Category Archives: sport

Art of Flight

This one will not necessarily be what you were expecting. Despite the title, this is not about flying – at least in the normal context of this blog. This is about snowboarding. Some time last year, I came across a trailer for a movie called Art of Flight. It is a movie in which some of the world’s best snowboarders go to some of the most remote parts of the planet to ride slopes that have not been ridden before.

Red Bull, ever one to support extreme sports activities, obviously provided a lot of support to this process with a number of Red Bull helicopters showing up throughout the film. Helicopters are the best way to get to some of these locations but even then the trip can be a bit hairy. Some of the helicopter flying is pretty extreme as well!

The featured snowboarder is Travis Rice. This guy certainly knows what he is about and is willing to try some amazing stuff. He is joined by a variety of guys in the different locations but they all like to try some cool descents across terrain with little in the way of forgiveness and weather that doesn’t always want to cooperate. They also go to some more normal locations but try some amazing tricks even then.

All of this sport would be impressive on its own but that is not what makes this film special. The magic comes from the way it is filmed by Curt Morgan. He makes use of innovative filming technology and improvisation and a lot of cameras to film the boarding from multiple angles to provide a phenomenal perspective. The quality of the camerawork and the editing turn this from good to great.

I got the BluRay/DVD box so I can watch it now on DVD and on BluRay in HiDef when I get around to having a BluRay player! You can get it at Amazon and I certainly recommend it. In the mean time, check out the trailer below to get a sense of what is included.

America’s Cup Yacht Racing

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Racing of sailing boats is a sport that doesn’t get much in the way of mass media coverage. I grew up in a sailing town so, while I wasn’t a sailor, a lot of my friends were and so I saw a lot more of it than would be the norm. During my teenage years we also witnessed the first defeat of the US team in the America’s Cup, a story that did get international press coverage.

America’s Cup racing has always been the preserve of the richer members of society. It is a far cry from the sailing that is available to the average sailor with high tech boats and hand picked crews. (As an aside, one of the friends from school, Julian Salter, is a professional sailor and has been in crews competing for the America’s Cup.)

For a few years, I had been pretty oblivious to America’s Cup racing. The thing that changed it for me was the acquisition of TiVo. One of the channels covered the Louis Vuitton challenger series followed by the cup itself from Valencia a few years ago and we could record the races in full and then watch them at a more convenient time – adding our own editing courtesy of the fast forward button.

Nancy got into the racing as much as I did and we watched most of the series. It came as a big disappointment when the next round of the competition became hijacked by the stupid games of rich guys and ended up as a simple head to head competition that got virtually no coverage. We saw nothing of it.

Fortunately, some semblance of reason has returned and this time around, not only is the full format of the competition going to be back, they are having a series of events in the year running up to the event that are taking place around the world. This not only provides more opportunities for people to see the racing but it also allows the crews to get proficient with the new boats. This time the competition is not with monohulls. The boats are catamarans with wing sails.

The main competition is going to be held in 2012 in San Francisco. Whether I will be able to go and see any of it, I have no idea. However, one of the preliminary events was held in San Diego. I was already in the area for the El Centro photo shoot so I added a day to my travels to try and see the sailing. The plan didn’t quite work as hoped unfortunately.

I drove from El Centro to San Diego in the morning. Racing was scheduled for 1pm-4pm that afternoon. I did a quick reconnaissance to see where I wanted to be and got myself set up. Since it was early in the week, there were supposed to be about five head to head races. No massed racing but that would take place over the weekend when more people would be there to see it. Sadly, I couldn’t wait around for that.

More disappointingly, the great weather that San Diego had been experiencing vanished when I arrived. They was cloud rolling in as the racing started and soon it was more like a misty day. It was cold too! The best location to shoot from was the Navy Base at North Island. Since that wasn’t going to be an option, I made the best of what was possible without shooting right into the sun. Of course, there was not much sun but the mist did a great job of making what light there was turn into glare!

The boats that weren’t racing were also practicing so there were a number of boats out at various times. The races did come up towards us since one of the marks was very near where I was. Unfortunately, when a race came close, a boat towing advertising boards would also come into shot just as the boats did. This was great for TV coverage but not so good for those of us on the same level as the boats. I’m sure the helicopter shots looked great – when the helicopters managed to fly given the crappy conditions!

I got some shots but none are great. The ones here are to show you what was there. There is nothing there that I am too proud of. Some heavy editing was necessary to even get most of these. Was it worth it? Probably not. I could have stayed longer at El Centro or gone helicopter hunting in the passes on the drive back since electricity pylons were being assembled. I did end up chatting to some nice people so it wasn’t a total loss. Them’s the breaks!

