Suiting Up for Great Sports Photography

During my three decades of photography experience, I have covered all sorts of sports assignments in different parts of the world, from Stanley Cups and Super Bowls, to World Championships and numerous Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

From world records in track and field, unbelievable golf performances, exciting Formula One Grand Prix and devastating downhill ski crashes, I have seen through my viewfinder the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Bucking Bronco American Express takes off right out of the gate in 1979

So just what does it take to make a great sports image? Here are some essential tips to becoming a sports photographer.

1) KNOW YOUR SPORT

This is probably the most important tip I could give a photographer covering a sports event. Knowing the sport is just as important whether you’re covering your kid’s baseball game or a Major League game. You have to understand how a sport is played if you are to position yourself to capture a great sport image. If you’re not very familiar with a particular sport, ask a coach to give you some tips on where to stand and what to watch for.

During the first rodeo I ever covered in 1979, I hadn’t a clue as to what was going to happen. I went over and asked an old cowboy to give me the ABC’s of what to look for at a rodeo. He took my schedule of events and circled three bucking broncos and three riders to watch for and even told me in detail what to watch for with each bronco and rider. I followed his advice closely and became the newspaper’s rodeo specialist based on the photos I submitted to the photo editor that day.

2) KNOW THE PLAYERS

Just as important as knowing your sport is knowing the players. If an athlete is particularly strong in a position or event, you need to know that so that you can position yourself to capture a great image.

In team field sports, this is particularly important. Take soccer for instance. If a right winger is a strong player and is of interest to you, your chances of getting a great action shot of him or her vastly improve if you position yourself on the defending team’s goaltender’s left side, to see the right winger on the attack. Simply by choosing this position you have increased your chances of a great shot by 75%.

Women’s soccer star Mia Hamm (R) gets her shirt pulled by a Danish player during the 1996 Summer Olympics

3) KNOW THE RULES FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

All sports have a set of rules for participants and the same goes for photographers covering sports. From your kids’ sporting events to the Olympics, there are rules for photographers. If you are unsure of these ask the referee or another photographer where you can photograph from and if you can use certain kinds of equipment, like tripods or flash, for instance.

4)  HAVE A PLAN

Armed with knowing your sport, knowing the players, and the rules for photography, you can now come up with a plan to cover that game or event. I will usually write down a shot list for my coverage of the event so I don’t miss a key element, player, or photo of the game. Every aspect of the event is important to look at and will yield different kinds of pictures. Here is an example of the key elements I consider when creating a shot list:

* Player warm-ups—a great time to get some clean shots of the players with headgear off

* Teams entering the field of play and their adrenaline rush

* The National Anthem and the sometimes-dramatic lighting

* On-field action—listen to sports radio to get an overview of the game as it progresses

* Weather shots—for example, when it rains or in cold weather, you can sometimes capture steam coming off the players

Lindsey Vonn in action during the Women’s World Cup in Lake Louise

* The coaches and benches, if you have access to them—they can make for some great shots

* Behind the main play, as sometimes good photographs can be captured there

* The crowd—watch for crazed fans and celebrities attending the game

* End of game—prepare for these photos and position yourself to get the victorious team or players’ jubilation or the look of dejection on the defeated team or player

* An overview of the field of play, possibly with fans in the foreground

5) CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT

Don’t take all your photo gear to the game: only what you plan to use for each of your shots. Trying to carry all your gear around while covering a sporting event will only wear you out, and like a professional athlete, you need to be at the top of your game if you are to capture truly great sports images.

Make sure you have enough spare batteries and memory cards to cover the game. And make sure you format all your memory cards before the game starts. There is nothing worse than sticking in an unformatted 64GB memory card, only to find after a few minutes of shooting that you get a “memory card full” warning because you had used it to photograph your brother’s wedding and you only had 4GB of free memory space when you loaded the card into your camera.

