European Basketball Hoop Photos

Basketball Hoop Photography - Europe

Over the past few years, I’ve been documenting basketball hoops throughout Europe—not the polished ones inside arenas, but the forgotten, improvised, and well-worn hoops you find in alleyways, apartment courtyards, village parks, and industrial edges of cities. These photos show the global reach of the game in its most local forms.

Each image carries the texture of its surroundings—cobblestone streets, Soviet-era apartment blocks, medieval stone walls, graffiti-tagged fences. The contrast between architecture and asphalt makes these hoops feel different from their American counterparts but no less soulful. They reflect how basketball adapts to the space it’s given, whether in a quiet plaza or behind an old church.

This series is available for editorial and commercial licensing, and it’s a great fit for brands or publications looking to tap into global basketball culture in an authentic, visually arresting way. Whether you're working on a story about international basketball, designing a campaign around street culture, or sourcing imagery for a global brand, these photographs offer a fresh take on the game—and its reach far beyond the NBA.

Interested in licensing these photos?
Please reach out for pricing and usage details. High-resolution files are available, and custom image sets can be curated based on your project’s needs - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Click here to see more basketball imagery from my American Backcourts series.

Street Photography

2012-ish in Amsterdam was the first time I recall embracing the simple joys of street photography. After years of lugging around a lot of lighting equipment, it was very refreshing to just have a camera bag on my back. That was also the first time that I remember having a focus on one subject. The first time I grasped the notion of a “series” of images. Maybe it was too much time spent in the cafe’s, but either way, the singular focus wasn’t intentional. After miles and miles of walking around Amsterdam, it just struck me that I had photographed a lot of bicycles. And all of a sudden, Emily would be saying “look at that one over there” or “that’s a good one”. The theme had caught on. She recognized what I was doing too. Probably because she always had to wait while I made 35 different images of one bike from 35 different angles. Regardless, it stuck and was most likely the beginning of the way I think about long term personal projects like Barbershops of America and The Hoops Project. Both of which are focused on one subject and have been going on now for 8+ years. They are a great balance to the commercial work, which I love, but it very involved with planning, time, and gear. Over the past couple years, my kit for personal trips has been cut down even further. In fact, on this last trip to Europe, all that came along was one camera body and one lens. The feeling of not having options is quite freeing. There is no need to think about switching lenses every 5 minuets to accommodate the situation. You just have to make do with what you have. ultimately, it makes you a better photographer. And it cuts down on weight. Nothing better than traveling light. Here is another batch of images from Europe in December/January. They were all made with very little thought as to why or a care of where they would end up.

Click HERE to see more street photography.