Recent Sports Articles

Pushing the Panasonic GH5 Stabilization to the Limit

The somewhat flawed auto focus system on the Panasonic GH5 has claimed plenty of attention since it's release, but if there is one feature which is undoubtedly five star, it's the dual stabilization technology, and here is the proof.

Photographing an Indoor Rock Climbing Boulder Competition

I spend a couple days a week inside a rock climbing gym when I’m not traveling. So when I got the opportunity to photograph Rock Spot Climbing's Boston Boulder Brawl, one of the bigger local bouldering competitions, I got really excited. As an adventure photographer I've photographed climbing in all sorts of environments but this would be my first attempt at shooting indoor climbing. Of course indoor gyms come with a completely different set of difficulties compared to shooting outdoors.

Dreamland: The Coolest Bike Ad Out There

I came across this video while just browsing around and it ended up being one of those videos that just took me back. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to drones, but also a huge fan of some good drone work for photography and videography. I expected this video to just be a narrative/documentary about a mountain biker, when suddenly it turned into much more. Flying through the trees, up to the mountains, into caves, and out to the snow and ice; this video takes you on one big journey with the mountain biker himself.

Drone Captures Amazing Footage of Big Wave Surfer Ride and Rescue

In late February an approaching storm sent the big wave surfing community into action when forecasts predicted good conditions for some monster swell near Nazaré, Portugal. Surfers and photographers alike drop everything when big wave conditions appear for the chance of winning one of the Big Wave Awards offered by various companies and organizations. On February 28, drone footage of several surfers was captured in a rescue attempt after one surfer wiped out towards the end of his ride. The resulting footage is an amazing example of how drones are bringing the size, danger, and pure intensity of big wave surfing to spectators and couch surfers at home.

Are You a Woman Who Shoots Sports? Apply for This Internship

I'll admit that I'm not the biggest sports fan. And while that may be a huge understatement, when I do watch sports, I usually notice that the photographers on the sidelines tend to have a Y chromosome. The women shooters are few and far between. So, on International Women's Day, I'd like to shine a small spotlight on a new internship offered by Getty Images to get women into the sports photography arena.

BTS: Shooting a Free Runner in China at -18°F Temperatures

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to shoot in -18°F? Action Photographer David Robinson brought a free runner, Jason Paul, along with him to China to experience it, and now shares his story with us. At first, you may wonder what a free runner and such cold weather have in common, and you would be entirely right to do so. But wait until you discover the pictures to see how beautiful the combination of an icy landscape and this sport is.

BTS: Wakesurfing with the Phottix Indra500 TTL

Action sport photography has always been something that I have been drawn to, but I just don't have the access and opportunity to shoot it very often. So when I got the chance to shoot some wakesurfing, I Instantly jumped at the opportunity. The one thing I wanted to do going into the shoot though, was come out with something different.

Sports: A Study In Motion

The execution of this photoshoot was one of the more difficult one’s I have dealt with in sometime. Balance had to be achieved between the still and motion aspect of each frame and angular light consistency had to be given up in exchange for drama.

Creating Painterly Surfer Photographs With a Slow Shutter

Recently, I've gotten into surfing. I'm quite possibly the worst surfer in the world, but through surfing, I met some great, artistic friends. I acted as the DP on a super fun all-women's surf film this summer. I had no idea how to shoot surfers, so it was a huge learning experience. Now that I know a little bit more about it (and I stress the "little bit more"), I thought I would try and shoot a personal project just for fun to test out an artsy-fartsy idea.

Atlas With the Sun - The Most Complicated Photo I've Ever Shot

About a year and a half ago, I was walking on a local beach and realized that for a few weeks of the year, the sun would set in a perfect line of sight down the beach. I thought it might be a fun photographic challenge to create a super telephoto picture with a body builder "holding" the sun in an Atlas style pose. In my mind, the entire scene would be lit rather than have a typical sun silhouette image. Little did I realize how much work I was getting myself into.

What It's Like Photographing Olympic Fencing

When it comes to Olympic venues no other event goes so far to create such a theatrical experience for the attendees while also making for some of the most dynamic Olympic photographs as fencing.