New York Giants David Tyree celebrates a touch down at Super Bowl XLII

6) DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Observe all aspects of the sport and the venue when you arrive, and prepare the best you can for the unexpected photo when it presents itself. If you have the opportunity, watch and make notes at team and athlete practices. This will give you a great insight on what routine or move an athlete may attempt during competition. Talk to coaches and trainers about their athletes and plans for an event.

When I started covering the 100-meter dash at international competition level I spent hours talking to the coaches of the 100-meter dash stars to learn more about their athletes. They had a plan to run 100 meters, 1 meter at a time, and had goals at each second of a race that lasted under 10 seconds. I could devise a photographic plan based on the information I had learned and could see though my lens those race plans unfold.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Know your equipment. Today’s modern digital cameras are amazing tools, but like any craftsman you have to know how to set up your tools and practice your craft. The autofocus systems in cameras today are extremely complex and you need to pay particular attention to choosing the right autofocus options to match your photographic situation. Sometimes using manual focus will be a better choice than any autofocus option you may have on your camera.

Gail Devers in the 100 Meter Hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Timing. Stay calm behind the viewfinder. Choose your shot carefully and don’t just rattle off streams of pictures and fill your camera’s buffer up before that decisive moment occurs.

Shutter lag. This is the time it takes a camera to actuate the shutter after the shutter button is pushed. In today’s photo gear it’s almost nonexistent, but there is a lag in your eye-to-hand coordination (the time it takes for your eye to see the action and your brain to process the information and tell your finger to push the shutter button) that you may have to account for when trying to capture that peak action. And remember, even the fastest motor driven sequences can sometimes miss that peak moment of action. Just try shooting a boxer delivering that knockout punch right at the moment his glove hits the chin of his opponent.

Remember “P” is for Planning not Panic! As you can see from the six steps outlined here, planning is a major component of sports photography. From fast reliable memory cards and charged batteries through to doing your homework and checking your gear before the event starts it is all part of great sports photography.

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

I have been receiving a few questions on theTV news item showing a Grizzly Bear video I captured in the Upper Pitt River (the Global TV report is linked here).

The footage captured by a remote game camera became newsworthy as it showed a Grizzly Bear trying to catch salmon in an area just 30 miles from Vancouver, B.C and in an area they are not known to live. I have been using remote cameras since the late 1970s mostly working at sporting events or aerial photography, but these game cameras are amazingly simple and fun to operate.

A frame grab from the GrizzCam

My original YouTube of the Grizzly Bear can be viewed here, see the Grizzly Bears fishing in the Pitt River Valley . Most of the questions I get are about the camera I used to capture the footage and how does the camera work. The cameras I used are “Game or Trophy Cameras” normally used by hunters to see what game comes and goes from their hunting areas and there are many of these cameras on the market. They cost between $200 – $500 dollars and are available at most large hunting/sporting goods retailers. I did a lot of research earlier this year on the cameras brands, models and features and finally settled on the Bushnell “Trophy HD” Trophy Cam (Color Model).

The Bear Cams ready for action

The camera shoots either video or still images with a maximum pixel size of 8 megapixels in still mode or 1920×1080 HD Video. It also has a Infrared nighttime mode assisted by 8 IR LED lighting which can’t be seen with the eye and carries to about 45 feet. It will shoot up to 60 seconds of video at a session and still images at user programmable intervals.

Twelve “AA” batteries power the camera and takes SD cards of up to 32gb in size. Make sure to get large memory cards, as the battery life is remarkable. And in video mode I placed the camera in the field for 2 weeks and captured over 16 gigabytes of data barely affecting the batteries. The camera is also water resistant which means it can be left in the field under the most inclement weather conditions.

The camera I use also has a small LCD screen so that test video can be taken and viewed in the field to check the angle of your shot. The setup of the cameras is not exactly intuitive when using the menus and I would suggest careful reading of the manual and shooting of some test videos at home before you head out into the bush.

Tree mounted with a stick stuck behind to shim the camera position up

The mounting of the camera is not as simple as it seems. Using the strap to attach the camera to a tree is simple enough, but refining the angle to get your shot requires putting a shim (a small stick for instance) to adjust the camera to shoot up or down a little. There is an accessory tree mount you can get for under $20, which will make the mounting of the camera a simple matter (see the links below). I also carry a small level to make sure the video shot has a straight horizon.

