MIES (Switzerland) - Yaroslava Nemesh fell in love with photography in childhood, introduced to the art by her father. Now, she's less than three months away from taking the trip of a lifetime to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 - as a photographer!

Nemesh was among 60 women from 30 countries to apply for the FIBA Women's Photography Program, and one of the 36 from 25 countries to be selected to attend the upcoming prestigious women's event.

Applicants had to have between two and five years of experience working in photography, as well as a passion for basketball and the desire to enhance their skills. The program was supported by AIPS (International Sports Press Association). 

At the end, one of the photographers was to be selected to shoot photos at the Women's World Cup. That photographer turned out to be Nemesh, who attended four two-hour workshop sessions and then submitted a portfolio of her work.

Nemesh, who hails from Ukraine, will now be in Sydney, Australia, for the big event which takes place from September 22 to October 1.

"A trip to Sydney sounds like a miracle to me, I still can't believe it," she said.

"I always wanted to be part of the FIBA team, to work with the best. But I did not think that I would be lucky to go to the Women's World Cup. It's such an honor. This is a great start for a photographer. It inspires and gives strength to go further towards your dream!"

With Women in Basketball a strategic priority for FIBA for the 2019-2023 cycle, one current goal is to increase the role of women at all levels of the sport and that includes creating and developing a pool of young talented female photographers with the help of the FIBA Women's Photography Program.

The educational program on event photography, specifically for basketball, was conducted by experienced FIBA photographers, Milad Payami and Sonia Canada, and other expert mentors from the field including Riccardo Romani, an experienced photographer and filmmaker. 

The aim was to provide education and training to female photographers and to help them become professional basketball snappers and eventually an official FIBA photographer.

The four online workshops were held from March to June.

Everything seems to now be moving fast for Nemesh, who has clear memories of every step she has taken to arrive at this point.

"I fell in love with photography when I was a very young girl when we lived with my parents in a small apartment, and at night my dad developed (photographic) film. It was his hobby. It's real magic!

"When I was in the fifth grade, I bought a camera and film with the collected money. This was my first serious purchase."

At the National Technical University of Ukraine, Nemesh's interest in the art accelerated and from a practical standpoint, she was able to marry her passion for photography to another, basketball.

"I was a collegiate basketball journalist and we needed photos for an article," she said. "The editor-in-chief just gave me the camera and said - do it! That was the first time I was shooting basketball, and these photos were published!"

Nemesh began to envision a career in photography. 

"When I bought my first camera, I studied a lot of theory and practice, and started shooting amateur leagues," she said. "Then they called me to shoot the major league, a year later the Super League, and then the national teams. Year after year, shooting every day, I improved my skills and got closer to my goal." 

When Nemesh learned of the FIBA Women's Photography Program, she sent into the application and voila - the rest is history.

"I would like to thank everyone who participated in the workshop," she said. "The FIBA photographers who shared their experience and tips in sports photography. They inspired us.

"And thank you to Riccardo Romani for an inspiring seminar in which we were able to discuss the issues of ethics and morality of photography. I was happy to meet so many young talented photographers in the program and even more grateful for such a unique opportunity."

FIBA