Just added a new limited edition set of basketball prints to my web store. Instead of going bigger, this is a smaller more intimate batch of prints at 5”x7” in a set of 10 in a limited edition of 25. The thing I’m most excited by though, is this is all new work that was not published in the American Backcourts book! Thank you so much to everyone that bought a book or print during the Thanksgiving sale.
Competitions have become one of the many shams in the photography industry. Today is seems like there are as many competitions as there are Starbucks, and they all prey on people, promising “exposure” that will lead to a world of endless possibilities. What they really are is a bullshit way for companies to rake in a boatload of money on entry fees. Communication Arts on the other hand, has a long standing reputation for high quality and publishing the most inspiring work of the year in their Photo Annual. So I’m honored to have my American Backcourts images included in this years pages along with breathtaking work by incredible photographers.
10 years into this series and it’s still just as much fun documenting the sport of basketball as it was initially. It’s always interesting to think about the games played on hoops in different parts of the country. It’s also enjoyable to see the images and realize that each one was an experience in itself to make. The first photo here in Primm was taken on a day so windy that I had to brace myself with one leg five feet in front of the other. You can see how the net is being pushed backwards. The second shot is from a high school gym in the middle of a remodel. Door was wide open and not a sole in sight. The hoop in Santa Rosa is actually one I photographed 10 or so years ago under completely different conditions. That image from all those years ago is in the book. Crazy how a location so random can be unintentionally revisited. And shocking to see that there is still a chain net hanging from the rim. The last image was made on a road I’ve driven a hundred times and never noticed before.
There’s always free entertainment going on in Venice Beach, especially so when the VBL finals are going down. It’s a show from beginning to end. The games were very physical and fun to watch as was the dunk contest. Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace and Steve Francis were both there to judge and Compton Av performed at half court before the championship game. As usual I’m more interested in what’s happening around the court than the actual game when it comes to photos. So if I’ve done my job correctly this set of images will give you a feeling for what it’s like to be there.
Click here to see more basketball photography from my American Backcourts series
Contact me directly for prints of these images for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com
Currently at an interesting crossroads with the American Backcourts series as I’m thinking about another edition of the book. There are a lot of things I’d like to improve on, but there is also a lot of new content that’s been shot over the past year or so that I’d like to include. However, my style of shooting has changed a bit since the first printing, which means that a lot of the new stuff might not gel with the new work. A lesson only recently learned by working with several professional photo editors on a couple other long term projects. Seems like an obvious concept, right? Not so much when you’re emotionally biased toward your own work. It causes you to be blinded about what’s best for the series as opposed to satisfying your own selfish needs. Moving on. These two were shot on last months cross country road trip. The first is in west Texas and the second is in eastern New York somewhere.
There are plenty of people that would argue on either side, but regardless of which one you’re on, you’ll have to agree that Venice Beach is one of the street ball meccas of the USA? NYC obviously being the other. It’s my personal opinion that White Men Can’t Jump is the greatest basketball movie ever made. It takes place in a few locations around LA, but most notably Venice, and was certainly the thing that put Venice basketball on the map. The games that happen there today look a lot different, but I appreciate what’s happening either way. Nick Ansom is the one at the helm of the Venice Basketball League now. He is responsible for all the creative energy and growth that happens locally as well as across the country and overseas. If you haven’t seen what he’s done with the Hoop Bus, check it out. Very impressive. I linked up with Nick a while back because of our obvious shared interest in basketball. Yet another example of personal projects leading to fun outcomes/relationships. COVID was a strange time for the VBL because it literally couldn’t happen. The city put a device on all the rims that prohibited play. As the saying goes though, Basketball Never Stops. Instead of sitting around crying about it, Nick put his energy into another creative endeavor - Survival Hoops. Along with another artist friend, they started creating hoops out of junk. It started small, but after a while they had built and hung 100+ beautifully weird hoops all over the alleys of Venice Beach. About a month ago we linked up and documented their work. I really enjoyed seeing what they had created and am honored to be part of a piece of basketball culture. It would be easy to write this project off as someone just being bored and having time to kill during a pandemic. You would be wrong though. What they created is much bigger than that. It’s well thought out, deliberate, and has brought a lot of happiness not just to the people who have played on them, but also to the locals in Venice that walk by these hoops every day. And hopefully it will be preserved in some kind of document for people to see years from now.
