When shooting football or other field sports, oftentimes, you are looking downfield with your long glass such as a 400mm f/2.8, and suddenly, the play happens right in front of you. The solution is a Hail Mary camera.
With his hand wedged firmly in a crack of the sheer granite face of El Capitan, Alex Honnold looks up and scans his route as he doggedly continues his death-defying ascent of the iconic rock formation with no safety ropes to save him in case of calamity.
A rainstorm and a muddy field can make football look great, but if your camera gets soaked, you might miss some great shots. Being inadequately prepared to shoot in inclement weather could be a really expensive mistake.
Let’s talk some more about photographing motocross, and this time, let’s get down to the technical aspect of photographing this great sport. Don’t worry, you don’t need lots of expensive gear to get decent photographs, especially if you are shooting at your local track.
I love photographing actions sports like surfing, skateboarding, cycling, MTB, and of course motocross and Supercross. Motocross and its cousin Supercross are great sports to photograph and are easy for fans with cameras to get close to the action. Read this first article of a three article series to get some tips to make your first outing or your hundredth outing a little more rewarding.
It seems like a foregone conclusion: if you're shooting sports, you shoot in burst mode to capture as many frames as possible. It turns out that while that works a lot of the time, it's actually not always the best idea. Here's why you should sometimes switch back to single shot mode.
Elinchrom is joining forces with Red Bull to offer the best action photographers with reliable and robust flashes. It will translate into more behind-the-scenes content and inspirational content for all of us as well.
In case you missed it, don't worry, we have compiled some of the best moments of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Since its kickoff on June 14, this has been one of the more memorable World Cups in recent history. There have been so many iconic moments, drama-filled events, and even social barriers overcome. Compiling all these moments into one article can't do it justice.
The thought of intentionally submerging several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment in seawater is practically offensive to most photographers. But it's critical to move offshore and into the water if you want to really capture surf action up close.
Every four years during the summer, the sports world pauses to draw its attention to the top echelon of professional football. I decided to put together a World Cup inspired shoot, shoot some concepts I haven't done before, and give you a behind-the-scenes, education glimpse.
Drones with stabilized cameras are nice, but capturing serious action shots at close range requires a different type of aircraft with serious piloting skills.
If you think that photographing Total 24 Hours Spa has anything to do with cucumber slices and a hot stone massage, then you are very wrong indeed. I will say, however, that when you finish photographing one of these endurance races you might need 24 hours in a spa. Have look at this fascinating short documentary to find out more.
Personal projects often take a lot of planning and persistence to pull off. They are passion driven assignments which is a big part of why they are so important to evolve as a photographer. However, sometimes opportunity and timing don't line up so you have to make the best of a poor situation. This is when experience and determination make or break an idea.
When Jon Mozo, an acclaimed surf photographer based on O’ahu’s North Shore, died in 2005 at the age of 33, he was doing what he loved best: photographing Backdoor Pipeline, which is considered to be one of the world’s deadliest waves. Among the four children he left behind is a daughter, Amber, who has followed in her father’s footsteps, photographing surfers, and recently visiting and photographing the very place where her father lost his life.
I recently had the opportunity to have dinner with Alex Merriman, the Director of Photography with the UFC. I got to geek out with him about mixed martial arts, and the technical side of filming and promoting the fastest growing sport in the world.
Most sports photographers dream of photographing the Olympics. In a global event filled with such high intensity, drama, and action, it's difficult to imagine not capturing a jaw-dropping moment. But what distinguishes the best Olympic photographs from the great?
As the Winter Olympics draws to a close, Getty Images has offered this fascinating insight into the logistics of covering this remarkable and incredibly cold event. Battling geography, climate, and equipment while coordinating a huge team of photographers is an immense challenge.
Is it better to fly in a helicopter or use a drone when documenting action sports? Greg Beadle takes us through the gear and how he gets his shots, and we look at what the advantages are of being up in the air compared to flying a drone.
