Remote Happy Basketball

SO i went a little overboard last night shooting basketball. I set up my first backboard remote which worked fine. (D1x, 17/2.8 on AC power) Since i wasn't the main shooter for the game, i decided to shoot from various places in the stands with a 300 and put two other floor remotes (24/2.8 on a D1 and an 85/f2 on a D2h) to get some action.

Remotes are hit and miss. Either you have the stuff or you don't. I tend to fire all my cameras at the same time, synched off the camera i'm using in my hands. The problem with the D1 is image quality as well as battery. The battery likes to come loose and i forgot to tape it.





Anyways, for a boring game that Georgia won (tried to give away) 68-58 over a team who's playing D-1 for the first time ever. Pretty poor action to try and get. Lots of perimeter shooting in the first half and little driving the lane or going up for a layup, which really negated the backboard remote. A little better in the 2nd half but still very little play in the paint so that killed the D2/85. The D1/24 faired a little better but the battery seemed to have come loose (or died) when a mad scramble happened right in front of the camera, leaving me with nada from that sequence. All in all, i only kept 160 photos from the take.





Of course, this is my favorite as i'm testing the focus.... makes me laugh.

Photos of the Year 2007 Pt 3: Athens

Okay.... as i was writing someone in an email earlier, one of the bigger highlights this year for me was working a Dropkick Murphys show. And then being offered the chance to do another one a month later. (As someone anonymous said to me, that place in Savannah was shady as all hell)

While this next statement might be considered sacrilegious here in the south, but I really wasn't too hyped about Georgia football this season. I shot less than 1/2 their games, with the Florida one being the biggest. Its nice but its just not my thing - I was much more thrilled to get the A1 and B1 covers from when UGA won the national title in Men's tennis on my 3rd day here.


(St Patrick's Day update: After further review.... The trip is being considered again. Gotta get tickets first.)

Pictures of the Year 2007 Pt 2: Leesburg

So yeah, its that time of year. Since i worked for two different newspapers, I'm going to split it up into a couple of different posts. This is stuff that i shot from Leesburg, Fl., until May 2007.

Probably my most memorable stuff was the Groundhogs day tornadoes as well as hanging out with Steve Dowell of The Orlando Sentinel on what was to be my last assignment, the Class A girls state semi-final softball. And the pretty hot-air balloon shot. All the hard work there paid off into my current job. And then there's the sping training game between the Phillies and the Red Sox. What should have been a World Series preview....

FInally, I can post this.....

Canopy Studios' owners Susan Murphy and Don Carson on Tuesday, November 13, 2007.

Generally i try not to post my really cool stuff until it runs. I'm holding on a few things as well. This is a shot for our "Creative Couples" issue of Athens Magazine.

Basically that's just a gelled flashlight with a drawn frame around them, like 30 second exposure, rear curtain with a CTO gel, gridspotted at like f/16. Thankfully you never saw my arm holding the flashlight. (For you non tech people, it's a pretty picture)

What else? I'm probably missing the annual Murphy's shows in Boston for St Patrick's Day (unless something out of the blue completely changes things). Should have some basketball come next week.

Year in Pictures (Pt1)

Okay, its Christmas Eve and all through the newsroom, not a person was stirring, not even a (uh.... what rhymes with "Newsroom"?)

Anyways this past weekend we ran our annual "Year in Photos," a six-page photo spread of the best photos from our staff. Late Friday, we get asked for more photos because there's extra room. So I just had to throw in this photo of Scruffy Wallace from the Murphys show in Atlanta.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Lady's Hoops

For a 102-45 blowout, the shots weren't all THAT. For the first 5 minutes, UGA went long, shooting from behind the arc and draining 3's - with me either having the shooter in the corner right in front of me (too close) or on the far side (blocked by a mass of humanity in the paint).

So by the time UGA started working it inside by late in the 1st and the whole 2nd, it was mainly reserves and bench players. Still it was a physical game.

I went with 2 remotes (pole and floor plate), with mixed results. I was aiming for a nice reflection shot off the floor in the first half. The second half, i just moved it to under the basket looking up. Next game i should be able to try a backboard remote. Try.









This reminds me why i loathe using a Nikon D1. They're best used as paperweights and the occasional remotes. I'd go out and get some D70s but i have no way of firing them because they don't have the 10-pin input that the prosumer & pro cameras have. Any modification of their cable release requires some serious electronic know-how. I know of one person who did it (an ex-Nikon guy) and its a serious pain and more trouble then its worth.

The D100 just isn't practical because of the buffer. The D200 still goes for $1100 used. What i might do is buy a D300 in a few months and move my D2H to remote status. (It really takes an icky looking picture anymore).

