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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Gymnastics Remote
Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 11:08 AM on 02.06.09 |
->> I'm looking for any tips or tricks on doing an overhead remote for gymnastics.
The remote will be over the uneven bars, it's women's gymnastics, and I'll be using a 1D Mk II and 70-200.
Should I use AI SERVO or pre-focus?
Thanks!
Joel |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 11:15 AM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> Pre-focus. |
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Brad Camp, Photographer
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Bainbridge Island | wa | USA | Posted: 11:25 AM on 02.06.09 |
->> prefocus--if they are compulsory routines, they will pop at the same spot for all.If optional or prep level, they will always try to do the giants or tricks over center.
best of luck--post some results when you get it done.. |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 1:00 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Prefocus. Its going to be tough because they are, as the name implies, uneven bars. Your going to have to prefocus at a given point and thats really going to limit your plane of focus. Obviously you can't strobe it for added DOF and just like in basetkball if you focus on the plane of the rim, if the players get to far above or below the level they are going to be OOF. Trying to figure out where to focus when they are doing a grab between bars or something like that is going to be a real crapshoot at best.
Why uneven bars I might ask though ? Vault or beam or even one of the corners in the floor routine would look much cooler I'd certainly think as well as be easier.
Parallel bar or high bar for the mens routines could be intresting though. Actually an overhead for parallel bars could be the best way to shoot what is my least favorite event.
At Ohio St we have gymnastics in an older arena with no catwalks so saddly dont have the option even, but certainly would be intrested in seeing what you end up getting. Just keep sticking with it even if you don't get any images the first time out. Remotes are like fishing where sometimes you don't even get a bite, but when it does work out and you get an awesome and unique shot its totally worth all the hours and hundreds if not thousands of deleted frames it took to get it. |
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Philip Johnson, Photographer
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Garland | TX | USA | Posted: 1:37 PM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> I never thought about this until Joel brought up the question, but have you thought about instead of freezing the action show the motion. That could either be on the second bar or for the dismount. I don't know what the out come would be, but it looks cool in my mind. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 2:17 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Jeff,
The way the catwalk is set up in the Hearnes Center here it easier to set up a remote for uneven bars. I'd like to do one for vault eventually, but I'd have to move a one of the floor plates upstairs to get a directly overhead vantage point.
I'm trying it for a bit of a challenge too. We have just about enough home gymnastics meets left where I can do one remote over each of the events the rest of the season, which is my goal.
As far as focusing goes, I'm going to make a focus card with some big block text on it and tape it to the end of a broom or something and have someone hold it up from the floor just above the top bar. I agree with it going to be a total crapshoot, but if I get something out of it, it's totally worth it.
I'll definitely post some images from it later tonight.
Philip,
That could end up looking kinda cool, I probably won't try it this time, but I'll definitely have to give that a thought in the future.
Thanks for all the advice :) |
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David Manning, Photographer
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Athens | GA | | Posted: 3:31 PM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> The only decent overhead spot Ive found here at Georgia is over the bars. I've made some interesting stuff over the bars. I prefocused on the top bar as some of the more dramatic shots were made of them on that bar. It looked OKAY as they rarely looked straight up to the ceiling. |
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Andrew Worrall, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | M0 | | Posted: 3:41 PM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> Joel - I'll hold that for ya tonight. Beam is always fun to view from directly overhead too...I'm anxious to see that! See you in a few hours. |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 3:43 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Semi-related question for David and Joel, but with your teams routines on bars, do you always have a coach serving as a spotter with an extra mat standing under the bars when they do the grab moves from bar to bar ?
I know its a safety issue as I have seen them occasionally miss that move and its not a very good position to fall in, but at the same time, I can't tell you how crazy it drives me when I always get the top of a the coachs head in the bottom of an anotherwise good frame during that routine.
Certainly on the Olympics they didn't do this, but was curious as to if thats still pretty common on the NCAA level or more of a school by school thing ? |
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David Manning, Photographer
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Athens | GA | | Posted: 4:38 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Jeff,
Sometimes we do. Varies from gymnast to gymnast. Makes for some interesting photos sometimes but generally annoys me too. |
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Chris Detrick, Photographer, Assistant
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 5:36 PM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> Just make sure you have everything safely secured with clamps and cables. The last thing you would want is for part of your rig to fall. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 5:39 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Jeff,
David is right, it varies from gymnast to gymnast. We've got some that do and some that don't.
I just got back from setting everything up, so now just the wait to see if everything was worth it.
I'll post pictures tonight once I get everything edited. I'll post up here when I do. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 5:43 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Chris,
Yup, everything is secure, the camera is running off AC power, I formatted the 4GB card, changed the batteries in my PW's. I just have to hope that when I turned the lights off upstairs it didn't turn off the power going to the camera...
That would be a bummer... |
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David Manning, Photographer
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Athens | GA | | Posted: 7:51 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Okay two very very very important things.
1 - Safety cables. Listen to Chris, make sure all that is covered. Safety cable everything you put up . Also figure out whom is legally liable if the worst should occur. Maybe sure that you aren't the one out there in the wind should life happen at 32 feet per second squared.
2 - Camera is going off of AC power? Is the outlet you are plugging into 120 (standard household) or 220 (fries your camera)? |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 7:59 PM on 02.06.09 |
| ->> Joel has some legit safety cables he got from Helix up in Chicago, ones used for studio/theatre lights as I recall. He should have everything squared away pretty safely I think. Joel also works for the University Athletic Department, so he is covered under their policies I believe. |
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Stew Milne, Photographer
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Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 10:23 PM on 02.06.09 |
->> Jeff, actually even elite gymnasts have their coaches spot them when doing release moves on the bars. It's a safety issue. You don't want to miss the high bar and smack into the low bar on certain skills.
I have many a photo with Nastia Liukin's coach (Valeri) or Shawn Johnson's coach, as they spot their gymnast in case the worse might happen.
Also, why not crop the coach out of the frame. If the gymnast is flying high over the bar, I would crop it anyway, and the coach would not be anywhere near in the frame.
Joel, let us know when you have some pix up. I'd love to remote some gymnastics, but the arenas around here don't have catwalks. |
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Joel Kowsky, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia / Morris | MO/IL | United States | Posted: 11:20 PM on 02.07.09 |
->> http://www.sportsshooter.com/jkowsky/gymnasticsremote/
Here's 8 images from the remote. Overall, it worked. I'm happy with the framing and what I was able to get. However, as you'll see, if I do a remote on the uneven bars again, I'll have to adjust my focus point. I was a little high in my selection and
Lessons learned for next time
1. put a bigger card in the camera, I had a 4GB, but if I want to shoot both teams on bars, I need at least an 8GB card to get everything.
2. focus, yeah the pictures are kinda cool, but the ones that I really wanted weren't in focus
We have another home meet coming up on Friday, I'll probably put a camera upstairs again, probably over beam this time.
Thanks for the help! |
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Dann Wunderlich, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | US | Posted: 7:48 PM on 02.08.09 |
->> Hey Joel I'd love to see this setup - if you dont mind can i tag along?
Images look really nice man |
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Stew Milne, Photographer
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Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 8:36 PM on 02.08.09 |
| ->> If you ever remote the bars again, shoot it vertical, so you can get the dismount too. As you shot it, you have a lot of wasted space on the sides. Also, shoot a little looser. |
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