Behind the Lens: Heart of the nation

As you might expect, the Matildas performance in the tournament captured the attention of the nation. When I captured this image, Australia and England were facing off in the semi-final. It was the furthest any Australian team, male or female, had ever reached in a FIFA World Cup.

I was high up in the catwalk for this match in a position that was only allowed for two photographers. Safety briefings were required in advance for access, and my equipment had to be tethered to me. Only a small backpack which I also had tethered to the catwalk structure, carrying spare batteries and cards, was allowed.

From this position I used two Canon R3 cameras coupled with the 100-300mm f/2.8 lens with 1.4 convertor, and a 24-70mm lens. This combination allowed for both wide angle and action shots to be captured across the pitch. Our cameras were tethered to ethernet cables where the images would be sent direct to our editors in the Getty Images office in Sydney who would edit, caption, and file the images to our clients in less than a minute.

At the end of the match, while England celebrated their win, there was a lot to capture on the pitch. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the Matildas had formed a huddle, but this time it wasn’t just in a shape of a circle as usually happens. This time the huddle resembled the shape of a heart. The image was used around the country in newspapers and other media for several days.

Even though the shape of the huddle was just a coincidence and not planned, I think it encapsulated the way Australians had fallen in love with the Matildas.