Empire State Marathon

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For those of you following the theme, you will know that this is the entry for the final part of my sporting triple play in upstate New York. Of course, when I am talking about sport, I mean someone else doing something sporting and I watch what is happening and take some pictures.

The final event was the Empire State Marathon. This was centered on Syracuse and was the first time the event had taken place. My brother-in-law, Tom, was running the full distance. Tom has run many marathons including in Chicago a few times but this was his first chance to run “from home”. A nice change from having to be on the road while preparing for a major exertion!

Since it was the first running of the race, we were kind of interested in how well the organization would work out and how people would react to it. Since it was a smaller event than the big city marathons, the whole route would not be closed to traffic. This could be a bad thing for the runners.

As it turned out, everything went very well. We had undertaken a recce of the course the day before to get some idea where we would be able to see Tom. We didn’t know exactly where the police would let us go but we had some good plans. As it turned out, it was better than we thought. We were able to get around very easily and could effectively follow him around the course (well, lead him around so we could be somewhere when he passed).

This made watching the race more fun than was the case for the race in Chicago. The Chicago marathon is great to see and to run since there is a high level of support all around the route and there are plenty of people running with you. However, as a spectator, you have to plan your viewing since you need to get from one spot to another in time to see whoever you are watching and then you have to be careful not to miss them as they pass.

In a smaller race, you have a lot more freedom to move around the course and missing someone is a lot less likely. Many times we could drive past Tom as he ran and I’m sure his fellow runners got used to the sound of us honking the horn as we came alongside. Whether they enjoyed it, I guess you will have to ask them.

There were people along the course providing support. One driveway even had a band set up playing for the runners. That was a nice touch for a smaller event. We saw Tom multiple times and got quite familiar with those that were running around the same time as him. We were back at the finish to see a bunch of people come in and then to see him get back significantly head of his previous personal best. Great job Tom and a great job by everyone who was involved. I hope next year it is even bigger!

Cross Country

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My trip to upstate New York had a certain sporty theme to it. We had a triple header of sports to watch. Today you get part two! My niece was taking part in a cross country meet for her high school. She was glad to be running again after having been out with an injury for a while.

The course was a fun one for spectators but less so for the runners I imagine. A section lower down the hill was apparently quite damp – one girl lost her shoe but continued without it – and the climb back up to the main viewing area looked like something I was glad someone else was doing.

I only saw Sara’s race in full. There were plenty of other age groups at different times and the guys were racing as well but I wasn’t there to see them. Family viewing is what counts. Here are a couple from the day. It’s hard to photograph cross country runners since they always seem to be in so much pain. Most of the pictures involve expressions that I am sure they would not be too grateful about if I were to share them with the world. I’m a nice guy I guess!

Are you ready for some football?

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Devoted followers of this blog (that’s all of you, right?) will know I have had a couple of attempts at photographing football (the American version as opposed to the one that uses a foot to kick a ball). This involved preseason training camp for the Chicago Bears but not a real game. For my first attempt at a live, unplanned action, I did not have a professional game. It was time for High School.

My nephew plays for his high school JV team and they had a game when we were going to be visiting so I took my camera along – like I wouldn’t have done so anyway! I checked that there wouldn’t be a problem photographing at a school event and was reassured that it would be fine.

First something about the surroundings. There was a fence around the field that no-one was to enter. This limited me from some of the things I wanted to do but wasn’t too big a deal. Second, this game was taking place in October in Syracuse NY. This is not a combination that you select for good weather. While I wasn’t bothered about the rain, the lack of light would be an issue.

More of a problem initially was keeping track of what is going on. When watching football on TV I have little trouble keeping track of how the plays are developing. Doing it from the side of the field is a surprisingly different experience. For a while, I could easily lose the ball completely. A bit of practice and this improved considerably.

When the game started out, there was plenty of light and I could get the shutter speeds I was looking for. As the game progressed, the light faded a lot. I kept ramping up the ISO to compensate but it was still a struggle to get a high enough shutter speed. Eventually the lights came on but they were only some compensation. Even at the higher end of the ISO range I was happy to try, the shutter speeds were getting low. Consequently, some of the later shots were as much luck as judgement!

I shot a lot of images during the game. You don’t get a chance to decide in advance whether a play will be any good. Moreover, it is hard to see at a given time whether the key components of the shot are there. I got plenty of shots with some dynamic movement from the players but no visible ball. Without the ball, they really could be anything. Off to the trash with them!

I wandered around the field to try different angles. Starting at the side was fine and I could try some shots along the line of scrimmage. I could also move up and down with the play as the teams advanced. Later I tried shooting from both ends of the field. That provided some quite satisfying angles but you also ran the risk of being at the wrong end when something happened or you saw the back of everything – again, no ball to be seen.

