Photos by Alice Faye Love
and Sarah Binsfield from Arizona reach to take control of the ball
from Illinois’s Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy.
Alice Faye Love is an artist and athlete from Birmingham, Alabama, whose photography celebrates the world of women’s wheelchair sports. The photos on these two pages were taken January 13 -15 at the Pioneer Classic at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham featuring teams from the University of Illinois, University of Arizona, University of Alabama, and the Dallas Lady Mavericks. A recap of the tournament is available online at www.nwba.org/news_index966.html .
“As a documentary photographer,” Love says, “if my work is successful, the viewer will have a sense of the emotions and tension they see without me being there to direct their eyes. For many, these photos will be their first and maybe only contact with women’s wheelchair basketball. They must relate to the power and the struggle of the players as frozen in time. These may not be the most flattering of photos but these are high action sports. To capture the essense of the moment, you can’t worry if every hair of your subject is in place, but you want the strength to show through, the human dedication and will.”
Love had been a fine artist and medical photographer when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1981. “With the degeneration of my bones and joints from the chemo and radiation, I felt most of my life was over,” she says. “The depression was unbelievable. As walking became more and more painful and my ability to do painting and art became increasingly impossible, I had about about given up. through Lakeshore and my therapist, Dan James, I found life had not ended just because i could no longer run or walk. Through the desire to play tennis, I begain a workout program that has not only improved my health but saved my life….
“No matter where you are in life or what age you are, you deserve to live your dreams.”
More of Alice Faye’s photos can be seen in the print edition of Action, which is available by writing to action@unitedspinal.org. (Cost per copy to nonmembers: $2.50 + SH)
