It’s already hard enough to squeeze photos of over 100 of the state’s most interesting gyms into one book and give them the space they need. That means somewhere along the way some of my favorite stand alone photos will not be in the book. Here’s a look at some of them. Maybe I’ll make these into a set of postcards.
Water bottles at Brother Rice, Jan. 18, 2022.
There’s a beauty in the mundane and the details in just about every gym I go to. One of the great things about photographing a game mainly for the gym is I get to look away from the action on the court and really focus on what’s going on around it. Some of this I can do just sitting court side. Others times I’m completely outside the gym.
Either way I hope you enjoy this short set of photos.
A player walks into a locker room during the MLK Shootout at Sterling High School’s Musgrove Field House, on Jan. 15, 2022. Photo copyright of Vincent David Johnson.The glow from the gym lights of Carterville High School as seen through its windows at dusk, Jan. 13, 2023. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
The orange glow of the winter sunset almost matches perfectly with the orange cast given off from the metal halide lights inside Lindblom High School’s Maroon Gym, aka “The Nest” during a basketball practice on Jan. 20, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
The word “Lions” is painted on the frosted glass of the coaches office at Leo High School in Chicago on Jan ,28, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
A pair of doors along the side of the old gym at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago, on Jan. 27, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
The walkway to the Don Freeman gym at Madison jr.high/high school looks more like a spooky Halloween scene than something in a book about high school gyms, Dec. 15, 2023. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)A spectator relaxes while watching a game at United Township in East Moline on Jan. 15, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)When your school has so many trophies a few are bound to end up in weird places. One of these two was the championship trophy from a prestigious Christmas tournament that wasn’t even a decade old when this photo was taken at a game in 2015. (photo by Vincent D. Johnson).When your front row balcony seat has a lot of leg room, chances are you’re in Mount Carmel High School’s Alumni Gym in Chicago, Jan. 21, 2022. (photo copyright Vincent D. Johnson).The retractable wooden bleachers in the balcony of Benton High School’s Doug Collins Gymnasium, during the Benton Christmas Classic girls basketball tournament, Dec. 28, 2021. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson)The view you’re most likely to see at Pekin High’s Dawdy Hawkins gym if you’re going up for a jump ball during the Pekin Holiday Tournament, on Dec. 27, 2021. (photo by Vincent D. Johnson)A corner of bleachers at the Duster Thomas Gymnasium at Pinckneyville H.S., Dec. 28, 2021. (photo by Vincent D. Johnson)The view from directly behind the backboard post at the Jacksonville High School Bowl, Dec. 17, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)St. Pats fans wiggle their fingers for good luck during a free throw against Niles Notre Dame during a basketball game at St. Pats in Chicago on Dec. 2, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
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