Arkansas’ basketball season kicks off tonight at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Here are a few portraits of players and coaches I shot for Hawgs Illustrated’s annual basketball preview. Included are the Hogs’ freshmen class (Hunter Mickelson, Devonta Abron, B.J. Young and Rashad Madden), senior Marshawn Powell and assistants Scotty Thurman and T.J. Cleveland. There are a few more not included here that haven’t been published yet. I might drop them into the post later on, so be sure to check back.
This is my fifth or sixth season (I’ve lost count) to shoot portraits for HI’s hoops preview. This time around I was really at a loss for backgrounds. I took a chance with the rows of courtside seats folded up around the court. After a couple of test shots I realized I was on to something. The background really popped and many of my co-workers approved of the look.
The portrait of Scotty Thurman juxtaposed with the iconic photo of his game-winning shot against Duke in the 1994 National Championship is one of my favorites from our preview. It’s not perfect, there is a bit of a flaw to the shot, but I love it nonetheless. And so does Thurman. He approached me at Tuesday’s exhibition game and told me how much he liked the photo. That really made my day.
For more of my sports portraits go here.
All photos © 2011 Hawgs Illustrated
Marc F. Henning is an award-winning photojournalist based in Northwest Arkansas specializing in wedding, portrait, editorial, sports and corporate photography. He is the chief photographer of Hawgs Illustrated magazine and staff photographer with Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, L.L.C. Marc is available for freelance assignments and projects throughout NWA and beyond.
For Marc's complete bio see the menu bar link above.