I was not alone on the sidelines. Several parents of the players were also trying to get shots. Between all of us, we probably managed to get a fair few that would be of use. It was fun to talk to them as the game moved on to compare notes on what we were trying to get and what we had got so far.

When I ran through the pictures afterwards, I wondered whether any of them would be useful to the team. You can see some interesting things about the way players lined up and engaged with the other team. You also get to record all of the penalties that the officials missed!

I had a great time (and stayed a lot warmer than the rest of the family since I was always on the move). I would certainly like to try it again although next time it would be nice to have a bit more light to play with. It was the penultimate game of the season for my nephew’s team I guess I won’t see them play again until next year. Oh yes, they won so well done Jamesville Dewitt!

Ziplining

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Recently, I bought myself a GoPro camera. They seem to be ubiquitous these days showing up on TV shows on a regular basis to provide the footage from unusual angles or mounted on fast moving items. They make good cockpit cameras as well and are really very affordable.

As part of the Kauai trip, we spent a few hours riding zip lines at Princeville Ranch Adventures. I took the GoPro along with us in case a good opportunity came up to use it. I was not alone as another person in our group had one. Originally, I had intended to get a head strap for the camera for use on the lines. Unfortunately, I didn’t order one in time before we left and couldn’t get one locally. GoPro stuff seems to sell out very quickly so I guess I am not alone in liking the gear.

As it was, I think this proved to be a lucky break. Since I didn’t have a mount, my only option was to handhold the camera. Since it has a very wide field of view, this can be done without needing too much accuracy in pointing. I could also then point the camera in any direction I wanted. Having a fixed wide view is not always ideal but it seemed to work pretty well.

From the footage I shot that day, I have put together a short video of the ziplining adventure. I don’t think it is going to win any awards and those people I know who are real editors will, no doubt, cringe at the quality of my cutting but it is a vacation memento at the end of the day so I am not going to get too bothered about it. Besides, as Vincent Laforet said in a recent interview, when you need editing done properly, get a proper editor to do it. You can’t do everything!

Here is the video. Hope it gives you a bit of a feel for a great day out.

SCCA Fall Sprints

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This little excursion is courtesy of my friend Joel Love of Speed and Sport Photography. Joel called me up the other day to tell me that the SCCA regional fall run-offs were taking place. The location was Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit IL, about and hour and a half from me (if the traffic is clear!). He was heading up and wondered if I wanted to tag along.

This came right in the middle of the great spell of weather that had settled over our part of the Midwest so the chance to see some racing at a photo friendly circuit with good light and fall foliage seemed like a good combination. I decided this was a trip to make.

Blackhawk Farms is not a huge circuit. This has a couple of advantages. First, it doesn’t take long to get from one part of it to another. Second, lap times are relatively low so you don’t have to wait too long for a car to come back around again after you have first seen it. Add to that the great visibility from multiple locations (ideal throughout the day as the sun comes around) and you have all of the basics for a good day out.

There were a variety of classes running throughout the day I went. It was the day for practice and qualifying so there was less likely to be any frantic action – although a few people tried their hand at off-roading at various times! Some cars ran in multiple classes so showed up several times.

The types that made up the majority of the runners were modified road cars of which the vast majority were Mazda Miatas, single seaters like Formula Ford and the larger single seaters that have a more Le Mans styling to them – I’m sure someone who knows their motor racing will cringe at my categorization.

Since they could run in multiple classes and there was practice plus qualifying, there were multiple chances to shoot given cars which also meant that you could get them at different parts of the circuit without having to change location during each session. This made for a relaxed day of shooting. Also, you can take your car to each spot so no lugging camera gear around all day!

The multiple opportunities allowed for some experimenting. I tried wide open shooting to try and get separation from the background. That was a bust. Given the distance from the cars and the background, the depth of field was still enough to see what was behind. In the mean time, the shutter speed was very high so frozen wheels looked very unnatural.

Slow shutter speeds were a lot more productive. Getting some blur in the wheels made them look like they were actually moving. Then it was a case of just how low could I go. I tried all sorts of speeds throughout the day. The results varied a lot. Obviously, at the low speeds, the keeper rate fell dramatically. However, you could get some great effects of speed. The question then becomes one of taste. We have become very focused on sharpness in imagery. Some of the shots were not tack sharp but they gave a great feeling of motion. Some while like that and others will not. What do you think? The small size of a shot on the monitor is, of course, not a great time to judge!

Lower speeds also limit your shooting angles. When looking at the cars head on, you can get some nice shots as they turn in to a corner. However, at lower speeds, the turn in can blur the car. Head on is sharp but dull. Turn in is more dynamic but blurred. What to do? Of course, you see less of the wheels so maybe a higher speed is acceptable in these cases.

