Sports

Pirelli, known on this site mostly for their (NSFW) Calendar Photoshoots, also creates their TV spots with a high-level approach. Literally, this behind the scenes video shows the setup and production needed to capture skiers BASE jumping off of a huge cliff. How do Pirelli tires fit in? Check out the final cut of the completed video and you'll see how it all comes together. Spoiler Alert: They throw a car off of the cliff too!

The Barclays Center opened 2 weeks ago in Brooklyn, and it's one of the most beautiful and exciting arenas in the world to date. It's a huge project that will make that part of Brooklyn very attractive, and will bring many sporting and music events to the area. But for fans and photographers, their Facebook policy might cause some anger.

It just might be, although not used in the traditional way. An image of adventure photographer Corey Rich and free-climber Alex Honnold shows Corey shooting photos from an extended ladder, on the side of a rock face that is several hundred feet in the air. Shooting rock climbing photos can often be a challenge, and I for one have done it a few times but never considered a ladder before. As you can see in the full image,

UPDATE: 24fps firmware update has been released too!
Ever since the Wifi BacPac was released, I've been waiting for this iPhone App to drop. This FREE App allows users of the HERO2 (the original HERO is not compatible, sadface) to preview their shot and control the camera's settings, all over WiFi. Eventually it will be able to upload and even stream clips to YouTube. This video was posted before, but it demos the features of this previously unreleased app. Read on for the list of compatible devices!

With action sport videos continuing to get more and more impressive, it's no wonder why the filming is moving away from the photojournalistic approach to more of a cinematic feel. Videographers are having to keep up with the trending demands of todays standards, using high quality gear like the Sony FS-700 for slow motion, and a RC helicopters for great overhead shots, like the Copter Kids. These guys use the RC helicopter to get some really unique camera movements of freestyle motocross.

This past week we have seen a lot of gear come out, including a brand new outdoorsman-style bag in the Lowepro Rover Pro series. We got our hands on both versions of the bag, the 35L and the larger 45L and sent Mike Kelley and Mike Wilkinson off on separate excursions to put the bag to the test. Mike Kelley reviewed the 45L, while Mike Wilkinson reviewed the 35L.

The Arkansas Razorbacks recently teamed up with Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas to create a Gigapixel pano of the football stadium during a home game. The team turned it into a cool social media campaign where fans can tag themselves and friends and win prizes. You can check out the full pano here.

Arizona State University's mascot, 'Sparky', and its football team, the Arizona Sun Devils, have lit up several stadiums over the years with it's blazing and rock-driven intro video, but after seven seasons it looks like poor Sparky is in need of an update. The people over at True Story Films have taken over the task of sprucing the Sun Devil up for its new remake of its traditional stadium intro video.

Ryan Allen, the founder of SBC Skateboard Magazine, has worked tirelessly for over 15 years to create timeless images of skateboarders risking life and limb. Check out this incredibly down to earth behind the scenes video, which gives some insight into what it took to create a jaw-dropping image of a skateboarder ollieing (jumping, in non-skateboard slang) between two towers of shipping crates. The sweaty palms are included at no extra cost!

If you're an Instagram user and a tennis lover, you may want to brush up on your iPhone photography skills and get a few thousand followers by the time next year's U.S. Open rolls around. Three of Instagram's top users - @bridif, @takinyerphoto and @newyorkcity, who together bring over 600,000 followers with them - will be given unprecedented access to photograph the U.S. Open today alongside traditional media outlets.

If you live near the coast you have probably considered shooting stills or videos of the local surfers. If you've ever tried it (I have a few times) you know that it's much harder than it looks. Vimeo Video School put together a great 4 minute video that goes over the basics of shooting your first surf video. With a little practice, maybe one day you will be able to shoot something like this.

Earlier in the year, Fstoppers showed you how Sports Illustrated photographers photograph a superbowl. Just as the 2012 Olympics in London have come to a close, Reuters has released a behind the scenes video on how their photographers take images during the world's most celebrated sporting event. It's pretty interesting to hear from some of the industry's best photographers and editors as they race against the clock to send images to the wire.

Using 6 aircrafts, 138 skydivers jumped at 18,500 feet and created a snowflake shape by holding hands and remaining vertical (head down feet up) to set the new vertical world record. Skydivers traveled from all over the world to take part in the record attempt, including from France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Australia and the U.K.

We've all left our lens caps on before but it usually takes a split second to look through the viewfinder and figure out what the problem is. This Olympic photographer took a little bit longer to figure out that his lens cap was the reason for his blank images. Unluckily for him, these embarrassing 12 seconds were broadcast to the world.

Is it just me or are the Olympians this year extra revealing? Each year ESPN releases a Body Issue which features men and women Olympians fully nude but this year other publications are also jumping on board with extra sexy Olympic imagery. For every image you have seen there are dozens of other photoshoots that also took place. In this video we go behind the scenes on a handful of these lesser known shoots featuring female athletes.

Our good friend David Bergman was hired by Sports Illustrated to shoot the Olympics once again this year. David is becoming more and more well known for his Gigapan images which require a camera to take hundreds of pictures that are then stitched together in post. The result is a single image that you can "zoom" almost endlessly into. If you want to see every detail of the gymnasium at the Olympics, check out this incredible GigaPixel image.

A few weeks ago we posted an article about the robotic cameras that were being placed at various venues for the 2012 London Olympics. With this video by Lefteris Pitarakis, you can take a closer look at these rigs and how they're operated, and hear from the Associated Press Photographers who are installing and operating these Canon 1DX rigs.

Zak Noyle is one of the world's most respected surf photographers, and in this two-part documentary by RedBull, we get a fascinating glimpse into his world. From his photographic mission and technique to the training that he undergoes to be able to stay afloat in some of the world's largest surf, this mini-doc has it all. Filmed around the world in exotic locations

Thanks to remote controlled copters, aerial photography and video has brought some fantastic new content to the scene in the last few years, especially from guys like the Copter Kids. For their latest video, the Copter Kids grab the new Sony FS700 and take it to the skies alongside a motorcycle with some awesome results.

If you're a sports fan, or even if you just like toned and tan bodies, you're going to want to pick up the next issue of ESPN (hits newsstands Friday). It's filled with some pretty sexy images of the United States' favorite athletes in nothing but their birthday suits.

Ken Block, owner of DC Shoes and action sports mogul is well known for his incredible skill in a rally car. He's also been known to make some incredible videos, such as his original Gymkhana piece. For this installment, Gymkhana 5, Ken decided that he wanted to take over San Francisco: and that is just what he did. He also made sure that it was captured to perfection: I can't imagine that any less than one hundred cameras were used in the making of this piece.

The progression of technology has allowed for us to capture shots in angles that we would not usually be able to capture. Robotic cameras have the ability to fit into spaces and locations that a photographer would usually not be able to get to. These are fully controlled by remote as well. It may very well begin to change the landscape of photojournalism. Check out what you can expect and how it's done within.