3rd Place — Sports Category, Visual Education Competition

This year, I won 3rd place in the Sports category at the Visual Education yearly competition.
Not something I had planned for — but something I’m genuinely grateful for.

I knew I wanted to submit something for the sports category, but I didn’t have any new sports photographs I felt good enough about. My first idea was to photograph children at a skate park. It would have been visually strong, energetic, spontaneous.

But reality kicked in quickly.

Photographing children comes with a heavy legal and ethical responsibility — written consents, tracking legal guardians, signatures. On top of that, the very practical side: expensive lighting equipment, a skate park full of children and toddlers moving unpredictably, and no real control over the situation. The idea stopped feeling exciting and started feeling stressful.

So I changed direction.

One of the advantages of living in a small town in Portugal is that when you ask, people respond. A friend agreed to help — a dedicated runner and a great athlete. We used the local stadium during the short window when it’s open to the public.

That window happened to collide with my evening breastfeeding time.

So we improvised. A quick feed before the shoot, grandparents taking my baby home, daddy handling bedtime — and us heading to the stadium just before sunset. We had around 40 minutes.

No elaborate setup. No second chances. Just good light, trust, and focus.

It was fun. My friend was a natural in front of the camera, and despite the time pressure, we came away with a set of images that felt honest and strong. One of them ended up placing third.

This win isn’t about the ranking itself. It’s a reminder that good work can happen inside real life — between feedings, sunset deadlines, limited time, and imperfect conditions.