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.)

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.)

A floor remote photo where just about everything comes together: Great action straight at the camera. Framed pretty tightly, not requiring much cropping. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Assignment Breakdown: Pac-12 Tournament
By Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

When covering basketball I like to set up at least one remote (I’m not in the same league as Sports Illustrated … I don’t have a dozen D3 bodies but I do what I can) because it gives me — and especially the picture editors at USA TODAY— an alternative angle.

Covering hoops, the easiest remote to utilize is a floor remote: simple to set up, requires little gear (no mounting hardware or radio trigger), accessible and tweak if desired or necessary.

During the recent Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament I used a floor remote at all six games I shot. Here’s the breakdown:
- Nikon D3 camera body
- Lenses used was a 24mm and later 24-70mm @ 32mm
- Triggered by a custom remote cord between the remote camera and my handheld camera (which had a 70-200mm)
- Remote camera is placed on the floor, two AA batteries gaffer taped to the bottom to position it; a small piece of tape to mark the spot on the floor
- I had someone stand-in to focus; the lens and camera switched to manual and taped in place

This photo is just a little too loose at 24mm. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

I got to Staples Center several hours before the first game of the tournament so I could talk to the photo marshal and insure I got the shooting spot on the baseline I wanted: two spots in from the post.

Basketball shooters are either “inside guys” (positioned close to the post) or “outside guys” (in the corner). I’m an “inside guy”.

A spot close to the post is ideal for a floor remote, it gives you a clear view and players will be coming right at you.

During the first couple of games I went with the 24mm prime lens. But later when editing, I felt it was too loose. So I switched to the 24-70 at 32mm, which gave me just a bit of the floor to just above the net.

Using a “double remote” cord — motordrive plug on each end— allows me to fire the remote at the same time my handheld camera fires. This gives me two different, distinctive angles on plays around the hoop.

When using a zoom lens on a remote, zoom it out to focus and then set it to the wider focal length you actually want to shoot at. Zooming it out makes it easier to focus.

Remotes require planning, set-up time, pre-visualization and a lot of luck.

Never depend on a remote — there are too many things that can and often will go wrong, especially if you’re using a radio trigger. Consider a remote for what it is: something extra.

(For a video on setting up a floor remote, check it out here:  http://vimeo.com/22172605 )

AA batteries used to angle the floor remote and a double motordrive cord. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, Sports Shooter Academy

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