Follow the Venice Basketball League on IG @veniceball
Contact me directly if you’d like prints of these images for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com
Feels so good to see the world opening back up. Over the last week especially there has been so much life out on the street and in the local shops, restaurants, and bars. Grateful to have the opportunity to be social again while sharing some work from American Backcourts. So if you’re in San Diego during the month of June, stop on by Culture Brewing Company in Encinitas to check out some fine art prints while enjoying some delicious craft beer in the sunshine.
There is no greater compliment to a project than when a person decides to hang an image on their walls. Buying art for your wall is a commitment and an expense, so it makes me extremely grateful when my image(s) is chosen out of all the other options in the world. It’s also satisfying to think about the personal connection to people across the world. Even though I may never meet most collectors in person, it’s fun to think about my images in their homes and the joy they receive from looking at them on a daily basis.
Click here to grab a fine art print from American Backcourts for yourself
Beyond excited to finally be sharing the forthcoming (November 15th-ish) book with everyone!! I could probably go on talking about this project for days, but the world doesn’t have an attention span for that, so I’ll try and keep it quick. Also know that I’ll be posting more about this in the coming weeks as the book comes closer to release. Even now sitting down to write this I’m not sure how to keep it short. The video itself probably best describes how I feel about basketball and this series that I’ve been shooting for the past 8+ years. Like most of my projects, I believe it was a “thing” even before realizing it. If you’ve followed “The Basketball Hoops Project” for any amount of time, you know this this was all inspired by a picture of Larry Bird’s childhood hoop. As a kid, he was my hero, and I just couldn’t understand how one of the greatest of all time could have grown up playing on a rusty old rim hanging on a dilapidated old barn in the middle of Indiana. I was certain that all the greats came from the inner cities and were afforded the finest facilities. That image of Bird’s hoop and the story it told never left my head as I got older and began traveling as a photographer. During those cross country road trips (with my dog Mojo) I would encounter hoops just like Bird’s and couldn’t help but stop to photography them, always wondering what stories they would tell. After taking the photos I didn’t give them much thought, as my main focus was on a different subject (Barbershops of America) altogether. Then time went on and people started responding to the Hoops images I would post on various social media channels, and I realized that a body of work had really developed. At some point, Hoops became the new focus and things started to snowball. Now, almost 9 years later, I’m just as obsessed with the project as I was then.
A few weeks ago I received the unbound proofing copy of the book, and couldn’t help but feel as though this is the most complete body of work I’ve every put out. And a lot of that has to do with the collaborations I entered into after understanding how important it is to hand over to control of the things you aren’t good at. Being honest about what you don’t know is an important trait in life. Is it pertains to this, the best thing I did was to work with an editor. A professional who understands the importance of giving it to you straight. Someone who isn’t emotionally connected to the project and will edit the images in a way that’s best for the project as a whole. Which often times, means saying bye to your favorites! This is a huge lesson for me, and one that I’m infinitely thankful to have learned. I also worked with a designer on this book to give it the visual attention it deserved. Again, knowing what I don’t know. I’m not a designer and can’t expect to make a book look good on my own. Trust in the professionals! There is no situation in life where it isn’t important to surround yourself with people who are smarter or better than yourself! It only raises you up to their level. I’m quite confident in my abilities as a photographer, but when it comes to editing and design, I’m very much an amateur.
There is a whole lot more to say about this project, but for now I hope you enjoy this teaser video. I think it says a whole lot about the game of basketball, and sums up why I continue to love this project. Stay tuned for more info about the book’s release.
**The book you see is a digital mock up as I have not yet received the hard copies. The text on the real thing looks slightly different.
