PHOTOS: City photographer gives young athletes a chance to shine

Journal Staff

Over the past year, Sarnia photographer Bruce Smith has taken Journal readers from the sidelines to the finish lines at dozens of sporting events.

He hunts constantly for the perfect shot.

“To me, it’s almost that analogy of catching the big fish, when you’ve got that shot that captures the moment or tells the story, he said. “I’ve always had that (drive).”

Smith was 14 when he got interested in shooting pictures and soon had his own darkroom.

At McMaster University, he recorded images for the school newspaper, “The Silhoutte,” and that experience inspired him to study photography at Fanshawe College the next year.

Smith, who works in IT, has assembled a dazzling collection of fireworks photos but sports remain the big attraction.

His favourites, he said, are basketball in winter and track and field meets in spring, when hundreds of athletes gather to compete in dozens of events, often at the same time.

“The good thing about track is there’s always something going on. The bad thing about track is there’s always something going on,” he said.

While he’s done work for Hockey Canada, it’s amateur away from the limelight who most interest him.

“I do like to see the young local athletes shine in the paper,” he said. “It gives me the opportunity to work on and share my art.”

Presented here are some of Bruce Smith’s top sports photos from 2019.