France winger Michael Olise recently propelled a set of experimental World Cup images to viral status by sharing the work of photographer Florence Pernet. Unable to access the stadiums, Pernet created her captivating photographs by pointing her camera directly at her television screen. “I don’t have an accreditation, but I do have my TV and my own vision,” she explained.
Her success exemplifies a broader movement transforming how photographers approach football’s biggest tournament. While global agencies continue to deploy state-of-the-art mirrorless cameras and telephoto lenses, many practitioners are deliberately adopting vintage equipment and alternative processes to offer fresh artistic perspectives on the action.
Historical roots in mechanical innovation
The use of distorted imagery in sports photography has precedents stretching back to the late 1930s. Hollywood engineer Lorenzo Del Riccio created the “circular flow camera” during this period, a device subsequently installed at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in the United States to determine race winners. The mechanism moved film through the camera at the speed of an average horse, distorting any body part that moved faster or slower while accurately recording which competitor crossed the line first.
Two decades later, Life magazine photographer George Silk employed slit-scanning techniques at the 1960 Olympic try-outs, producing impressionistic images of shot-putters and sprinters that showed the human body in flux. The slit-scanning process involves winding film past a narrow aperture to record the flow of time, creating distorted results that celebrate rather than correct the “rolling shutter” effect long considered a technical flaw.
Contemporary practitioners blend old and new
Modern photographers continue to challenge conventional sports coverage through experimental methods. Getty Images’ Shaun Botterill recently shot in Mexico using the identical film stock he deployed when covering the World Cup there in 1986. Others covering the tournament have utilised infrared imaging, prismatic filters and cumbersome vintage cameras alongside digital equipment.
Picture editors are also participating in the trend. Guardian picture editor Jonny Weeks has created warped images by scanning printed photographs using a digital flat-bed scanner, adapting existing images of Harry Kane‘s goal celebrations and creating mirrored portraits of Kylian Mbappé. Such techniques demonstrate that compelling tournament imagery does not necessarily require proximity to the pitch.
The movement reflects an evolving understanding of sports photography as both documentary record and artistic medium. As practitioners manipulate film stocks, scanner beds and television screens, they challenge the assumption that technological progress must always prioritise crisp realism over creative interpretation.