Capturing Sport from all angles

[etherial]

I thought I would share this video about photographing the Boston Red Sox. I think any aspiring sport photographers could learn from this as his tips apply to any sport or event really.

Part of it reminds me about Kiwi's tips a while ago about anticipation, but I think this builds on that basic principle and goes into what makes a great sporting photograph.

It is yet another example of how all the technical measurebating people do can be irrelevant!

Enjoy!

[YT]k9r7yDVmQ4k[/YT]

http://youtu.be/k9r7yDVmQ4k

[I @ M]

Good bit of advertising for Nikon.

Plenty of good old mom and her apple pie.

Just remember as an elite sport photographer to get the shots of the politicians that everyone wants.

That's hollywood for you.

[etherial]

Ahh you miss the point my friend!

Think "meaning"!!

[kiwi]

Nice find

If you look on the back page of newspapers most days you're just as likely to get a "Jube" or colour shot as much as an action shot, so yeah, broad an innovative coverage of every event it better than just 100 shots of guys getting tackled

[peterking]

Thanks for that Mic.
It positively reinforces what I have been trying to do with my Kitesurfing photography.
It also presents me with a few more bits to think about.

[Chris Michel]

thank you for sharing that. it is good to see how the real full time professional sports togs work and what they look for in a picture instead of the usual "cookie cutter" pics that most casual week end warriors take. Fantastic insight.

[Scotty72]

Good bit of advertising for Nikon.

Plenty of good old mom and her apple pie.

Just remember as an elite sport photographer to get the shots of the politicians that everyone wants.

That's hollywood for you.

Oh! I agree

Whilst there were a few good tips, it did seem a bit of viral advertising was going on.

Nikon, I am sure, would have loved (perhaps arranged) the association between their brand and all things American. They had the flag, the national past-time and that most American of American icons, Fenway Park.

I'm surprised they didn't feature the surviving cast of Happy Days in one of their baseball tour reunions. I'm sure 'The Fonz' would only shoot Nikon.

Scotty

[James T]

...It is yet another example of how all the technical measurebating people do can be irrelevant!...

It isn't really though, is it. He has tens of thousands of dollars worth of the best equipment available, because you can't do that with a D3000 and a nifty fifty. And did you see any soft or poorly exposed images in there?

Must be a tricky job making baseball look interesting though.

[Chris Michel]

I think u guys are missing the point and having a go at this guy for some reason or another... would it matter if he had used canon instead, or even pentax.... see this for what it is... a short insight into what a true full professional sports tog does every day.... dont just go off on the tall poppy syndrome or some for of slight jealously and look for reasons to pick faults in him, his equipment of they way it was done... If nikon have organized this or had a part in it, good on them for going on the front foot in a savage competitive world of this genre.... Personally i dont like nikon but i think this was well done and truly a great insite into the world of a True full time Professional sports tog... my 5 cents

[I @ M]

Ahh you miss the point my friend!

Think "meaning"!!

All is good Mic , there are a few tips and hints in there that are worthwhile but yeah, the slick presentation amid mega dollars worth of gear and of course no mention of the "keeper" rate or how may shutters they destroy in a season sort of just takes it to the level of just another "infomercial" and I am sure that the world would be a lot better of without them.

[I @ M]

I think u guys are missing the point and having a go at this guy for some reason or another... would it matter if he had used canon instead, or even pentax.... see this for what it is... a short insight into what a true full professional sports tog does every day.... dont just go off on the tall poppy syndrome or some for of slight jealously and look for reasons to pick faults in him, his equipment of they way it was done... If nikon have organized this or had a part in it, good on them for going on the front foot in a savage competitive world of this genre.... Personally i dont like nikon but i think this was well done and truly a great insite into the world of a True full time Professional sports tog... my 5 cents

Chris, I think that you may be reading things the wrong way.

I don't see anyone "having a go at that guy".
I don't see anyone knocking his choice of Nikon as a camera system.
I don't see anyone on a tall poppy syndrome and dismissing his talents or claiming that they could do a better job.