Other considerations

Place your camera carefully think about the game, the trails and feeding locations of the creatures you want to capture. Make sure the camera has a clear sightline (no overhanging trees, or bushes) and try not to disturb your chosen location too much when placing the cameras.

The cameras will carry a scent that animals can smell, and also your handling of the camera will leave a scent on the camera and the area. When I placed my first camera on a game trail to try and capture a cougar, a large Black Bear came over and liked the lens! See Bears on the Pitt River here.

On another occasion a camera I placed on a trail had a Black Bear walk by it 4 times over 5 days. The 5^th time the bear came by it caught a smell of it, didn’t like it and bashed it around eventually knocking it to the ground. See the The Black Bear Bash here.

On my last shoot with 3 of these cameras placed within feet of Grizzly and Black Bears they didn’t notice the cameras at all, and sometimes seem to pose for a picture.

A Black Bear poses for the camera

The reason for this is the cameras were placed near a stream full of spawning salmon, so the bears were more interested in the smells of the food source and had keyed in on that scent. During this outing the cameras were in place for two weeks and I have over 3 hours of video to review, edit and produce. So stay tuned for the “Bears in the Woods” feature to come.

Links:

Bushnell Trail Camera

Bushnell Tree Mount

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

Which Bag?

Many professional photographers and photo enthusiasts have more camera bags than cameras and I am no exception. As a confessed “bagoholic” I probably have a 4-5 bags for each camera I own!

My DSLR Fastpack with gear

The main problem for me is that the gear I need to carry changes from assignment to assignment. And in 2008 when Nikon brought out the first DSLR that could shoot video, the type of gear I needed to carry started to change.

For me the best bags are usually backpacks, and I have a number of Lowepro favorites like the Rover AWII, the CompuRover AW (accommodates a laptop) and the Photo Trekker series to name a few have long carried my gear comfortably and safely on many assignments around the world.

The big problem has been in the last two years especially, is that I need to carry more and more DSLR video accessories from microphones, viewfinders, cables and audio recorders. And while the various bags I already have can do a great job at that I always seem to misplace that cable or other accessory I need inside my more traditional backpack.

Lowepro’s DSLR Video Fastpack 350 AW solves that problem for me. It can accommodate my 17inch MacBook (the Video Fastpack 250 will accommodate a 15” laptop and the Video Fastpack 150 will accommodate a 13 inch Netbook).

The DSLR Video Fastpack isn’t really a new backpack from Lowepro but a reworked evolution from the popular Fastpack series aimed directly at the solving the issues surrounding the multi media photographer.

The great thing about this bag is it doesn’t matter if you are going to load it up with still photo gear or DSLR Photo gear with or without a laptop it will work for either perfectly well.

I use it as my designated DSLR Video backpack. In it I carry the essentials for a one-man DSLR Video shoot. From my laptop to tripod, the DSLR Video Fastpack can accommodate it all.

Some of the highlights are the well-designed top, bottom and laptop sections.

In the top section I carry a Rode Stereo Mic, Pro Headphones, Hoodman Cinema Pro Kit, Filters, Wireless Sennheiser Mics and cables and a Contour GPS Point of View Camera.

In the bottom section I carry a Nikon D7000 DSLR camera, 2 lenses, Audio Recorder, Lite Panel light, spare batteries, chargers and other miscellaneous accessories.

And tucked safely in the back pocket is my laptop essential for checking the video and audio captures when on the scene of a shoot.

The DSLR Video Fastpack 350 AW comes with a new Audio Utility pouch with a nicely designed cable keeper (upper left in the photo) to keep my wireless mic and cables nicely sorted. There is also a spot to add a lightweight video tripod or other DSLR rig on the outside of the pack. And of course the Lowepro standard “All weather cover” is conveniently stored away ready for those rainy day shoots. All I needed to do is add a couple of accessory pouches and I am packed and ready to go.