At some point I have to wonder if I’m at all capable of working on short term projects? That’s not a complaint. I really love long term projects. Everything about them really, but with the recent amount of time that’s fallen in my lap (the whole COVID-19 thing), it’s given way for a lot of thought. Also something I spend quite a bit of time doing, which has me thinking that maybe I draw things out a bit too long. Started reading Rick Rubin’s book a few days ago, and one thing he talks about is that his work gets done when it gets done. He’s not concerned about deadlines or any other outside influences because he doesn’t want them to affect the final product. If he were to rush a record, it wouldn’t allow the project enough time to breath. He feels like the space and time are necessary to properly pull things together in the way they are naturally supposed to. Reading all that I felt myself understanding and agreeing with everything he was saying. Still though, my natural tendency is to string things along a bit too far. Or maybe it’s just because I don’t devote enough time to certain aspects of each project. There are hard drives of images from 5 years ago that still haven’t been touched much because I’m not sure how they fit in. The process of understanding a group of images is very complex if you really want it to work. And sometimes that means letting go of your favorites because they just don’t work well with the series. Creating a cohesive body of work is quite hard to do when you’re so attached to the images. And it’s not been till recently that I’m starting to get even the slightest bit of handle on it. There are so many factors that dictate why an image works on it’s own, let alone with a group of 30-100 other images for say a gallery show or a book. Anyway, the down time that’s been created by the “Stay home” order has allowed me to focus more on certain projects and helped me to feel like I’m pulling them together in a way that finally make sense. And trimming the fat is starting to become easier too. The Hoops Project was started 8+ years ago, which in itself blows my mind. Hoops have been a major focus on every road trip since 2012. Some of those trips have been shockingly productive. And others don’t yield the most satisfying results. As time goes on I continue to raise the bar, which makes it harder and harder to find a hoop that works. One that fits. One that’s unique. The web gallery for this series hasn’t been updates in quite some time. That’s not out of negligence, but rather from purpose. My efforts over the past couple months have been focused specifically on a few “products” (for the lack of a better word) pertaining to this series, and I want to keep some fresh content for the time when that is finally released. The ones you see below are from an 8,000+/- mile road trip in December/January. Most of that trip did not present me with hoops that turned me on, and it wasn’t until a day of shooting around home that much happened. All 3 of these were made in Troy, NY, which is a few miles from my mothers house. Funny to think that sometimes you drive all the way to the other side of the country before finding something that works.
Click here to purchase a fine art print from this series.
Been saying this for a while now, but personal projects are the best, especially when they connect you with other like minded people. Which is certainly the case with Dan Peterson of Project Backboard. He’s been doing amazing things with outdoor basketball courts all over the country. Taking broken down courts and turning them into beautiful works of art that locals are excited to play on. Recently we visited a few of his courts in Los Angeles together, and I was able to talk with him first hand about the process and how things have developed over the years. I really applaud this project and hope that it continues to grow. If you want to check out more of what PB has done, go to their WEBSITE or follow along on their INSTAGRAM PAGE.
If you recognize the bridge in the Watts Oasis images, that’s because it is the very bridge from those famous scenes in White Men Can’t Jump. I personally love that movie and was ecstatic when Dan told me what it was.
Click here to see more of my basketball photography from the American Backcourts series
1) Where are you from and what place has basketball taken in your life (prior to Project Backboard) ?
I grew up in suburban NY during the heyday of the great 1990s Knicks teams and ultimately played a year of basketball at Iona College before leaving my official playing days behind.
2) When did you come up with the idea for Project Backboard(PB)?
Project Backboard wasn't really my idea! I started the work just by painting lines on public courts in Memphis that did not have any just because I loved outdoor basketball.
3) How long/what did it take to get things going for PB?
I got my first large grant about a year after starting Project Backboard but it was another year before I did the court with William LaChance in St. Louis that really got a lot of attention and opened the door for Project Backboard to become what it is today.
4) What was the initial reaction? How have reactions changed since you started?
The initial reaction was overwhelmingly positive and that is the reaction I have continued to get. That said, this style of court has become surprisingly common over the past 12-18 months that the reaction now may be a bit more restrained than the early courts. No one had ever seen anything like the William LaChance court when we first painted it.
5) How have you gone about getting funding for these projects?
A lot of the courts are funded either by community or corporate foundations.
6) What is the process like from the original idea for a court to the final execution?
The painting process is different for each court depending on what the artist has in mind for the court artwork. Sometimes its a lot of measuring and straight lines or curves and other times we create a grid across the entire surface of the court and drawing the artwork box by box.
7) PB has teamed up with some big name companies. How have those relationships come about?