Epic High-Action Nikon D500 Campaign Involves Smashing Messy Fruit

Nikon has teamed up with sports photographer Tom Miles and world champion martial artist Tom "Fire Kid" Duquesnoy for its new #MomentOfImpact campaign – which largely involves epic action photos of the latter smashing watermelons, cakes, and pumpkins. Check out the intense photo series here, and learn more about how it was lit and executed.

Action Flash Photography With a Strobe Attached to a Drone

Drones have grown into a standard item to own not only for videographers, but also for many photographers. Most have used them to capture images from the sky or places hardly accessible otherwise. A few have played around with these small machines to light their subject in a unique way, just like our very own Patrick Hall did when lighting a lighthouse with a DJI Phantom and a Nikon strobe. Photographer David Robinson took this to the next level and strapped an Elinchrom ELB 400 to an octocopter.

Corey Rich on How to Not F-up Your Next Video Shoot

If you've ever picked up an issue of Climbing or Outside Magazine, you are pretty much guaranteed to have seen Corey Rich's images on the cover. One of the biggest names in adventure photography, Corey has worked for everyone; from Nike and Adidas, to Apple and North Face. As a still photographer and director, his production company handles outdoor film projects in some of the most remote environments on the planet.

Sports Illustrated Photographer Uses iPhone 7 Plus Camera at NFL Game

Last week Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the later featuring a 28mm wide-angle and a 56mm “telephoto” lens, and both sporting a faster f/1.8 aperture with a 12-megapixel sensor. At today’s Titans-Vikings game, Sports Illustrated photographer David E. Klutho shot some of the first images with the iPhone 7 Plus before the phone’s September 16 release date.

Here Are Some of the Best Photos Taken from the Rio Summer Olympics 2016

One more has passed, the event that unites the world together showcasing the best athletes on earth has come to a close in Brazil. We witnessed triumph, we witnessed heartbreak, legacies stamped, and living legends made. Packed in the two weeks of the summer Olympic games were hundreds of special moments, some even iconic that we'll remember for years to come. And it was up to the photographers to make sure these moments would live on forever.

LA Times Photographer Captures Stunning 8x10 Portraits of US Olympic Athletes

In the world of newspaper photographers, you'd be hard to find someone consistently making more exciting and interesting portraits than Jay L. Clendenin. You might have seen his Land Camera Polaroid images from the Toronto International Film Festival, or his 4x5 black and white/digital color diptychs of California Olympians. For this year's Olympics, he decided to go even bigger and bring out his 8x10 Tachihara view camera to capture some amazing photos of American athletes.

United States Olympic Committee Restricts Media Usage Even More

You might remember a recent story in which an athletic sponsor was forbidden from referencing the Olympics when reporting on one of their athletes. It seems the US Olympic Committee is now clamping down all the more, issuing very stringent restrictions.

Behind the Scenes on Photographer Ray Demski’s Latest Personal Project, ‘Fireball’

I know that I’m preaching to the choir when I say that personal projects, free from the constraints of commercial clients dictating production details, are an important outlet for creativity and staying sharp on your skills. Photographer Ray Demski just dropped his latest passion project, "Fireball," combining parkour, football (soccer), and beatboxing.

Photographer Steven Sebring's 360 Video 'Liminal' Will Have Your Head Spinning

Ok, the last time I truly attempted skateboarding, I was 14 years old, and I dislocated my right shoulder (still have a beautiful, giant scar). Regardless of my lack of knowledge of the sport, or anyone's for that matter, I think we can all agree that this video of Skater Rodney Mullen shot by photographer extraordinaire Steven Sebring is just cool as hell.

The Sony a6300 Camera Video Capabilities Mini Review

Over the past few weeks I have been touting the Sony a6300's video performance. This past week I decided to take the camera to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course to film a track day. Oddly I ended up not using the auto focus, as the fences were proving to be a challenge with adapted EF mount Sigma lenses. On native lenses like the 70-200mm f/4 or the 70-300 f/4-5.6, this likely wouldn't have been an issue. Aside from that, the camera continued to impress me and exceeded my expectations.