At the end of the day, do I like the shots? On the whole yes. I guess that is all that matters. Thanks must go to Joel for letting me know about this and for providing great company during the day. We shall have to do this again in the spring.

Surfing in Paradise

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If I were to ask you what sport you would associate with Hawaii, it might depend on your age as to what you choose. If you are a bit older, it might be ocean going canoeing (is that how you spell it?) that you think of, perhaps accompanied by the theme to a 70s TV police show. However, if you aren’t in that group, your choice is more likely to be surfing.

Did I go surfing while in Hawaii? Ah, no. Did lots of other people go surfing while we were there? Oh yes. Half the vehicles we passed seemed to have a board on the roof or so it seemed. There were plenty of places to try your skills since most beaches seemed to have breaking surf in some areas. The large numbers of reefs might, of course, make some of those areas a touch risky.

Anyway, I didn’t spend a lot of time tracking down the surfers. Instead, we saw a bunch of people closer inshore not always on full surf boards. Here are some shots of the action we saw. One day I will have to make more of an effort to go out and shoot some surfing since it makes some great shots!

Power Boats at Speed

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The Labor Day weekend is the time for power boat racing at Kankakee IL. My friend Joel Love had told me about this and suggested I come down. The Monday was the only day I had free so I drove on down. Kankakee is about an hour south of Chicago so a short hop.

The racing takes place along the river. There is a large park area on the south bank which was where I headed and, as it happened, was also where Joel was set up about 10 feet from my chosen spot! The boats launch and recover on the north bank but the lighting was a lot more friendly on the south side. It turned out that Monday was the day the weather went from warm and sunny to cool, windy and occasionally cloudy. However, it still held well enough, even if I was a bit colder than planned!

There were a variety of classes of racing underway. Some small individual boats and some far larger and more complex looking single seat racers. Catamarans and mono-hulls were taking part in the different classes. It all made for a lot of fun racing.

There were some boats that were clearly better than others and so the races weren’t always involving close competition for position. However, the faster boats could easily lap the slower boats in some races so you could end up with a steady stream of boats and some passing being necessary.

The other thing you could get a lot of was retirements! Some might be mechanical problems but other were more spectacular. Flipping the boat, rolling the boat, spearing another boat – all of this went on. The more dramatic stuff was often where I wasn’t looking of course! The wind gusting about the course could make for a little excitement if the boats got a little nose high. Given their speed and lack of weight, a slip was likely. The boats seem to disintegrate pretty dramatically when they hit the water.

One class had so many incidents and restarts that they eventually called it short of the full race distance. By that point, the competitors had become expert at getting lined up in the starting positions since they had done it so many times (although there was a bit more space at each restart due to the number of boats falling out of the race!).

It was a fun event to watch and even more fun to shoot. The action was close, there was plenty going on and the boats were colorful. If something dramatic happened, that was a bonus – provided everyone came out of it okay. I got the feeling it was a bit like NASCAR or hockey in that the fans enjoyed a bit of the unplanned activity as well as the racing. The tour takes races to a number of locations so you might want to see if it is ever in your neck of the woods.

I took a ton of pictures throughout the day so here are a few more. Enjoy!

Bears Training Camp

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It is that time of year when large men start practicing to inflict pain on each other – and if you are a Bears fan – on us too! With the negotiations over, it is time for training camp. The Chicago Bears hold their camp at a university down in Bourbonnais Illinois. With some spare time now on my hands, I decided to make a trek down for one of the public sessions.

With the temperature in the 90s, this might not have seemed like the best idea but it was windy and that really made things feel a lot better – although I think some of the receivers might have been using it as an excuse! I went to the camp for the first time last year. I had checked on what camera gear they allowed and the person I had spoken too said nothing too big. That time I took a 70-200 as my biggest lens and got there to see a fair few honking pieces of glass.

This time I took what I wanted and I’m glad I did. Not only does it make shooting easier but people are amazingly accommodating when they see big lenses. While they were all fighting each other for a spot when they were shooting with their phones, as soon as I wandered up, people would drag their relatives out of my way without me ever having to say a thing. Great stuff. Don’t see that at an air show very often!

I didn’t stay for the whole session. it was a bit toasty and lugging the gear around to different spots to try different things doesn’t help to keep you cool. However, I was happy with what I saw and slightly happier in the car with the aircon cranked up! It is a great thing if you like football. The price of a ticket for Soldier Field is astronomical but this is free and you get to see a bunch of stuff. The staff were all universally welcoming and you felt good about being there. Plus, some of the shots came out quite well!