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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Monopod for overhead shots
Richard Orr, Photographer
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Longmeadow | MA | USA | Posted: 11:18 AM on 12.17.07 |
->> So yesterday, I am enjoying the Pats game from the comfort of my own living room. At the end of the game see a guy with a mono-pod and his camera screwed in on top. It looks like a Nikon with a 14mm lens. He was using it to stick the camera over the Coaches meeting at mid field.
I say to myself, I can do that. I wonder why I havent seen that before (probably not looking.)
anyway, for those of you that have done that, what do you use to trigger the camera. Do you have a pocket wizard set up, or do you just wrap a remote cord around the monopod and fire it that way.
I will have to keep this in mind for the next championship season. Seems like a great way to get a different (at least for me) angle on the mob scenes. |
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Bill Vaughn, Photographer
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Huntsville | Al | United States | Posted: 11:29 AM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> I saw that too. You could see the cable running alongside the monopod. I read a post somewhere about that about a year ago. Sorry can't remember where. The cable seems to me to be the way to go. PW and required cabling for the camera release seems to be too much complication to have to arrange quickly. Especially if the action is right up to the last minute and you haven't got a lot of time to assemble all the parts before the game is over. Plus with all the confusion, a PW on the camera would be too easy and expensive to risk bumping into something/someone. Just MHO. |
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Paul Montague, Photographer
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Swisher | IA | USA | Posted: 11:36 AM on 12.17.07 |
->> Richard,
Less weight on the end of the stick is better.... I use a remote cord to trigger a 1DSmII with a 15mm or 16-35. I usually prefer the 16-35.
Paul |
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Brad Penner, Photographer
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Bob Ford, Photographer
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Lehighton | Pa | USA | Posted: 12:02 PM on 12.17.07 |
->> I saw a guy at an Eagles game do this a few years ago, (sorry, I forget his name). He had a Canon D1 series and a 16-35. He used a cable release tape to the monopod.
I recognized him from other games and when I saw him with the rig I knew he was up to something, but I couldn't help but tease him a little. I said, "Wow, you look like a pretty big guy to be using a monopod for a 16-35". He laughed and then explained what he was doing. He wasn't using it for the coaches, he wanted to use it for when the team huddles up before going back in the lockerroom before the game.
I asked him later how the shot turned out, and he said that it didn't. He accidentally had the zoom set to 35, and was way to close for the shot he was looking for. The next game he tried it again, but ended up with a bunch of shot of his camera strap.
Perseverance paid off for him at the next game when he taped the lens at 16 and the strap out of the way. If I remember correctly he told me that the Eagles ended licensing his photo for their calander.
I also saw Sports Shooter member Ben Hasty from the Reading Eagle last year at the State track and field championships with two monopods connected with a camera and fisheye which he held high and triggered with a release for some cool images. |
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Erik Markov, Photographer
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Kokomo | IN | | Posted: 12:08 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> I've done it a few times before for shots, not too much sports related. I've got a 1D and I use a canon cord release, seems to be easier to set up. I don't know what the photog on tv was using, but for myself I've got a Bogen monopod head w/ q.r. #3229 that either tilts or swivels depending on which way you have the camera positioned. That way when shooting with a 14mm lets say, you can tilt the camera forward a little bit with the head, while still holding the monopod pretty much vertical. The other thing I haven't bought yet but am considering is one of these, http://tinyurl.com/2sffe3 , to support the monopod some while shooting. |
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Bryan Hulse, Photographer
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Highlands Ranch | Co | USA | Posted: 12:13 PM on 12.17.07 |
->> I tried that on Saturday at a high school basketball game while the teams warmed up. I tried to get the camera on the side of the backboard, and above the net.
I had my son fire the camera (and subsequent strobes) via a pocket wizard. But we didn’t practice before the game, so our timing was off (he didn’t get it, and I didn’t provide instruction).
I hope to try it again next time with a little more preparation. It should provide a nice change for warm-up photos.
