Sports Shooter Academy IX participant Elaine Villaflores’ image of a collegiate soccer goalie won “best action remote shot” of the workshop made with a PocketWizard product.  SSA IX faculty selected the photo from dozens of submissions by workshop participants made throughout the week.

Elaine will receive a pair of PocketWizard Plus III transceivers for her winning image.

Using the PocketWizard Plus III’s system on a camera mounted directly behind the goal, Elaine was able to capture this goal scoring moment without any obstruction.

The Sports Shooter Academy would like to thank tech/marketing rep, Ian Ray and PocketWizard for their amazing on-site contributions of  knowledge, remote equipment and most importantly support throughout the 4-day workshop.  We had a record number of remote units in field with faculty expertise at each and every location that helped make SSA IX THE coolest sport photography and remote workshop of the year!

SSAIX Faculty Member, Michael Goulding, helps Elaine set up her remote which produced her winning shot.

Winning portrait shot with a PocketWizard product. © Mat Boyle/Sports Shooter Academy

Sports Shooter Academy IX participant Mat Boyle’s image of Cal State Fullerton soccer player, Jordan Wolff, won “best portrait” of the workshop made with a PocketWizard product.  SSA IX sponsor, PocketWizard selected the photo from dozens of submissions by workshop participants made throughout the week.

Mat will receive a pair of PocketWizard Plus III transceivers for his winning image.

Using the PocketWizard Flex system’s high shutter speed sync feature, Mat was able to shoot at 1/4000 to freeze the player in mid air while still able to light him.

The Sports Shooter Academy would like to thank tech/marketing rep, Ian Ray and PocketWizard for their amazing on-site contributions of  knowledge, remote equipment and most importantly support throughout the 4-day workshop.  We had a record number of remote units in field with faculty expertise at each and every location that helped make SSA IX THE coolest sport photography and remote workshop of the year!

By Christopher Mast

Before I set off to participate in Sports Shooter Academy IX a few weeks ago I was very excited but nervous about how I’d stack up with so many other talented photographers shooting at the same events.

Nonetheless, I had the goal of capturing one of the ‘best of the day’ photos before I left.  I quickly learned after day one that having a goal and achieving a goal were two entirely different things.  When the group sat down for the first critique session, my photos just did not stack up to some of the beautiful images that were captured the day before.  I was motivated from that review though.  After looking at all of the images I knew I could do it.

Then came day two of the Academy. I feel I performed better, but my images were nothing to write home about yet.  I adjusted my goal from capturing an image of the day to just making the final instructor selects.  All the while I was getting invaluable feedback from the instructors. On day three I had an image make the final three in the instructors selects. All week, the instructors encouraged us to seek out unique images, to work differently than the other students.

A running falls just before the finish line during the women's 800 meters at the Steve Scott Invitational Track & Field Meet at U.C. Irvine. Photo by Christopher Mast

I decided to shoot the Steve Scott Invitational Track & Field Meet on the last day of the Academy. Before the meet I made the decision that with all of the events that would be happening, I’d stay light and mobile and not carry around a ton of gear. The second event of the meet was the women’s 800 meter race.

I noticed a lot of the photographers set up on the first turn to capture the final straight and finish line with big glass.  I needed to find a different location so I opted to sit about ten feet off the finish line with my 70-200mm. I was hoping for a close finish and that I could catch a tight shot of two runners battling out at the finish line from the side. While the runners came down the straight and completed the first lap of the race I worked out my plan and practiced as the runners went by.

As the race neared its conclusion I was ready to shoot and the unthinkable happened. The leader in the race, a Long Beach State runner, fell about 75-feet from the finish line. I grabbed my backup camera with a 24-105mm lens on it and shot as she fell. I shot loose enough to capture the other runners on the infield react to what was happening. I stayed with the runner as she fell, got back up and stumbled and fell again across the finish line, finishing third in the race. At this point I left the spot and went to photograph the other events during the meet.

Christopher Mast with SSA instructor Michael Goulding at the La Habra Boxing Club during Sports Shooter Academy IX. Photo by Rafael Augstin Delgado

When I got back to the hotel to edit my photos I saw that I had captured this perfect moment when the runner had hit her face on the track with the reaction of over athletes in the background.  I cropped the photo as tight as I could to really draw the viewer’s attention to the fallen runner and the faces of the people in the right of the frame. I learned through the week that capturing the story was what photos should show. Nobody could plan for a runner to fall in the final moments of a race but I did plan for where I wanted to shoot from and how.

