100 Tournaments, 100 Photos, 100 Memories

Badmintonphoto’s Yves Lacroix shares with us 100 memories through 100 photos of his chosing, one from each of his first 100 international tournaments as an accredited photographer.

Photos (and memories) by Yves Lacroix

I know I’m not the best photographer, nor do I aspire to be.  In fact, I don’t even believe that there is such a thing as the ‘best’ photographer but let’s not get into that for now.  Ever since I started shooting badminton under the guidance of Raphael Sachetat in 2004, I nevertheless slowly started establishing what I think is a style of my own, for better or for worse. 

I’m not fond of long range lenses and much prefer to be close to the action, where I can hear the players trying to catch their breath or listening in to what the coaches tell them during breaks, when I understand the language.

In this photo album , I wish to share 100 memories through 100 pictures I chose, one from every international tournament I’ve attended as a photographer.  The line is sometimes thin between what constitutes a national tournament from an international one. For instance, I didn’t count the Boston Open because USA Badminton lists the event under National Tournaments. On the other hand, I’ve included the 2018 Malaysia Purple League because it featured international players. I’ve also discarded tournaments such as the 2005 Jakarta Open because I didn’t attend it as an accredited photographer.

In this album, I try to go by memory alone, checking facts as seldom as possible. I did a little background checking, however, from time to time to give some pictures a minimal context. I also try not to brag or indulge in any excessive name-dropping. If I failed at this, I at least hope I will have been entertaining.

Now I certainly don’t have the pedigree of an Edwin Leung nor of a Raphael Sachetat, who have photographed far more tournaments than I have but, getting older, I thought this milestone – a 100th tournament almost exactly 20 years, give or take a few days, after my first – was the perfect occasion for me to reflect on the past. Who knows when it will end?

Finally, I would like to thank Badmintonphoto and especially Raphael Sachetat who gave me the chance to become part of the world badminton caravan. He knows how much I owe him because I tell him after every event to which he assigns me.

Finally, many thanks to Don Hearn for helping me out in writing and editing this piece. Merci, bro.