Erik’s idea of the monopod support would be a great way to support the ‘pod, and have a free hand to fire the camera. |
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Alan Rogers, Photographer
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Hickory | NC | USA | Posted: 12:16 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> Works well when shooting video too. |
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Trent Nelson, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 12:35 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> remote cord, tape, carbon fiber monopod. |
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Peter Huoppi, Photographer
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Robert Benson, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 1:07 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> If you dont have a triggering device, you can put the camera's self timer on two seconds, push the shutter button to activate, raise camera on monopod, repeat. |
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Phillip Davies, Photographer
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Garden City | NY | US | Posted: 1:25 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> You can also run a cord from the "video out" on most cameras to a small LCD monitor mounted to the bottom of your monopod. This will allow you to see what you have shot after each frame, without lowering the camera. I did this with a 20d several times, the resolution is not that great, but it helps you frame the shot. |
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Clive Evans, Photographer
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Antibes | Cote d'Azur | France | Posted: 1:59 PM on 12.17.07 |
->> For those of you who were at Visa pour L'Image in Perpignan,there was a [girl] photographer using this technique a lot around town and pre/post slideshows.
No idea who she is though so haven't seen the results............
Clive Evans
Antibes, France/ Mealagh Valley,Ireland |
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Charles Ludeke, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 2:29 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> I tried it once. I held the camera over our football players when they were celebrating their win over Texas A&M. I didn't get anything. It sucks being short. |
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Robert Beck, Photographer
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Carlsbad | CA | USA | Posted: 3:05 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> Ahahahahhahahahahohohoohohoaaaaaaaaaahhhahahhahahhahahaooooohohohohohohohohoahahahahahahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaahahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahhahah! |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 7:22 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> wow charles you must be "hobbit" short if you had the monpod extended and the camera still wasn't high enough 8).....I mean I'm the shortest (but still the most strikingly handsome) photographer in NC and the monopod has worked numerous times for me....albeit I made every single mistake mentioned above..practice is the key. |
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Charles Ludeke, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 7:42 PM on 12.17.07 |
->> Chuck, well I held it directly over the players' heads. Like an overhead-esque shot.
Yeah, I just need to practice more. I had only done it once just to try it out.
The way I held it was I had my arm extended up with the monopod horizontally outwards, so it was directly above their heads... not at an angle like how it looks in the photo on that SSA page. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 7:48 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> charles, practice makes perfect...I mean look at me.....er...wait.....bad example....look at bert or the most perfect bob leverone! |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Chris Stanley, Photographer
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Lansdale | PA | USA | Posted: 9:18 PM on 12.17.07 |
| ->> I do this with video. Flip the little monitor down, hit the record button...it works great. |
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Ric Tapia, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 9:08 AM on 12.18.07 |
->> One thing that would concern me about this shot is safety of the players. What if your monopod head fails and you drop your camera and lense on top of them?
Does anyone take this into account and take measures to reduce the risk? |
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Troy Taormina, Photographer
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Richmond | Tx | USA | Posted: 10:30 AM on 12.20.07 |
| ->> I've done this a few times using the camera's self timer (always forget to take the timer off and miss the next shot, though) |
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Jon Gardiner, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 10:43 AM on 12.20.07 |
->> Shaun does make a good point. I would suggest you don't extend each segment all the way as a 1D and lens on the end will create more torque on the monopod joints than you might expect. Good luck.
-J |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Maryville | MO | USA | Posted: 11:04 AM on 12.20.07 |
| ->> The biggest problem is trying not to wack someone with your camera. I've done it with a 15mm fisheye. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 4:22 PM on 12.20.07 |
->> One thing that would concern me about this shot is safety of the players.
It's pretty much the same risk you run when you hold your camera up overhead in a big crowd of shooters...you just have to be careful. Wrap the strap around the pod and doublecheck everything for snug and you should be fine as far as dropping the thing goes.
The bigger risk I've found is thwacking some unsuspecting person with the OTHER side of the pod...i.e. if your pod is extended to all three segments but you only really need two so one is kinda sticking back behind you. You're mostly watching out front and it's easy to lose sight of that extension and...pop! It's all fun and games until someone pokes an eye...
Just make sure you keep the opposite end of the pod within your own footprint, leverage properly and you should be fine.
For triggering (if you shoot Canon), buy an RS-80N3, cut the cable in the middle. Solder a short length of zip cord on each of the ends. Then use a longer piece of zip cord and wire nuts to make the cable any length you want. You can use the same setup for running hardwired remotes in RF-heavy environments.