There were many beautiful images made on this day by each photographer, but this image captured an entire story. It was the emotion, the human side to an athletic event that draws us to sports. At the end of the workshop, with a little luck and some planning, I was successful in achieving my goal that I had set for myself: A photo of the day.
(NOTE: Christopher Mast’s image was also selected the Best Of SSA IX.)

(Thanks to SanDisk and Nikon for sponsoring the awards for the Photo of the Day; Thanks to Think Tank Photo for sponsoring the Best Photo of SSA IX award.)

By Annika af Klercker

My winning picture is a remote shot during the men’s long jump competition at the Steve Scott Invitational Track Meet at U.C. Irvine on Saturday of the workshop.

When I mounted the remote camera, I didn’t have the chance to use a colleague or a friend to assist me in setting the focus. Instead I had to set it as best as I could while the jumpers were warming up. Unfortunately I was a bit fooled about that because the athletes don’t jump as far — if they jump at all! — during the warm ups as they do while actually competing .

A long jumper hangs in the air during the men's long jump at the Steve Scott Invitational. Photo by Annika af Klercker

Personally, I was not that satisfied with my remote pictures – so I was really surprised and REALLY happy that the faculty selected it as the best picture of the day! (And thanks to SanDisk for my new memory card!)

I decided to convert my picture to black and white because I felt it give it a more timeless feeling. I also thought it made it cleaner.

I traveled all the way from Sweden to participate in this workshop and I can tell it was totally worth it! The Sports Shooter Academy gave me an opportunity to play, try new angles, look for interesting lightning and let go of all thoughts of performing and work.

I have a desire to constantly develop myself as a photographer and my goal is to do something stimulating every year. Attending a class or a workshop is a way to accomplish this. I really wanted to take my sports photography to the next level and the Sports Shooter Academy workshop was a perfect kick off for that. And like many of the other participants, learning about remotes was one of the top items I wanted to learn more about. For me, working with remote cameras will allow me to be in two (or more!) places at the same time and also to set up cameras in places where I can’t be.

Annika af Klercker sets up a remote at the long jump with the help of SSA IX instructor Shawn Cullen. Photo by Christy Radecic, Sports Shooter Academy

In the end this picture was more or less a gamble — when the remote was fired in the long jump pit I was most of the time a hundred meters away, shooting the pole vault and firing the remote as much as I could!

One of the first and most important things the instructors repeated was never to trust the remote. Every picture you get from it is a bonus but nothing you can ever count on!

After Sports Shooter Academy IX, I definitely felt I gained a lot more confidence to use remotes more often. Because of what I learned and my experience during the workshop I now have a greater understanding of how remote cameras work technically. The workshop also gave me the opportunity of using remotes in real-life situations.

(Note: Thanks to SanDisk and Nikon for sponsoring the awards for the Photo of the Day.)

By Jane Gershovich

(Note: Second in a series)

I had heard a lot about Sports Shooter Academy from many colleagues. I was nervous, excited, and anxious to see what was to come. I was at the point in my photo career I was ready to really push myself, and what an opportunity than to learn from some of the best in the business.

I’ve never photographed lacrosse before, and when the opportunity during the workshop came I was excited. We arrived at University High School in Irvine, CA and photographed the high school’s baseball game and followed up with the lacrosse game across the way.

University High School lacrosse player celebrates his goal the end of the game Friday, April 27, 2012. Photo by Jane Gershovich

Not knowing the rules of the game made shooting interesting. The energy from the players was exciting and I tried to focus on capturing the action and reaction as much as I could.

At around 6PM and the sun was beginning to fall near the end of the lacrosse game and that golden light started to shine through. Matt Brown, Sports Shooter Academy co-founder, was nearby and was consistently reminding me to not zoom in and out and just focus on what’s going on during the game and most especially, not to “chimp”. I was shooting with a Nikon D3 and a Nikon 200-400 zoom lens. Matt had me stay at about 400mm.

Jane Gershovich has her hands full as she balances two cameras while covering the Belmont Shore rugby playoff match during SSA IX. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

No “chimping!”  That was a huge part of Sports Shooter Academy IX; keep shooting, keep shooting – you’ll see what you got later. The more you focus on the situation around you and really try to capture the “moments”, the better your photos will turn out.

