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 Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

The saying goes “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

For me, the Sports Shooter Academy turns that saying on its head. This workshop keeps me young and I always learn … a lot.

So with apologies to David Letterman, here are:
Top 10 Things I learned (or relearned) at Sports Shooter Academy IX

Workshop faculty member Mike Goulding with a order of chili cheese fries at The Hat. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

10 I love the The Hat’s chili fries (but it sure doesn’t love me!)
9 The Nikkor 200-400mm zoom is the IT lens
8 Rugby players are the toughest SOBs out there

Stephanie Moebius had her smile on throughout Sports Shooter Academy IX. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

7 Biggest smiles of the week: Stephanie Moebius
6 We need to start off the workshop with eliminating P from the alphabet (NO PROGAM MODE!)

Sparring at La Habra Boxing Club. Photo by Swikar Patel

5 Projects live! (i.e. Swikar Pitel shooting a cool picture story at the La Habra Boxing Club)
4 I am going to fix the Chinese Fire Drill that is the event signups (I promise!)

Looking over workshoppers' images is a highlight. Here I am looking over images with Carrie Jesenovec and Merrian Lucando (far left). Photo by Christy Radecic, Sports Shooter Academy

3 Looking at workshoppers’ images makes me re-fall (is that a real word?) in love with photography
2 I’ve grown more patient over the years … but I need a bit more
1 Chimping is the biggest stumbling block to shooting

There are many people and companies that make the Sports Shooter Academy work and simple thanks is not sufficient in thanking them. But I can at least acknowledge them and give them all a big shout out…

The faculty, staff and speakers educated and inspired us all: Wally Skalij, Rod Mar, Shawn Cullen, Michael Goulding, Myung Chun, Sean Haffey, John McDonough, Dave Black, Christy Radecic, Rafael Delgado, Dave Honl, Matt Bailey and Mike Greenlee.

The #1 reason this wonderful educational program exists and continues is because of Matt Brown. His contacts, business acumen, experience, talents, sense of humor and sense of purpose drives The Academy, giving us the fuel to propel this (sometimes unweildly) bus.

Bill Pekala and Nikon provide The Academy with the resources, support and the funding that enables me to make this program tuition-free for college students. On the ground in O.C. during SSA IX Nikon’s Sara Moosebrugger, Mike Corrado and Ronal Taniwaki gave us their time, knowledge, experience and good humor. Nikon and their people share our dedication to education and photography… which is truly cool.

Nikon's Sara Moosebrugger talks to Jane Jane Gershovich during a rugby match.(Yes, both are shooting with the IT lens: the Nikkor 200-400 zoom. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

Samy’s Camera provides the SSA with support, including marketing help and resources to help us throughout the year with planning and logistics. Thanks Sam, Louis, Terry and Patrick.

Think Tank Photo has been a part of the Sports Shooter Academy since Day One. Whatever we ask for, they provide without hesitation. Thanks Doug, Brian, Deanne and Kurt…you’re gear and your support of the SSA is the best and appreciated.

Working with remote gear is always on the top of participants’ list of what they want to learn at these workshops and having PocketWizard involved has allowed up to really amp up our teaching in this area. Thanks to PocketWizard and to Ian Ray who journeyed from Vermont to be a part of our faculty.

Sports Shooter Academy Class of 2012.

liveBooks is the SSA’s home on the Internet, providing us with a wonderful website plus they are an active part of the SSA, as exhibited by co-founder Matt Bailey’s appearance at the past two workshops. His vision and words on wisdom both inspire and educate us.

My good friend Dave Honl is always there when we hold an event, need Honl Photo gear or to have him speak. When they coined the expression cool dude they must have had Dave in mind.

Thanks to CameraBits and SanDisk for providing their wonderful products for us to give to the workshop participants.

And lastly … I am able to continue working on the Sports Shooter Academy because of the Deanna and Emma. Their unending devotion to me and my work isn’t deserved but I continue this crazy notion of “giving a little something back” to photography because of them. This workshop is always devoted to them.

(Robert Hanashiro is USA TODAY’s west coast staff photographer. He is the founder of Sports Shooter and co-founder of the Sports Shooter Academy.)

Think Tank Photo Airport TakeOff packed with gear and placed in a Lightware 1629 MultiFormat Case to check on my flight to New Orleans. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, SSA

Heading To The “Big Easy”
By Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

Traveling with camera gear is like putting together a big jigsaw puzzle. Trying to get all of the pieces to fit, while keeping the baggage fees as low as possible, stay under 50 pounds per case … and get it all to your destination all in working order.

