I pixel peep and zoom right into the eyes, I would say maybe not quite as good as a full frame Sony A7, but you don’t “pixel peep view” a portrait, so I think I can conclude the camera gets a big tick for street portraits.
@busylady thanks judith, my strangers have slowed down in lockdown, but I was stood on a football field, socially distanced, so decided it was OK to take a photo
A wonderful portrait - so clear and sharp . Well chosen backdrop - fab in its own right but somehow does not distract from the subject ! I really like this one Phil , and a big fav !
This is a fab portrait - you've captured a slight melancholy. The Ethan's of the world have been very stoic this last year but it can't have been easy especially for those who love team sports There are seasons you can't get back when you are in your peak. On the other hand maybe for those with injuries it's been a bit easier not sitting frustrated in the stands.
A fabulous portrait capture. Definitely as good as those taken with your Sony. When I was young, many many years ago and I played football I had a back injury which ruined a whole season. After a number of years with back problems, which were not related to football my doctor sent me for X-rays and we discovered that I had one of my spine bones was slightly bent - I cannot say if it had anything to do with my football injury. Another X-ray taken some years ago showed that my back bone was straight again.
I bet you really enjoyed your football chat with Ethan! Good luck for his recovery & really hope he gets back to his football very soon. Your lens did good!
March 19th, 2021
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@pdulis cheers peter, thank you
@busylady thanks judith, my strangers have slowed down in lockdown, but I was stood on a football field, socially distanced, so decided it was OK to take a photo