Check out this video by Monica Herndon which features Florida-based, Tampa Bay Times, photojournalist Dirk Shadd as he sets up to shoot a hockey game. When talking about the his use of remotes Dirks says, "… they’re kind of two purposes. One is that it’s a really graphic really clean angle and that’s what I like most about it but it also kind of a back up. If I get blocked on a shot or if I miss a shot or I don’t have a shot there is a chance I will have it from the remote. So you kind of do it a little bit out of creative artistic excitement and a little bit out of photos self defense".
via [ISO1200]
Pretty cool stuff. The remote camera stuff always blow my mind. It would also be so much fun to go and check out your camera after the game to see what you got. One of my favourite pics growing up was a shot from the rafters of Gretzky skating across the Flames' giant C at centre ice. Must have been a remote, a decades old remote.
I remember getting great seats to a Leafs / Sabres game. I brought along my camera and convinced security to let me bring in my 70-200. It was still too dark without access to flash for me to get sharp shots from above ice level. But, what I do remember was looking at what I thought were going to be some of my best photos. Shots on breakaways, big saves, big hits . . . they were almost all completely white. It took me a while, but I started to realize that the press photogs must have been firing flashes. I had 4 photos that were burned out like that. What a coincidence! Wish I had that kind of access.
I've often wondered what would happen if you brought in a pocket wizard and tried to use the arena strobes.
99% of the time the arena strobes are on a custom channel ID that you can purchase directly from Pocket Wizard, so nothing would happen, except maybe triggering a newspaper shooters remote camera. Usually there is a sign-up list before the game in the media room. If you did get lucky that 1% of the time, expect to get your Pocket Wizard smashed by the photographer who's light you are poaching if he finds you in the stands. It's the most disrespectful thing one photographer can do to another, when the lights take 2-3 seconds to recycle and you have already fired lights that aren't yours and left them to miss their shot.
Thanks for the reply. I would never do such a thing, I was just more curious as to what would stop someone from doing that. I did not know about the custom channel ID thing though.
what's the brand of his foot trigger?
Don't know but it could be home-depot :D
It's a contact switch connected with a standard jack-plug-type. Be creative, go to your local store and explain your problem. If they are good in what they do; I'm sure they can help you.
Best thing about finding out yourself; it's most of the time cheaper and you can get what YOU want instead of what a manufacturer thinks is nice.
This is pretty awesome, I am about to start my first year as the Dallas Stars photographer so its pretty awesome to see the way he does things!
I wonder why Dirk uses a foot pedal to fire remote camera, why not just relay up the cameras he is shooting from with other PW's to get the same shots but from the different view point, is there an advantage to the foot pedal method