In the “old days” — aka getting two checked bags for free — it wasn’t as much of a concern to me. If I went over, it cost me (or rather my newspaper) $25 or $50 for being over by one piece or being overweight by a few pounds.

Present day? You could probably book a seat on the flight for your 400mm for price they charge for checking bags —-especially if you’re at 3 or 4 pieces and/or one is 5-pounds overweight.

That long glass would look good buckled into a (coach) seat!

Since I couldn’t book my flight to New Orleans for this weekend’s NCAA Men’s Final Four on Southwest —which does not charge for your first two checked bags— it meant a little bit of a change in my packing strategy.

Normally I carry onto the plane a computer backpack AND a Think Tank Rolling case.

The Think Tank ShapeShifter will be my only carry-on for my flight to the Final Four. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, SSA

(I’ve recently “down-sized” from the TTP Airport Security roller to the smaller Airport TakeOff after having some problems getting the larger case into the overhead bin on several flights late last year.)
But since I wasn’t flying Southwest couldn’t buy my way into the front of the first boarding group, I didn’t want to take the chance of getting the most dreaded words a traveling photographer can hear: GATE CHECK.

So I decided to board my UAL flight to New Orleans (via Houston — there are no direct flight to the New Orleans from LA!) with just a fully loaded computer/camera backpack.

I would load the roller into my trusty, 20-year-old Lightware 1629 MultiFormat Case (aka: The Travel Kit Case) and check it.

Using a digital luggage scale, I sorted and packed my gear into the TTP Airport TakeOff and a small rectangular shaped duffel bag I bought at the “Supply Sargent” (an army surplus store in Burbank). The duffel I bought recently to use to pack and check a Kart-A-Bag equipment cart and load some more stuff into it — like my clothes.

After some trial and error, mixing and matching things to keep the two pieces under 50 pounds, this is how it broke down:
Think Tank Photo Airport TakeOff Roller/Lightware 1629 MultiFormat Case (48 pounds)
- Nikkor 200-400mm zoom
- Nikon D300 camera body
- Nikkor 50mm
- Nikkor 24mm
- Nikon CoolPix P7000
- External liveview LCD monitor
- Card wallet
- Camera battery charger
- 5 camera batteries
- Small core gaffer tape
- Pouch with a set Pocket Wizard MultiMAXs plus cords
- TTP ChangeUp belt bag (w/ GoPro Hero and small clamp w/ ballhead)

Army Surplus Duffel Bag (36 pounds)
- Kart-A-Bag equipment cart
- Gitzo Monopod
- Nikon SB800 Speedlight w/ off-camera TTL cord
- HonlPhoto Traveler8 softbox
- Nikon fold-up camping/basketball chair
- Small tool kit
- Clothes (for 6 days) in Eagle Creek Packet-In
- Shaving Kit

Think Tank Photo ShapeShifter backpack
- Nikon D3S camera body
- Nikon D3 camera body
- Nikkor 24-70mm zoom
- Nikkor 70-200mm zoom
- MacBook Pro 15″ w/ power supply
- TTP Cable Management pouch with laptop accessories
- The latest “Lucas Davenport” and “Stephanie Plum” crime books

A few notes: A few notes:
- I use spare dividers from the Think Tank rollers as padding around and on top of gear during transport
- The Kart-A-Bag cart goes with me everywhere
- The Lightware 1620 MultiFormat is the best shipping/transport/storage case ever. Get one — well worth the investment.
- Nikon gave away the basketball chair several years ago at an event (the best, most useful schwag ever)
- I’m not sure what’s happened to the overhead bins, three Southwest flights the Airport Security would not fit wheels or handles first — so I had to place it sideways. All three of the flights the Southwest flight attendants gave me a bit of grief for not getting the roller in wheels/handles first. (But when I opened the roller and showed them what was in it, they were a bit more forgiving.
- The TTP Airport TakeOff has no problem fitting in the overhead wheels/handles first.
- Remote gear was shipped to New Orleans last week — 60 pounds worth.
- After I land at Louis Armstrong International I am heading straight to Coop’s Place and order the Cajun friend chicken with the rabbit & sausage Jambalaya!

An army surplus store duffel bag is used to check my equipment cart and give me room for other items --- like my clothes! Photo by Robert Hanashiro, SSA

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