Alas i'm stuck with what i've got and i try to make it work. Hey kids, take a guess which photo was taken with the D1.

This stuff is expensive. Really. The next time i hear "But you've got an easy job" from someone, i'll scream. Five year ago I wouldnt have had a clue how to set up remotes, letalone use them with some degree of success. Between pocket wizards, cables for the cameras, safety cables so stuff doesn't fall, magic arms, clamps, floor plates Then lenses and a camera, it adds up FAST. Anyways, at least i found a use for old Manual Focus 2.8 glass.

More that Didn't Run

A driver who struck a bicyclist watches as emergency workers attend to the victim at the intersection of Meigs and North Pope streets around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Somehow, spot news just doesn't make our paper sometimes. Lord knows why. I've taken a more active listen to the scanner these days, trying to run on things that i can get to. ACCPD and GSP are really professional at the scenes i've been at of late.



EMS workers work to stabilize Geneva Norman who lost control of her motorcycle on U.S. 29 northbound on Wednesday, December 12, 2007. Norman was trying to turn right into a gas station when she lost control of her bike. Norman was wearing a helmet and suffered minor cuts and abrasions.

And my personal sympathies go out to ACC PD Sgt. Courtney Gale and her family after Sgt. Gale was brutaly attacked while working as security at a Kroger here in Athens. I've delt with her on a handful of occasions and she is by far one of the most professional police officers I've delt with.

Multiple Daves?

Okay, in a quest to find something else to do portrait wise, i figured out how to use the multiple exposure feature on my camera. I had some downtime and its allowing me to have a nifty idea for portraits that i have to do tomorrow.

Of course in the middle of this, i missed something on the scanner. Doesn't sound big but Its a slow day. I'll probably take more time to work on remote stuff as well.

If anything, this picture will give me a sense of never being alone. Makes me laugh.

For you folks out there that must shoot video....

This is especially for those of us who suffered through my Florida newspaper's attempt at video. The last straw was when they wanted me to use my girlfriends video camera.

Wapner on at 4.

Monday i took a trip to the Georgia Supreme Court. Rules for shooting in there are very relaxed and subdued. Shame each individual county court can't adopt the same interpretation of the rules that the top court in this state uses.

Anyways, there were some interesting things to shoot. Light sucked for the most part. But i made an interesting framed shot... shame it wasn't sharper.

Christmas Lights

Okay.... Well I've been away for awhile. I had a Thanksgiving vacation - 1300 miles, 4 days, and the dog leaving a trail of something across the south. I saw a baby panda, some great wildlife photos at the zoo, and experienced typical beltway traffic. For those who have never experienced the sheer joy of merging from the beltway onto I-66 west, its an experience much like that of playing Grand Theft Auto 3.

Then there way the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar. Good people, good times. Learned a lot.





And in the midst of this, my first assignment back last Friday was Christmas Lights. Unbelievably fun. Generally the best time of day to shoot them is dusk, unless your going to streak them and then that just a lot of fun.

Mega Update 3 - Basketball : This is what we do now.

Well, fresh off my success of actually getting a remote to fire when i wanted it to (and in focus), i decided to push my luck at the UGA Men's basketball game.

Good game action in the first half. Reminded me of an old CAA game rather than a power conference like the SEC. Georgia is still rebuilding. They should be a .500 club come conference play. Good light in the building. 500/2.8 at ISO 1000. Had a 70-200 on one camera, 300/2.8 on a second. The remotes had a 24mm on the pole and an 85 aimed at the basket (basically a CYA remote that wasn't really needed)

Anyhow, i got some fun stuff. The top image isnt the one that was published, i didn't find it until i was weeding through the 1300 images of crap.

Anyhow, me likey.

Mega Update Pt 2: Soccer

The University of Georgia hosted two rounds of the the NCAA women's championship this past weekend. Georgia scored a total of 6 goals in the two games..... but got them all in the first game. Naturally, i shot the second. Pretty standard soccer shots. NOthing spectacular.

Finally got a remote in focus. (Lets here it for a 24mm lens at 500@f/8!) Sadly, there was no action for Mr. goalcam to capture. I was going to put up a second remote BUT the camera i had grabbed had a blown shutter. Ce' La vie.

Mega Huge Update Pt. 1 UGA vs Kentucky

Okay, well I've shot 3 different sports between Saturday and Tuesday. Football, Soccer and Basketball.

The football game was pretty good. Its the first (college) game I've shot since the Florida Game and only second since the end of September. (I'm none to happy about that)

The first half light was beautiful; the second was backlit like a lite-bright.

Usually cast of characters had their usual days. Moreno eclipsed 100 yards for the 5th straight game. Georgia's defense was huge. They have a chance to go to the SEC title game and if they don't, odds are they'll go to the Sugar Bowl.