Lighting Fitness Bikini Pro Ashley Pfaff by Photographer Alexis Cuarezma

Alexis Cuarezma is a San Francisco – based sports photographer, who specializes in both on-location and in-studio portraiture. In this video Alexis walks us through his photo shoot with IFBB Bikini Pro, Ashley Pfaff, providing a great sense of the process. He begins with the mood board and guides us to the final result, explaining his lighting choices and techniques.

Sony's Super-35mm 4K HDC-4800: Changing the Game in ENG

Some may be dubious of the merits of ENG cameras over their sleek and stylish film counterparts, such as the 8K F65 Cine Alta or Arri Alexa, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong. While ENG cameras have long been pigeonholed for their clunky construction and weight, much of network television depends upon their workhorse-like live sports coverage capabilities.

Six Tips to Improve Your Surf Photography

Photography, at face value, is already a difficult combination of capturing a scene as it unfolds and manipulating a tedious balance of exposure, aperture, and ISO to illuminate an image that does true life justice. When you add any additional element to the equation, the entire process can be thrown off. I often find this challenge in photography to be resting on the surface of the ocean in surf photography. Here are six tips I’ve learned that can help your surf photography.

The Deadline To Enter Red Bull's Illume Competition Is NOW!

Every couple of years Red Bull hosts one of the coolest photo competitions in the world called the Red Bull Illume. If you aren't familiar with this photo contest, the Illume showcases some of the most unbelievable sports photographs in the world. Many of the photos are landscape in a nature which give them an almost fine art feel but there are plenty of edgy closeup shots to grab your attention as well. The deadline to contribute to this year's Image Quest has been extended by 12 hours to April 1st 12:00 (CET) which I believe to be 6:00 PM Eastern if my brain is working correctly.

Big Wave Surfing Filmed From a Drone

Wedding Photographer and Videographer Aaron Eveland of Makai Creative recently took his drone out to Waimea Bay to film a local surf competition. The waves were huge that day, and Aaron was able to capture some incredible footage.

Critique the Community Episode 17: Sports Photography

Last week, we asked the Fstoppers Community to submit their best sports images to be critiqued by the Fstoppers team. We had a fantastic variety of images to choose from with over 250 entries. To keep in theme with this episode, we decided to film it during a recent ski trip. Lee and Patrick gave feedback to twenty images chosen from the submissions. Check out the selections and add your feedback and thoughts to the comments.

What It Takes to Score American Sports' Biggest Assignment: Super Bowl 50

Your headache from over-drinking (either in celebration or in deep depression) may be wearing off, but for those that had to photograph Super Bowl 50, that headache began days before the big day. The preparation for covering the game took its toll on those that enable us look back on it this week. Fstoppers caught up with ESPN photographer Andrew Hancock to get a look into the gear, setup, and planning to cover the most important event of America’s favorite sport.

Creating the Bullet-Time Effect with an iPhone and Some String in 'Centriphone' Video

The term "centripetal" refers to a force that makes a body follow a curved path, and in this case, an iPhone 6 is that body. "Centriphone" is a play on that term, as an orbiting iPhone shoots super slow-motion footage of a skier at the center of its path, as they cut their way down the side of a snowy slope. This clearly takes selfies to the next level.

Basketball Star Kevin Durant Hits the Sidelines as Super Bowl Photographer

Just as we wrapped up the discussion involving amateur photographer Brooklyn Beckham shooting for a prestigious fashion brand, basketball superstar and now amateur photographer Kevin Durant put down the basketball and picked up his Canon 7D to capture the Super Bowl as a credentialed photographer. In his writeup for the Player's Tribune, he tells his story and shares what he captured.

11 Easy Ways to Improve Your Sports Photography

With our current sports-focused Critique the Community, now seems like a great time to share some tips and best practices to help you improve your sports and action photography in 2016. Read on for 11 solid suggestions to help you become a better shooter.

