Union, NJ—Björn Ceder, Swedish photographer and creative director, documented Tennis Against Corona. The initiative to support those strongly affected by the Coronavirus pandemic was organized by Stockholm Open. The Open is the world’s oldest Association of Tennis Professional’s indoor tournament.
Stockholm Open Coronavirus Fundraiser
On May 10, 2020, two of Sweden’s highest ranked tennis professionals and the world’s second-best ranked brothers in the sport, the Ymer brothers Mikael and Elias, competed head to head in the Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm.
They played to empty stands in the Royal Tennis Hall; only a small camera crew was allowed to cover the fundraiser. It was also the first match within professional male tennis to take place since the ATP called for a stop to all tournaments in March 2020.
Moreover, with 25 years of experience as an art and creative director, Swedish photographer Björn Ceder artistically captured the unique event; he did so through his fashion-oriented lens.
He utilized the mirrorless medium–format Hasselblad X1D camera in addition to a varied lineup of XCD lenses. In addition, Ceder took on this project with inspiration from the distinctive style of Wes Anderson. He drew from his cinematic color palette and also used the vintage furnishings of the iconic Royal Tennis Hall to his advantage.
“I didn’t want this to be a regular sports shoot. I decided to use super–wide lenses to do the wide shots of the match; to let the architecture speak. For everything else, I used telephoto lenses and straight angles to work against creating typical sports photography shots,” explained Björn Ceder.
His images will also display at a photo exhibition during the yearly Stockholm Open match in fall 2020.
Read more as well as see Björn Ceder’s artistic captures of this powerful sports fundraiser here.