People reach out and I respond! I am always open to collaborating but the successful projects have been ones were the brands are able to be a little less “corporate” in their approach and allow the artist the freedom to create and lead the project vision.
8) What is the overall goal for PB?
For every community to have a safe and inviting basketball court. I love outdoor basketball and want to share that with others but, from my perspective, the way that will happen is when individual community members step up to help care for public spaces and hold those charged with maintaining those spaces accountable.
9) Any big projects in the works that you want to share?
Yes! Looking forward to a few courts in the Bay Area and a court in Puerto Rico along with a handful of others.
10) Random thoughts on PB......
I appreciate all the support and, as I said, always open to collaborating and helping others follow my example so don't hesitate to reach out!
Just a reminder that I'm having a show at Fathom Gallery tonight after the Kobe jersey retirement ceremony at Staples Center. I'll have a bunch of limited edition prints on display, along with some 1/1 signed Kobe game jerseys by a group of really talented street artists. Hope to see you all there!
Fathom Gallery: 110 East 9th St. Suite CL002, Los Angeles, CA 90079
On 12/18/17 the Los Angeles Lakers will be retiring Kobe Bryant's jersey at the Staples Center. If you're around for it, or just live in LA, come by Fathom Gallery afterward. I'll be showing some signed limited edition hoops prints. Alongside my prints will be a bunch of signed one of a kind Kobe jerseys that have been made in art pieces by a number of extremely talented street artists. Hope to see you there!!
Fathom Gallery. 12/18/17. 9pm-12am. - 110 E 9th St, Suite CL002, Los Angeles, CA 90079
These images were made a few weeks ago during a trip to Indonesia, and won't be in the show, but wanted to post some updated images anyway. For more, check out my HOOPS gallery.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia
I always think to myself that any photographer who really gives a shit will invest heavily in personal projects. That's not to say you have to spend a lot of money, but invest yourself. Shoot something that's just for you and let that project develop a life of it's own. You'll be glad you did. I also think that a photographers personal project begins without even knowing it. In your own time you shoot what you're randomly and naturally drawn to. Then over time, a small collection or series of images comes together that you didn't even realize you were creating. The even greater part is over the same period of time, that body of work naturally grows followers of people with similar interests. Those people can be totally random, but they can also be commercial clients who want to buy your images or pay you to make something similar. That's a win on all levels. No longer are you searching for the right clients. Now the right clients are looking for you.
I don't care who you are, things can get slow from time to time. And what happens during those lows, is that you take assignments you're not right for. Maybe it's not your speciality, or maybe you just don't give a shit? Either way, you shouldn't have taken it because it always shows up in the work. Everyone who views an image can tell if it's right or not. When a photographer wants to make a great image he'll do whatever he can to make it. But when the interest isn't there, or they just took the job for the money, you can see it. I decided a long time ago that I'd rather be broke than take assignments that aren't right for me. I use to take them all the time, and it just led to bad relationships and bad images. Definitely not the kind of thing you want out in the world as a freelance photographer. So I started investing heavily in my own projects while also shooting commercially. And after years of building up different portfolios, all that work is starting to pay off. One of them in particular is starting to get really fun, The Basketball Hoops Project. Last February the project had it's first exhibition in New Orleans for NBA All-Star Weekend. And just recently I signed on with Fathom Gallery in Los Angeles. They will not only be sourcing shows for the project and selling prints, but also seeking commercial licensing. I'm really excited about this partnership, and look forward to seeing where it goes.
Creating images for the right clients is always fun. For a company to choose you out of all the other photographers in the world is a great compliment. When your personal projects start to take flight though, that's the real reward. Hugh Hefner died yesterday. Calling him a legend would be an understatement. Among the many great things he's ever said, my favorite has to be "Life is too short to be living someone else's dream".
Go out and create for yourself.
I made this image back in April of 2011 during a road trip with my mother. At the time the Hoops Project wasn't even a thought. Yesterday though, after stumbling on this, it made me wonder if it was?
Click here to see more of my basketball hoop photography
It never stops feeling good to see your personal projects advancing. Today my Hoops Project was featured on ESPN, which included a video narrated by Jalen Rose. Awesome. Go check it out at ESPN.COM.