Near the end of the game University High School scored. I immediately tried to focus on the all the reactions on the field. I concentrated on the player that scored and finally caught him celebrating with his teammate. I positioned myself to get the opponent, with the dejected reaction in the background.

This picture is an example of that. As one of the teams scored to take the lead, I searched for reactions after the goal from both sides. I captured this image, finding jubilation and dejection in one shot. The epitome of sports and what we as sports photographers aim to accomplish, telling a story with our photos.

I shot this photo using a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 zoomed in all the way at 400. I shot at ISO 400, f/4, and at 1/2000 of a second.

(Thanks to SanDisk and Nikon for sponsoring the prizes for the photo of the day.)

4/26/12 - Irvine Valley College and Orange Coast College players react as the umpire calls the base runner out during a baseball game between Irvine Valley College and Orange Coast College. Photo by Luke Johnson

By Luke Johnson

(Note: First in a series.)

Going into Sports Shooter Academy IX the one thing I really wanted to learn and take back with me was an understanding how to set up a remote camera.

On the first day I was intent on learning as much as I could about remotes, so I decided to shoot the Irvine Valley – Orange Coast College baseball game.

SSA instructor John McDonough checks out the Luke Johnson's remote. Photo by Christy Radecic, Sports Shooter Academy

One of the important things about remotes that instructors stressed, was arriving early to the game. This gave me the time to look around the stadium in search of the perfect spot to hang my remote. I decided to mount my camera on the third base side, aimed at home plate.

With the help of SSA instructor Shawn Cullen, I attached my Nikon D700 and a 70-200 zoom to the fence along the 3^rd base line using a Manfrotto Arm and Super Clamp.

Another thing that we were taught is to never think of a remote as a sure thing. Even if you’re prepared, there’s a lot that could go wrong.

I pre-focused on home plate, hooked up a set of PocketWizard Plus III radio triggers and just hoped for the best.

A while later in the middle of the game, I was shooting on the opposite side of where my remote was located and I saw this play begin to develop at the plate. I quickly grab my PocketWizard, smash down the trigger, just praying that it’s receiving on the other end.

Luckily it did.

(Thanks to SanDisk and Nikon for sponsoring the prizes for the photo of the day.)

Luke Johnson at the Irvine Valley - Orange Coast College baseball game. Photo by Christy Radecic, Sports Shooter Academy

4/2/12 10:39:56 PM --- NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR/ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME/ KENTUCKY v. KANSAS --- New Orleans, LA, U.S.A: Kentucky forward Terrence Jones (3) and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist celebrate their NCAA championship victory over Kansas at the Superdome. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

E.O.G. (End Of Game)
By Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

Most of us have been there. We’ve shot great action of The Big Game and then you get the word your editors are most interested in the E.O.G.: End Of Game.

The jube and deject.

The bigger the game, the bigger the desire for getting the reaction of the players at the End Of Game rather than the action that went on before.

Monday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game was no different and is a good example of how this situation usually plays out.

Capturing the emotions played out on the court depends on position, quick reaction, court sense, having a plan in mind and most of all luck.

Hey … just like shooting the action!

Photo Mechanic thumbnails from my down court camera (D3 with 200-400 zoom). Like game action, the E.O.G. happens quickly.

In a close game, which Kentucky’s win over Kansas ended up, the reactions are even more amped up — the winners leaping in the air in celebration; the losers walking off in apparent pain.

During the NCAA Tournament photographers are barred from Court Running — sprinting onto the court so they can stick a wide angle lens into the players’ faces. This rule is hard and fast and is for the benefit of the network so they can get their shots as much as it is for giving still photographers a clean look as well.

As the clocked ticked down to 00, the Kentucky bench rushed to embrace their teammates on the court and then the big challenge…

No, not deciding where to point your lens.

It wasn’t praying the TV hand-held camera pointers don’t block you.

It’s not cheerleaders or a team manager standing on the baseline in front of you.

It’s was the seemingly endless rain of streamers and confetti pouring down on the court.

4/2/12 10:40:11 PM --- NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR / CHAMPIONSHIP GAME / KENTUCKY v. KANSAS --- New Orleans, LA, U.S.A: Kansas forward Thomas Robinson (0) is consoled by teammates Kevin Young (40) Tyshawn Taylor (10) during the NCAA Men's Championship Game at the Superdome. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

This is a time when going old school — manual focus — is the way to go.