There is often an element of risk in sports photography: flying baseballs, out-of-control cars, or in this case, a crashing skier. Swiss Skier Lara Gut slid into Photographer Sean Haffey during her second run in the giant slalom in a scary collision at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Sports Illustrated is doing something it has never done before in a project titled, "In Her Words," for its 2018 Swimsuit Issue. The magazine ditched the swimsuits for fully nude, all black and white, unedited shots that convey incredible messages to society.
What is it like to see a larger-than-life bird made up of a record-setting 1,218 individual drones fly seamlessly over a full stadium? What did it take to plan for that number of drones to come together to create the shapes of snowboarders and skiers and the five Olympic rings? While that was the plan, that didn't quite happen as expected, possibly due to hacking. But take a look behind the scenes of Intel's Olympic drone team as they prepared for this year's winter Olympics ceremonies and completed the record-setting flight that made NBC's delayed U.S. broadcasting of the opening ceremony.
SmugMug just recently released its 16th film and this time they're featuring mountain sports photographer Blake Jorgenson, with a glimpse into his relentless pursuit of capturing the perfect moment in extreme conditions.
Pressure to produce quality content for social media profiles is contributing to the unnecessary injuries and deaths of many adventure sports athletes, according to Marc Peruzzi, a former competitive rider writing for Outside.
Cedar Wright is a master of not taking life too seriously (an infectious attitude that spills into his work), as well as creating content of professional athletes dangling from rocks, high above the ground. But what makes his approach to photography and filmmaking so successful? And what's the secret to winning award after award for his climbing films?
"Fake it 'til you make it" may seem like an empty slogan aimed at unqualified job seekers, but that's exactly how photographer George Kalinsky began a career that saw him photograph the likes of Muhammad Ali, the Pope, and Frank Sinatra.
Reporters and photographers associated with news and media agency Reuters have been banned from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony after images of the rehearsal were leaked through the company.
The chief photographer of the University of Tennessee (UT) Athletics Department has been accused of "abus[ing] university work time and equipment for his personal benefit" by getting paid to photograph non-UT athletes for other schools while working for UT.
Candide Thovex: legend. The French skier’s latest cinematic marvel was released today, and it’s the most epic action sports video of all time. Of. All. Time.
One of my regular gigs is photographing the training events hosted in London by Parkour Generations. Winterval, a day of hard training outdoors regardless of the conditions, takes place every January and shooting it can be a daunting prospect; winter in London is often grim, with short, dark days made grimmer by drizzle or worse. This year we got lucky with glorious sunshine, albeit accompanied by a biting breeze.
We’ve all been swept up in the moment when trying to grab the right shot. Unfortunately for a photographer who was covering the College Football National Championship on Monday night, that meant being knocked to the ground by 6′4″, 246-pound sophomore tight end Irv Smith Jr.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has banned a staff photographer from future events after he made comments online insinuating a female mixed martial arts fighter looked like a man.
When trying to get creative, we often get discouraged thinking everything has been done, and no matter how hard we try, our work is going to be inspired or a remote copy of someone else’s idea. However, there are still some exceptionally brilliant minds that find ways to innovate and make the impossible possible. Valentin Delluc, a French speed rider, and Dino Raffault managed to create a unique video that will make your eyes light up even if you don’t know what speed riding is.
Never one for a low-key project, the photographer behind the skydiving photoshoot, Jesper Grønnemark, has released a video demonstrating how he used controlled explosions for a recent shoot with world champion Stunt Rider Mike Jensen.
Super telephoto prime lenses are not very common except in the world of professional nature and sport photography. Today, Australian photographer Blake Parry talks about his experience with the Sigma 500mm f/4 lens.
So your kid just started playing pee-wee football, or maybe you are a portrait photographer who just landed a sports gig. Maybe you’re shooting your first assignment for the college newspaper. In any case, while sports photography isn’t for the faint of heart, here are four technical tips to get you started on the right path.
