Get up close on New York's basketball circuit

Brooklyn-based Japanese photographer Yusuke Miyagawa is most well known for his 2007 portrait of Kingston, Funky Jamaica where his documentary-inspired shots struck a chord – taking us on a trip through the lesser-documented side to island life. Now Miyagawa is back with an equally captivating street series, this time taking on the frenetic world of New York's basketball scene. "I think it's one of the easiest targets because there's always somebody looking cool while playing" he explains of the sport's continuing pull for street photographers, "but I actually wanted to challenge the subject and distinguish my photos from that long-focus lens, well-formed frame cliche". The series, which was shot at Bronx's Hoops in the Sun and Harlem's Rucker Park, both undisputed meccas for New York b-ball, is an up close and personal account of fast-paced, court side action. "To make the shots more dynamic I was so close to the players" Yusuke says when describing the instinctual impulse needed, "I chased them to anticipate the shots". The pursuit clearly paid off, leaving Miyagawa with a chunky volume of high octane, sweat-soaked shots.