If a picture is worth a thousand words, judo is itself an encyclopedia and, if we had to put a face behind an image, it could only be Gabriela Sabau's. And when technique and art go hand in hand, the result is thousands of images that convey passion.
She is Romanian and the head of the photographers of the International Judo Federation. When she speaks, probably due to her work ethic, she looks directly into the eyes.
The first time Gabriela had a camera in her hands, she was five years old. Photography was the pastime of her father, who came to install a small studio at home. “My father gave me an old camera that was broken, and I had fun and played to be a photographer every time someone came into the house,” says Gabriela.
Later her father gave her a camera that did work and, at the age of fourteen, Gabriela edited a first publication in her school. That was it, the photography virus was already running through her veins. Already in college, she had to face the classic dilemma between parents and children. While she was clear that photography was her vocation, her father preferred that she devote herself to something else and take pictures in spare time. Gabriela tried for three years until one day she got a job interview in a newspaper and they gave her a chance.
Gabriela did not inform her parents and worked in secret, but with the illusion of those who take their first steps in the professional world exercising an activity that fascinates them. Two weeks later, while reading the newspaper, her parents discovered their daughter's name at the bottom of the page. She signed as the author of the photo that opened the front page of the newspaper. It was the photo of the then president of Romania.
Gabriela is not a judoka, handball was her favorite sport. And in her profession she covered everything related to politics and social issues. Until 2009 she was light years away from a dojo.
In order to improve it is necessary to evolve, enter other environments, experience and learn new sensations. Thus, in 2009, Gabriela started a new job at the International Judo Federation. From a professional point of view, changing the press conferences of political leaders for a judo match is like entering another galaxy.
Judo and its liturgy, tradition, values and its colors. For a photographer accustomed to the dark tones of suits and ties, entering a stadium is like entering a candy store for a child.
"Judo is a world full of emotions and, for me, photography is, above all, an emotional matter," says Gabriela. “What really interests me is to capture the emotion of the moment. Beyond each movement there is an emotion transmitted by the judoka. Each image is a poem, each fight a story that I tell with my photos”.
For neophytes, it is necessary to understand that photographers have two indispensable qualities, artistic sensibility and recklessness. The first is obvious, the second is not. Only photographers and television cameras know what it means to cover an important event. You have to get up early, find a good spot, put up with shoves, sometimes insults, endure bad smells, the pressure of having to do a good job in uncomfortable conditions. It is a jungle and you have to fight. In general, there is mutual respect, but they all have demanding bosses and work against the clock.
Gabriela is not a tall woman but she does not hesitate to go everywhere looking for the best angle for the ideal photo. And, of course, work has its risks.
“We were in South Korea, in the Jeju Grand Prix. It was the fight for the first bronze medal in the -90kg category, between a Japanese and a Swedish. The two fell on top of me. ”The diagnosis was a broken right leg and a visit to the hospital. The next day, Gabriela, limping and in pain, was at her job taking pictures.
"Judo and its values," Gabriela continues. “The sacrifice is one of them. Photographers know the meaning of the word sacrifice”.
Years go by and Gabriela is still clicking from dawn to dusk, taking pictures, directing her team, capturing live the emotions of a sport that has making her falling in love.
“I like so much what judo means that I have convinced my nephew to practice it. I don't know any other sport so healthy for the mind and body”.
Gabriela leaves, with the two photo cameras hanging from her shoulder, ready to immortalize a new emotion, a unique moment, until the next one.