Sophomore Raphael Bauzon combines two of his biggest interests into one through his passion for sports photography. From inside the gym to out on the field, Bauzon compiles his knowledge of the game and photography techniques to secure ‘the shot’ every time he’s out with the camera.
Bauzon first explored his passion for cinematography during his freshman year after seeing how other Oxford students’ creativity flowed through their support for student-athletes. Taking inspiration from one of his close friends, Bauzon picked up a camera given to him by his dad to begin his film journey and continued to gain experience by attending and covering Oxford sports games.
“I started bringing that [my camera] to other games and other sports like volleyball. So during volleyball, I really started taking more pictures and videos,” Bauzon said.
To take his hobby one step further, Bauzon began posting his creations on Instagram (@raffs.flicks) and not only gained traction from people at Oxford but also from students interested in cinematography on other campuses. Bauzon currently has over 2K views on each of his nearly 15 videos and has garnered most attention on one specific edits of boys basketball. On the post Bauzon has over 2.8k views and hopes to continue growing his account to reach a larger pool of spectators.
“I think my social media presence made an impact on my interest because since I film all of the sports I play, I know those moments that should be captured in a camera,” Bauzon said. “…and the support from athletes helped me push further because they motivate me to make more edits when they give positive feedback.”
Social media has helped Bauzon dive deeper into his film interests; he accredits similar content creators as his inspiration to branch out with special techniques and methodologies that improve his content.
“I see this one cinematographer. His name is Nekoba visuals (@nekobavisuals),” Bauzon said.
“He does many volleyball edits and I look at them and the edits that other photographers do. And I just do it based on that, so I try to create my own idea.”
Similar to Bauzon, Josh Nekoba focuses his work on volleyball, covering nearly 20 of the top collegiate volleyball teams on his page. Nekoba has over 650 posts, each with a minimum of 1k likes and has gained a following of over 70k. By taking inspiration from bigger online creators Bauzon develops a firmer sense of his own editing technique and exposes himself to the videography styles of other more experienced creators.
Although Bauzon doesn’t currently own a quality camera to film with, his passion for film and cinematography has grown. With a vision for an Oxford film club emphasizing sports photography and two years left of his Oxford career, Bauzon strives to build upon his hobby and take it to a new level of sophistication and professionalism.