USA TODAY had three photographers covering the NCAA Championship Game: Bob Deutsch shooting in an outside spot in the corner on one end; local freelance photographer Paul Morse shooting from an elevated spot at mid-court; and I was positioned in an inside spot opposite of Bob. USAT’s Sean Dougherty and freelancer A.J. Mast were working the computers, editing, captioning and uploading images in the digital photo workroom.

(Tech note: Bob and Sean wired and networked five handheld cameras and four remotes and they all worked flawlessly for the semis and the finals. Great work guys!)

These three different looks at the floor gave us as much coverage as possible — and it was still a challenge to get those storytelling images.

As announcer Jim McKay proclaimed during the intro to ABC’s Wide World of Sports: The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Sports is often a matter of seconds. Capturing the E.O.G. is no different.

Shooting at the E.O.G. has a lot of challenges, including streamers and confetti raining down on the court.

Looking at the time stamp on my image files, the jube/dejection images start at 10:40:08PM. By 10:40:48PM the Kentucky players started putting on those (silly) t-shirts and caps that say they won and the Kansas players had left the court…

With only seconds to get the best images, you have to find moments quickly but also not stay on them so long that you miss something else going outside your lens’ field of view.

That’s why I list “court sense” as one of the keys to capturing the E.O.G. … like a good point guard you have to be aware of what’s going on even though you don’t really see it. Just laying on the shutter release (what I call “makin’ movies”) is no substitute for anticipation, knowing the game and knowing when to move on to another shot.

As the clock ran out, I focused down court with a 200-400mm zoom on a couple of Kentucky players as they ran toward their bench, hugged and jumped up and down in celebration.

After a few frames the streamers began to fall onto the court and some Kansas players in the foreground started to block me. That’s when I switched to my camera with a 70-200 zoom and spotted Jayhawks’ star forward Thomas Robinson, bent over in obvious dejection. In a few seconds teammates came over to console him and he became overcome with emotion, surrounded in a swirl of steamers and confetti. Even in those few scant seconds, I could actually feel his disappointment and pain and I paused for a second. But only a second.

The game was 59 minutes and 45 seconds of flying dunks, diving bodies, several spectacular blocked shots and a near unbelievable comeback by the Jayhawks…

But in the end, it was all about the jube (and dejection).

You can check out USA TODAY’s gallery of images from the Kentucky -Kansas game at this link: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/gallery/2012-ncaa-championship

(The Bottom Of The 9th is an occasional column by Sports Shooter founder Robert Hanashiro. He is also USA TODAY’s west coast staff photographer.)

My USA TODAY colleague Bob Deutsch checks his floor remote on the baseline of the court before the NCAA Men's Final Four. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

Remotes At The NCAA Final Four
By Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

At the NCAA Final Four there are a couple of primary remote camera spots: On the floor in front of the baseline and along the side of the court in front of the press table.

The side remotes used to be placed under the press tables and partially hidden by the black drapes. But when the NCAA went to a podium-style court configuration a few years ago — meaning the court was actually raised several feet above the floor of the arena — it meant that the cameras were no longer hidden by the tables.

Fortunately for photographers, we are still allowed to place cameras along that one baseline, as long as you don’t use a floor plate or tabletop tripod that raises it too high which blocks the view of the sports writers.

The side remote gives you options — farther toward the middle of the court you can put a telephoto looking back at the hoop; toward the corner many put a wide as a “3-point” camera giving you an overall look.

Remote install day is Wednesday if you want to get a good spot along the side. (Thursday, which was the day we used to install remotes, the network has now closed access to the press.)

Wednesday is also the day you can install remotes in the catwalk if your organization was approved for that.

For many newspapers and wires, placing the camera is about 1/3 of the work. Setting up the tethering network for the cameras means lots of Ethernet being laid out, switches and repeaters positioned (and finding AC power for them) and hours of configuring cameras and computers.

The other remote primary spot is in front of the baseline photographers. Because things are tight (not to mention there are two rows of photographers along each baseline) there is often some negotiating that goes into getting your remote spot positioned.

My spot at the Final Four is “inside” meaning close to the basket. I am in spot two, with SI’s John McDonough in the #1 spot. These inside spots are prime for floor remotes.

Photographers sitting farther out may want a floor remote near an inside spot, to give them a “second look” at places — and the 1 and 2 spots tend to be less in the “ref ass” zone. Also photographers on the opposite side may want a remote under the other basket so they have both ends covered.

