Basketball is truly the international sport. These courts were testaments to the strength of an American invention and the universal human desire for sports and competition. But they also transcended national boundaries. Anyone who has ever dribbled behind the back, swished a free throw, rooted for a team, followed the exploits of Michael Jordan, Lebron James–or the local high school star–will be drawn to First Hoops.™
These videos and photographs transport us back to a time when life was simpler, when hitting a jump shot with the game on the the line was the most challenging part of the day. Rain or shine, the only thing that mattered was spinning an orange ball through a circular metal ring ten feet in the air—or preventing the opponent from doing the same. But viewers don’t have to be basketball fans to appreciate the sheer originality of these compositions. The videos and photographs will hook anyone interested in photography as art, architecture, industrial design, or primitive landscape sculpture. People and fans who love images and videos that transport them back in time will find new beauty in old images. As a young country that has yet to create its own tradition of classical art, sports have become our greatest creative contribution!
How Michael Paras’ First Hoops™ concept evolved!
A bunch of kids were engaged in fierce pick-up games. The sounds of bouncing basketball and shouts of competition echoed off the black top. As I watched these players run around, I could feel the passion and sweat of my own days on so many courts similar to this one. The more I searched, the more it became clear that there was no one image or set of images that could capture the richness and complexity of the scene.
Instead, I found myself drawn to the hoop itself. It was one of those rusted, off- kilter outdoor baskets that can be found on almost any public school yard across the nation. The rim was rusted from the elements; the nylon net frayed from the weight of countless basketballs. White and orange paint peeled off the half moon backboard. This unremarkable hoop contained its own history and mystery. On the lone empty court, I took out my camera and began shooting. I imagined the story behind the shots that had clanged off or swished through it for the generation it had hung there. I saw balls spinning off the finger tips of countless kids, big men hitting the backboard, scrambles for loose balls—the feeling that losing was unthinkable.
I lay on my back and shot the hoop looking upward to the sky. This freestanding rim, I thought, was really about the hope and freedom of youth. From this vantage point, it seemed suspended without support. The sky was literally the limit. As I shot frame after frame my mind wandered to my own childhood in Flushing, Queens. Starting at the age of 7, I’d spent endless hours perfecting my game on my own: reverse lay-ups, hook shots, free throws, 20-foot jumpers. Eager to try out my skills against other kids, I’d play into the night on courts illuminated by street lamps and moonlight. I loved losing myself in the game, sweating to the point at which my shirt became heavier than the ball. In those games, I experienced the primal joy of testing my limits by playing through exhaustion. I’d carried the confidence gained in those games well into adult life.
These boys were strangers, of course, but we were also the same. There is a common bond that comes from sharing the same passion for a simple game, no matter how different you may be. For me, the sport taught enduring lessons about the importance of discipline, self-confidence, teamwork and friendship. It helped me discover goals for my life and a way of getting there. Even though as a boy I dreamed of sinking the winning buzzer shot at Madison Square Garden, it is the smaller, more realistic virtues of the game that has keep me coming back. And that was why I found myself here, 40 years later, working once again to capture the essence of the game, this time in a new way First Hoops™ my passion!