Think studio lighting can sometimes be stressful? One adventure photographer tried it while freefalling at 125 mph for a skydiving photoshoot, complete with a Profoto flash.
If you grew up in a house with a football-loving father like I did, you probably had your young little mind blown every NFL Sunday by the yellow line darting under the players' feet. My dad's answer? "Hollywood Magic." Up until the moment I stumbled across this video that was the only answer I had ever gotten.
I recently spent three days in Ensenada shooting with the talented TEMPT Media crew during the Baja 1000. On the second night while unwinding at our Airbnb, in walks a guy with three beefy rigs with all the lenses wrapped in gaff tape, underneath what would appear to be a layer of dust that most normal human beings wouldn’t subject their Canon 1DXs to.
In one of the more ridiculous things I've seen on the Internet lately; simply removing the main subject matter from these bouldering images has revealed a completely different photo. The people left appear to praising or worshipping these large rocks, and the variety and groups of people in some of the photos just adds to the level of absurdity.
When using a camera on a race track it's best to be cautious, and in this case really lucky. What looks like a back woods rally circuit, there are a multitude of onlookers and spectators for the day's racing. We see the number 50 car becomes airborne on a ramped corner in the beginning of the video, and while attempting to hold the line over compensates for the turn and careens toward a camera man pitched at the end of the inside of the turn.
It was supposed to be a quick trip in Mexico to cover the Lucha Libre World Cup for Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine. But Photographer Jerry Villagrana, based in Detroit, eventually spent the next 15 months in the country shooting Mexican wrestling both for major promotions in 18,000 seat arenas as well as local neighborhood areas with dirt floors. Here is his story.
In many artistic disciplines and sports, people are told they should concentrate on one thing and one thing only. Being specialized seems to be the trend and what most industry leaders appear to believe in. However, there are exceptions to this. First, those industry leaders themselves that are more often than not great educators as well. But then, there are those people that truly shine in different domains such as Micayla Gatto. Watching her recent video where she rides her bike on mountains and her drawings is just an amazing experience, one you should see with your own eyes to believe it.
Have you ever had a bad day where you broke a piece of gear? Even if you're still lamenting that potentially pricey incident, I'm willing to bet it wasn't as expensive as this lens that Giancarlo Stanton just a hit a baseball off of.
When Atlanta and their NFL franchise announced that they will be breaking ground to a new stadium, they wanted to shoot for the stars and redefine the benchmark. After nine years of planning and constructing the new stadium, Atlanta last night debuted their first big game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. While it's a magnificent piece of architecture, one feature in particular catches the photographer's eye more than others. Let's take a look!
The first lesson I learned about shooting baseball was to always be aware of where the ball is. One photographer lost track of it for a brief moment, and it resulted in a very bad day for him.
"Keep your head down and always know where the ball is. It hurts when you get hit." And with that, I was off and running. Here's what it was like stepping out of portraits and events and into the world of professional sports photography.
While we all might not all be a fan of his on-camera persona or his punchy photography style. I think we can all agree that Jared Polin aka FroKnowsPhoto does a great job of testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest in the Photography industry. In his newly released “Real World Review” Jared takes the newly released Sony a9 and puts it through the paces at a professional soccer event in Philadelphia.
When a D1 collegiate athlete becomes a photographer, you should watch out. Zach Ancell is a commercial sports photographer from Portland and has been shooting for almost 10 years now. As any self-respecting creative, he does his own personal projects between the commercials he shoots. Pan"Tone," which is one of Ancell's recent shoots caught my attention, and he kindly agreed to share all we want to know about the set.
As a professional photographer, money is never too far outside of the frame. But even as the budgets and day rates continue to rise, it is important that an artist never forget why it all started in the first place.
I like biking, I even like mountain biking, but there is no part of me that wants to take a bicycle full-speed down this track in Mandelieu, France in broad daylight, let alone at nighttime, and I guess that's why I'll never be featured in one of Red Bull's brilliant extreme sports videos.