Side remotes at the Final Four are in front of the press tables. Before the start of the game the cameras are covered in a black drape. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

Because you can’t put a lot of cameras in front of you, photographers will often do a quid pro quo — for instance AP’s David Phillip has a camera in front of me because he’s helped us a lot in the past.

(Being nice and being a professional in this business goes a long way!)

During Friday’s workout day, I had about a half dozen shooters ask if they could put down a floor remote in front of me. Because of the limitation in space, we ended up only able to fit two cameras.

All remotes are repeatedly checked by the NCAA to make sure they are positioned behind the lines of the photo box on the baselines and the side remotes cameras are draped completely with just the lens hoods sticking out.

Post remotes (camera mounted on the stanchion) are not allowed — so you don’t see a forest of cameras like you do during NBA games. Glass remotes are the purview of NCAA Photos only and are distributed as “pool” photographs.

Covering the biggest college basketball games of the year are a lot of work, long days but exciting and always fun to shoot.

(For a gallery of photos from the Final Four check this link at USATODAY.com: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/gallery/2012-ncaa-semifinals )

3/31/12 7:02:40 PM -- New Orleans, LA: Kentucky Wildcats guard Marquis Teague (25) shoots over Louisville Cardinals defenders. This was taken with floor remote positioned in front me; Nikon D300 with a 24mm. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

(The Bottom Of The 9th is an occasional column by Sports Shooter founder Robert Hanashiro. He is also USA TODAY’s west coast staff photographer.)

3/30/12 -- New Orleans, LA: Your "standard" workout day photos: Kentucky head coach John Calipari (left) and Ohio State's star player Jared Sullinger dunking. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

Workout Day At The Final Four
By Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

The day before the NCAA Final Four each team holds a 50-minute “workout” on the floor of the host venue — this year it’s the SuperDome in New Orleans.

This city is probably the perfect site for any big event and it has certainly held more than it’s share over the years. New Orleans is a wonderful city filled with history, culture, great food, wonderful people, a large tourist area, bad strip clubs and lots of hotels (especially Marriott properties to keep the sports writers happy collecting more awards points!).

Workout day for the four teams can be basically a walk-through on the court,coach schmoozing with the court-side big-wigs  (Louisville) or a full-out, hustle-your-ass, coaches yelling like it’s the final 2 minutes of a game deal (Ohio State).

3/30/12 -- New Orleans, LA: One of the players on our list of advance features was on Kansas Jayhawks center Jeff Withey (5). The "standard" photo would be something like the image of Withey, shot tight with a 200-400 (above). But after making several images like that, I went with a low, wide angle look to not only show Withey but give a sense of place with the large NCAA banner on the score board. Once you get the "safe shot" don't repeat yourself, look for something (anything) a little different. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

And it’s also a huge photo-op.

For photographers that have to cover the workout day, it’s a chance to make sure the remotes you installed Wednesday are still working, check the camera system you’ve set up to tether your cameras and shoot the players and coaches that are on the story list from the sports writers.

3/29/2012 --- New Orleans, LA : Ohio State Buckeyes run through drills the day before playing Kansas in the NCAA National Semi-Finals. Looking for something different and using a technique --- like blurs --- is a good to do during the workout day. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Staff

The challenge is to get all of the setting up stuff done, tested, ready to go for the real games plus check off those names on “the list” … and get out of the dome at a reasonable hour. (So you can get a nice dinner at a place like Gautreaus near the Garden District — thank you very much Ron!)

The second challenge is to get a couple of nice, interesting images and (for me) not just settle for the “usual”.

Most of the photographers work on things that you’ll be doing for the next day when it really counts — tweaking remotes (like my buddy John McDonough from SI and David Phillip for the AP were doing), double checking color balance and exposure and for me, deciding whether to go hand-held or with a monopod on my down court camera with the Nikkor 200-400.

After shooting four practices, I decided I’m going to “man-up” and go without the monopod.

I can always change for the finals on Monday.

3/30/12 -- New Orleans, LA: Shooting a lithe wider to show photographers photographing Kansas head coach Bill Self. And then look for the little details, like team managers lining up the rack of basketballs before a practice session starts. Photo by Robert Hanashiro , USA TODAY

(The Bottom Of The 9th is an occasional column by Sports Shooter founder Robert Hanashiro. He is also USA TODAY’s west coast staff photographer.)