LAS VEGAS (AP) — John Locher is a veteran photographer for The Associated Press. He has been based in Las Vegas for the past 12 years. Locher’s assignments include sports, breaking news, features and corporate coverage.
why this photo
Whenever major sporting events take place around the world, our AP photojournalists are in a position to show the scope of these events. It explains how interest in the World Cup extends beyond the stadiums where the matches are played. With no games in Las Vegas, Friday’s Australia vs. USA game was an opportunity to find a viewing party that would generate excitement and interest for fans even if they couldn’t make it to the game. Las Vegas is a city where things are often done a little differently. In this case, it was a pool watch party.
How this photo was made
In the past, Circa Resort and Casino has hosted viewing parties for sporting events at its pool and broadcast on a big screen. It was the first place I thought of to take photos of people watching the Australia vs. USA match. I knew I needed a picture of the whole thing to show that this is an unusual place to watch a soccer game. After carefully photographing the fans’ reactions, we looked for a spot with a good view from above. A wide-angle lens was used to show the crowd at the pool and some of the surrounding casino buildings to illustrate that this was no ordinary World Cup watching party.
Why is it effective?
I like showing how Las Vegas can take things to another level. Several bars and restaurants across the country were holding watch parties in the lead-up to the big match between Australia and the United States, but photos from the pool parties showed fans watching the game in venues they wouldn’t normally see.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
