And on that note I'd like to share the first by Anthony Georgis. What I love about this project is that these girls are bruised and bleeding and ready to kill the opposing team yet at the same time thinking about prom and Anthony captures each aspect of them in a beautiful way.
What made you choose this project?
I walked out my front door and there it was. I know it sounds absurd, but I live across the street from a park. There was a big commotion over there one day with lots of girls shouting and pushing each other so I went outside to see what was going on. At first I thought, "Wow, that's a really violent soccer game" which was followed by, "Oh no, wait, that's just rugby" which was in turn followed by, "OMG!!! Are those high school girls playing rugby?!?"
I was fascinated by what was going on and I knew immediately that I wanted to go and take pictures. At that point I wasn't really thinking of it as a project. I watched a bit, took a few frames and talked to some of the girls. What really struck me was how much intensity these girls played with. They'd hit really hard but after the match they were as sweet as can be. That's when I knew there was something there and that I had to shoot more.
How many photos were there before you edited it down to the featured images?
I was using medium format film (which will either make me sound heroic and crazy or like a total elitist). In a way the format was helpful because there's always the "Who's this weird guy with the camera?" factor and the YashicaMat helps relieve a little of that, making it "Who's this weird guy with the cool camera?"
In the end I shot about 500 frames - 23 made the cut.
What was your favorite aspect of this personal project?
The project has been really well received and it's generated a couple of good assignments. From a personal standpoint, getting an assignment based on something that I loved shooting and that I would have shot anyway is truly a great feeling.
The most incredible thing, however, has been hearing back from some of the players who've seen the project. They love it and have gone on and on about how great it is, how it's a true representation of rugby culture and how they've never seen anything like it. They've also told me that I'm "super rad" and that's cool too.
Check out the project at www.bloodmakesthegrassgrow.com