Critique the Community: Submit Your Best Sports Images Now

Fstoppers is happy to announce the next round of Critique the Community. We invite everyone to submit your best sports image to be critiqued by the Fstoppers team. The image doesn't have to have any particular style but it must be related to sports and action, incorporating a human element (not just products or sports equipment). Please follow the guidelines for submissions below to ensure eligibility for your image to be chosen. We will be accepting submissions through Sunday night, February 7th and will be offering feedback to a total of 20 pictures.

How to Shoot Surfing at Night

About two years ago, in the spirit of adventure and creativity, I decided I was going to try and photograph the ocean with artificial lighting. I had an image in my head of all the things I’ve seen in daylight hours, with the stark contrast of an illuminated wave against a dark backdrop. A run-of-the-mill day down at the beach certainly wasn’t going to do either. We were going to go straight to the top and shoot the biggest and meanest waves we could find.

Using Flash to Light a Wingsuit Jumper

Lighting action and sports photography can often be complex. The flash cannot always be placed where it should and with the x-sync limitation of our cameras, it can be difficult to have the required settings. But some photographers, like Tristan Shu, master their craft and can push the boundaries of flash photography.

Behind the Scenes with Photographer Craig Kolesky Shooting Skiing and Biking in the African Desert

It can be a real creative challenge to try and concept, as well as execute, something that has never been done before, especially in photography. Adventure photographer Craig Kolesky accepted that challenge and ended up in the desert of Namibia, with two unlikely athletes for such a location. I asked Craig a few questions about this project that he shot for Red Bull Photography.

16-Year-Old Photographer Shoots Flash Photos Inside Waves

Leroy Bellet is a 16-year-old freelance surf photographer from Australia who has recently been featured in several major surf publications because of his experimentation with artificial lighting in the water. Using a flash in the water allows the subject to still be illuminated while taking advantage of times when the natural light is most unique, like early morning, sunset, and night. We recently got the chance to talk to Leroy and learn a little bit about him and his technique.

You Might Not Need Lightning-Fast Memory Cards, But They're Not All-Gimmick

You, me, and the rest of them, we've all wondered why people are so infatuated with lightning-fast memory cards. Sure, it's great to bump up the speed so your camera can shoot relatively quickly and to enable fast transfers to the computer or backup drives. But at the end of the day, most of us have settled our minds on the idea that we really don't need more than 90MB/s cards. 100MB/s is that sweet spot that seems to be the limit of necessity (and reasonable prices). But a new video shows us why new formats, like the XQD card, and the faster speeds that come with it are actually useful in a real-world scenario (for some people).

The Awesome Story Behind the Best Photo of One of the Greatest Jumps in History

David Davis is one of the top photography writers ever. He has an astonishing talent for telling the story behind some of the most memorable sports photos of our time, including the shot of Brandi Chastain ripping off her jersey after scoring the winning goal at the 1999 Women's World Cup, of Kathrine Switzer running the Boston Marathon, and "the Photo That Took Surfing Worldwide". He's back again with another riveting piece that tells the story of the photographer who photographed one of the greatest long jumps of all time.

Professional NFL Photographer Captures Prime Time Game with iPhone 6s Plus

Recently our own Lee Morris shot a model photoshoot entirely with an iPhone 6s Plus, showing that with proper lighting technique, a good model, and proficient use of editing software, you can obtain professional looking results with even the most humble of cameras. Andrew Weber, a professional sports photographer, decided to take it one step further by capturing the unpredictable environment of a primetime NFL game with only his iPhone 6s Plus in hand. Weber was kind enough to answer some of our questions and provide a great sampling of his photos from the shoot.

As Dirt Falls From the Sky Like Snow, These Mountain Bikers Get to Experience an UnReal Dirt Blizzard

During the winter months, snowboarders and skiers dream of those big powder days, where a storm leaves the mountain covered in a soft blanket of snow that’s perfect for riding. During the summer months though, mountain bikers have never been able to experience anything that can truly match a mountain that's freshly covered in snow. Until one day at Whistler Blackbomb mountain, when dirt literally fell from the skies to create the very first dirt blizzard.