I do however see it as an "infomercial" where the clear intent is to advertise a product by sugar coating the presentation as a tutorial or information.
The bloke obviously does his job well and is probably paid accordingly ( I strongly suspect that he was paid for the 2 1/2 minutes of video as well ), probably doesn't have to pay for his equipment or repairs and replacement, and has ALL the access privileges to the ground that ( as you put it ) the weekend warriors producing cookie cutter shots can only dream about.

[kiwi]

I dont think its an infomercial at all either.

[Chris Michel]

What and where does he or it ever say that Nikon camera gear is the way to go..... i think you need to take the blinkers u have off and see it for what it is.... obviously u would prefer that he used a no name clean skin camera setup... perhaps then it wouldnt been seen as some sort of ambush marketing scheme.... So how would u portray the message and look into what he does for a living then ????

[Scotty72]

I dont think its an infomercial at all either.

Could it be any more obviously an infomercial?

It is fine if they want to do it but, they ought to disclose.

There have been a million cases of this exposed - this is just another...

[fillum]

Thanks Mic. No real revelations, but interesting (esp as I'm a baseball fan). I was a bit surprised at how young he seemed.

If this is an infomercial, I'd be sacking the sacking the agency. The Nikon brand name is shown once, for maybe a second, and the guy doesn't mention gear at all. The video was made for Boston University (BU) showing one of the alumni at work. There appear to plenty of others on the website. (Boston Uni --> Boston RedSox - see the connection here Scotty?)

I'm glad I'm not as cynical as some here, I'd never be able to enjoy anything.



Cheers.

[Art Vandelay]

He's probably Nikon supported, & the clip may or may not have their support, but I'm not seeing that as an infomercial either. Not in the true sense anyway. He's not plugging blah blah body, or blah blah lens..

You guys need some more Sham Wow cloths or stay up and choose from a plethora of pec and ab machines at 2am on the TV.... Now they're for real infomercials..

[kiwi]

Id expect if I was interviewed on Saturday re shooting the super 15 game final that it would be a very similar interview I think, in a similar way - whats the alternative - a black screen studio interview ?

Showing the camera, showing a baseball game, showing the sometimes over patriotic but actual atmospherewould be all part of anything similar I did

I guess it enhances the photographers personal brand, might get paid $300 next weekend rather than $250 if he's lucky

[fillum]

I guess it enhances the photographers personal brand, might get paid $300 next weekend rather than $250 if he's lucky

Video shows him as "Manager of Photography", so my guess would be that it's a full-time gig. Probably encompasses a lot more than shooting though...


Cheers.

[Scotty72]

Most viral campaigns do this very subtly... that is what makes it viral.

Even if not viral it is a fluff piece

[I @ M]

What and where does he or it ever say that Nikon camera gear is the way to go..... i think you need to take the blinkers u have off and see it for what it is.... obviously u would prefer that he used a no name clean skin camera setup... perhaps then it wouldnt been seen as some sort of ambush marketing scheme.... So how would u portray the message and look into what he does for a living then ????

Chris, you really are getting hot under the collar for some reason.
Have a think about what I wrote ( I presume that you don't agree with my thoughts in particular ) and I will spend the time explaining in a bit more detail about my views on the video.

I said it was good advertising for Nikon. I did not say ( or even infer ) that Nikon commissioned the video as an ad.
It was their gear being used in the ad, they got exposure, any photographer or someone new to photography looking around to see what gear being used by who would be able to see the Nikon brand in that video.
Therefore it is good advertising for Nikon.
I would have said the same thing if it had been a Canon, a Pentax or whatever.

As for an assertion that I have blinkers on, you could not be further from the truth if you tried.
I watched the video, I saw lots of typically American stuff, I saw some very good photography, I heard the thoughts of a paid employee of a sports venue.
I researched the video and the producer.
The video was produced by a paid employee of the Boston University and they present an online multifaceted web page presumably aimed at the university students.
I do feel however that since it is a publication on the www that many other people may read and absorb content on that site.
Some of those people may be prospective students at that university so having an interesting web site with lots of polished content ( the video in question ) may inspire said prospective students to want to part with their hard earned cash to attend that university.

I guess that is why the producer of that video has her credentials on the page that tells you that the publication comes from the office of marketing and communications --------

Poor old Mic, his thread is getting plenty of bumping but for all the wrong reasons it seems.