If you are a photographer that prefers to use backpacks for carrying gear the DSLR Video Fastpack 350 AW is worth looking at for either a still or video photographer on the go.

Links (Favorite Backpacks)

DSLR Video Fastpack 350 AW

Rover AWII

CompuRover AW

Photo Trekker 400 AW

Accessories Pouches

Filter Pocket

Deluxe Media Case 30

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

Tripods and Monopods

Over 30 odd years of being a photographer I have purchased many tripods amounting to $1000’s of dollars. What I learned is that I should have bought one good tripod and kept it for life.

My Favourite Three

Whats a good tripod you may well ask? And the answer would be it depends! The best tripod is one that you carry with you and use. So that means it should be lightweight (so you will carry it) and expensive (so that you will use it) if you buy a cheap heavy tripod it will probably never leave home.

What features should you look for in a tripod? These can be broken down into two types. Still photo tripods and Video tripods lets look at Still photography tripods first. I look for a still photography tripod without all the bells and whistles which means no fancy locking mechanisms for the legs, and definitely a simple tripod head without and all sorts of handles. These handles and fancy leg locks will just get broken off or stop functioning over a few months or years of use.

Next consider the weight of camera/lens combination you will be using on your tripod. The heavier camera and lens combination you plan to use on your tripod means that you will need a heavier, beefier tripod and tripod head.
So where to start? I purchase a Tripod and Tripod Head separately and I have three weights of tripods I use. Which tripod I will take will depend on the nature of my trip and the cameras I will be placing on them, here is what I currently use with links to the manufacturers website.

Still Photography Tripods

Light Weight (Backpacking) – Gitzo G1057 Carbon 6X

Medium Weight (Air Travel) – Gitzo Mountaineer G1228 great to carry, pack in your suitcase for travel.

Heavy Weight (The Ultimate in Support) – Gitzo Mountaineer G1348 needs an optional center column.

Tripod Heads

Ball Heads are a favourite of mine because they are sturdy, strong and versatile little workhorses. Remember to get a camera plate to match your camera/lens combination to the ball head of your choice.

There are lots of choices out there but the companies I turn to are

Kirk

Acratech

Tripod ball heads and camera mounting plates

Video Tripods

With most DSLR’s capable of shooting full HD video these days the need to have a “video tripod” will become rapidly evident if you plan to pan during a shot.

The Acratech Leveling Base

While you can use still photo tripod for “locked down shots” in video it’s not designed to do pans where a levelling base or bowl with and a fluid head is needed where not only the tripod can be levelled, but the head van be levelled as well. This will allow a true horizontal pan during a shot and the use of a fluid head will ensure that a smooth pan both horizontally or vertically is attained. You can use a video tripod for still photography as a video tripod can be locked into position but generally you will find that video tripods are bulkier and heavier than still camera tripods.

What do I use will again it depends on shoots I want to take only one tripod I will use one of my Gitzo tripods and take a Ball head? But I when I want to shoot video I will attach a Acratech leveling base and a Gitzo fluid head this is a real slick hybrid I place on my still camera tripod for travelling

Acratech Levelling Bases

Gitzo G2180 Fluid Head

The Gitzo G2180 Fluid Head

Looking for a good inexpensive video tripod for lightweight DSLR Video shoots? check out this Pearstone entry level Video Tripod VT2500B

And if you need something more robust my current favourite is this

Manfrotto Pro Video Head 504HD

with the Manfrotto 545B Pro Heavy-Duty

The bottom line do a little thinking about the shooting you plan to do with your tripod. How heavy is the gear plan to use, is video an important factor. Are you staying near home or studio for shoots or flying, hiking for shoots.
Remember buy a good one that fits your needs and make sure you use your new purchase!

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

Vibration Reduction (VR) On or Off

Vibration Reduction (VR) is one of the standard questions that comes up in seminars I do. Can I use Nikon’s VR lenses on a Tripod? And the answer is… Maybe!

