Photos by June Harrison
Thousands of June Harrison’s slides of professional tennis are lined up in protective sheets, a collection of the nearly four decades Harrison spent capturing some of the most dynamic moments of the sport’s history.
If you were to randomly pull one out from the archive, chances are pretty good that Harrison has a story about the image.
That’s not to say Harrison has a play-byplay memory of what took place during the exact moment she took the shot; instead, she has the ability to share a feeling about what was happening when she decided to release the shutter. Moments are rarely lost on her.
“I remember those early days in tennis because I was new at it,” she said. “I was looking to make something simple and artful, while mastering the challenges of shooting action.”
Whether she’s shooting a portrait, a sporting event, or flowers in the Hamptons on Long Island, photographs are one of life’s touchstones for Harrison. “It’s a really dramatic thing, human psychology,” she says. “We remember where we were during really emotional moments of great fear or jubilation or joy. Those moments are seared with photos.”
Harrison had a lot of those moments covering tennis. Her tennis photography career began in the 1970s when she was series ticket holder for the New York Sets, of World Team Tennis, and was invited on court for a clinic after a match.