Red Auerbach

I once saw an interview with Yousuf Karsh, perhaps the greatest portrait photographer of the 20th Century. You've seen his portraits of Churchill, Hemingway and many others.

There’s was something that he said that was very simple but stuck with me.

He said that his photographs captured the reaction and attitude of his subjects to him at that moment.


That helps to explain why the above photo means so much to me. 

Red Auerbach savors Celtics road victory of the Philadelphia 76ers to force a seventh game of the 1982 NBA Eastern Finals.

I had a matter of fact attitude toward the many famous people that I met and photographed, but not with Red. I was conscious that I was a witness to history and valued every moment with him. I knew, sadly, that Red and the Boston Garden wouldn't always be with us. 

Even though the team had no need, at the time, for me to take this photo, Red indulged me. I knew that I had to have Red, the banners and the parquet together.

I'm in High Places and I Know People

High Above Courtside

I spent a lot of time setting up this photo (see below) of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s last jump ball at the Boston Garden.

To make the shot, I attached my Nikon FA to the catwalk that runs across the ceiling of the old building directly over center court, using a piece of hardware called the Bogen Magic Arm.

Have you seen the original King Kong? Remember the tree trunk that the ship's crew used to cross the ravine filled with manned eating spiders? Remember Kong shaking the trunk as the men fell to an agonizing death?

That’s basically the Boston Garden catwalk.

I was lying on my stomach, high above the court, framing the photo and adjusting the camera settings. It was OK at first, but that tingly acrophobic feeling was beginning to set in.

Just when I had everything set up to my satisfaction, I saw through the viewfinder that one of the many banners flying from the rafters of the building was wafting into my shot.

I descended to court level and found my friend, one of the electricians, who shall remain nameless. He shut off all the ventilation to the building for the entire game, which calmed the air and caused the offending banner to drape motionless.

Though it was winter, Kareem looked uncomfortably hot through that whole game.