Here is what Nikon says:

There are two techniques when using a camera/lens mounted on a tripod; keeping the pan/tilt head loose or fluid (when panning or moving with a subject) and keeping the pan/tilt head locked down and rigid while using a cable release (time exposures or for the new HDR techniques).

With the following lenses/cameras VR should be “Off” when the camera is mounted on a tripod and the pan/tilt head is locked down and using a cable release:

• 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro Nikkor
• 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor
• 24-120mm f3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• 70-200mm f2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR AF Zoom-Nikkor
• 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• Coolpix 8800

With the following lenses/cameras VR should be “On” when the camera is mounted on a tripod and the pan/tilt head is loose (fluid) while using the cameras shutter release button:

• 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro Nikkor
• 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor
• 24-120mm f3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• 70-200mm f2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR AF Zoom-Nikkor
• 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• Coolpix 8800

It is often thought that using a tripod can fully prevent image blur caused by camera movement. But in fact, a tripod can minutely vibrate due to mirror and/or shutter movement at the time of exposure. This can result in slight blurring of the image. Nikon’s VR function automatically differentiates the frequency of this vibration from that of hand movement, and changes the algorithm to correct the image blur caused by this tripod movement. This feature is installed in some VR lenses, particularly super-telephoto lenses that are often used with a tripod. The following lenses employ an exclusive “Tripod mode” with which you can set this function at will.

• 200-400mm f4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
• 200mm f2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
• 300mm f2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
• 400mm f/2.8G ED AF-S VR Nikkor
• 500mm f/4G ED AF-S VR Nikkor
• 600mm f/4G ED AF-S VR Nikkor

For all lenses VR should be “On” when the camera/lens is used on a monopod.

The Bottom Line

So what do I do? When using my VR lens on a tripod that is locked down into position. I will turn VR off and then if I remember that I am using a lens with Tripod Detection Mode I will turn it on. Anytime I am using a Tripod that is not locked down, or using a Monopod I will turn VR on.

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

A recent seminar attendee asked about the file sizes coming from modern digital cameras and sending them as email attachments to family and friends.

Nikon's My Picturetown

Question:

My e-mail internet service provider is Comcast. And Comcast has limitations on the size of an attachment to no more than 10MBs. Do you have a similar issue with your service provider? Comcast is telling me that this is a typical limitation of most internet service providers.

My concern is that if I ever upgrade my camera to the Nikon D7000, how am I going to e-mail image files made by the Nikon D7000.   The D 7000 is a 16.2 Megapixel camera!   I would think that a 16.2.megapixel file will be more than 10 MBs??   [Note: The files I now create with the D 80 which is a 10 Megapixel camera are about 8 MBs in size.].

This issue is before me now as I plan to soon upgrade my system. I was thinking about getting the D 7000 and a new 85 mm micro lens and have the D 7000 fitted with the Nikon 85 mm micro lens and my D 80 fitted with my existing Nikon 18-200 mm telephoto or vice versa.

I am sure that this issue has had to come up with other people.  The new camera technology is getting compromised by e-mail service provider limitations on file attachment size to less than 10 MBs. Has Nikon addressed this?

The Convert Files dialog box in Nikon View NX

Answer:

Comcast is right and a normal ISP (Internet Service Provider) attachment size is 2 megs and so you are lucky to have ComCast and the tec support people. Also some ISP’s will reject file sizes over 2 megs so for instance when sending to “someone@yourisp.com” your 10 megs attachment will bounce back at you.

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.

Every once and a while I will post a “Self Assignment” it is something that I do on an infrequent basis just to keep my brain sharp when it comes to photography. It is a just for fun “assignment” not that I need much inspiration to go out and take a picture. It’s good for your brain to get out from behind a computer and go for a walk and look at the life that surrounds us. My self assignment this time was to creatively photograph a fire hydrant.

Seems simple enough a go out and capture a bright red object….. simple huh? You try it!

Vancouver Photographer Nick Didlick is also Photography Consultant and Web Designer Nick Didlick specializing in Still and Video imagery for both Commercial and Editorial Clients.