Tape the trigger of the 80N3 to the far rear/bottom of the monopod (where you should be holding it for leverage). The 80N3 tapes up really nice to a monopod, and it's easy to trigger with one finger. Works great! I've found the hardline much easier to use than a pocket wizard rig because the release button is smaller and more flush...the pocket wizards tend to be bulky and move your hand away from the monopod...which you don't want. |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Brian Leddy, Photographer
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Gallup | NM | United States | Posted: 1:19 AM on 12.21.07 |
| ->> I too tried this tonight at a basketball game I was at this evening. It worked pretty well, but I've got some work to do on framing and the focus was off on several shots. Since I was syncing the camera with our house strobes I ended up using 4 Pocketwizards to get the job done. Using 2 receivers and 2 transmitters on separate channels, I held the monopod up, using my chest as a way to steady the rig, and fired one of the transmitters with my right hand. This fired the camera, which itself had another transmitter mounted on the hotshoe that fired the house lights. This was high school basketball, and the officials were really cool with letting me wander along the baseline to get my shot. Overall, I really liked the results. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 2:36 AM on 12.21.07 |
| ->> I shot a hurdles event in track years ago like that. Got one hell of a shot too. Its a great way to make an alternative shot |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 2:50 AM on 12.21.07 |
->> Robert Beck (and others:) Please don't post long streams of uninterupted characters here. It forces the text off the side of the screen.
--Mark |
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Drew Broadley, Photographer
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Wellington | NZ | New Zealand | Posted: 4:39 AM on 12.21.07 |
| ->> My current lead image is from a camera on a monopod with a fisheye :) |
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Eric Linsley, Student/Intern
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York | PA | USA | Posted: 6:58 PM on 12.21.07 |
| ->> Wouldn't just holding the camera over your head produce the same kind of image or is this for someone who is short? |
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Eric Linsley, Student/Intern
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Alan Rogers, Photographer
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Hickory | NC | USA | Posted: 7:14 PM on 12.21.07 |
->> "Wouldn't just holding the camera over your head produce the same kind of image...?"
Only if your arms are 6 feet long. |
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Carlos Delgado, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 7:21 PM on 12.21.07 |
->> Here's a shot of me (somewhere in there) holding up a D200 with a fisheye on a monopod as high as I can during post game jube. I got pushed around pretty good in there... be prepared to get stepped on and elbowed while trying not to drop a top-heavy rig onto players and fans trying to celebrate.
It's not always the best option... it's really a hail mary in these types of situations.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8119/lfe6faaf16392ebd3d7e6a1ct9.jpg |
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Andrew Wheeler, Photographer
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Paul Hayes, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Littleton | NH | USA | Posted: 12:31 PM on 09.04.11 |
| ->> Hey everyone. Found this thread while doing research. Can anyone here suggest a monopod brand, ball head (or whatever you need at the top of the monopod) and remote cord for a Nikon? |
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Jeffrey Nycz, Photographer
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Warsaw | IN | USA | Posted: 1:36 PM on 09.04.11 |
| ->> Use it quite often. 1DMKIIN with an 11-16 Tokina at 16mm using a cable release taped along the monopod to trigger the camera. Lens is focused to infinity. I extend the monopod all the way out and secure the end of the monopod on the inside by belt. Here's another use; I turn the whole thing upside down and shoot at floor/ground level through the players legs for a unique angle and rotate the image in Photoshop. |
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Daniel Berman, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | US | Posted: 1:51 PM on 09.04.11 |
->> Jeffrey,
Unless you have an extremely good working relationship with the team you are covering, I couldn't recommend more against sticking a camera on a monopod inside a group huddle.
The concern for tripping a player aside, you don't really want to hurt other people's pictures or get your access revoked.
Just my two cents.
Daniel |
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Baron Sekiya, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Hilo | HI | USA | Posted: 11:06 PM on 09.04.11 |
->> I've done this plenty of times for stills and a few times for HD video. In a pinch and when you've got time the self-timer works but I've mostly used a wired remote for my Canons (they're really cheap for the knockoffs on Ebay) to trigger.
You should always keep extra gaffer tape on your monopod so you can tear pieces off to use in a jiffy for things like this. I usually don't tape down focus or zoom, I just adjust before hoisting the camera up. I do tape down camera straps if it's windy and the remote wire to lessen stress on the plug or if the angle will dangle things in front of the lens.
Practice. Usually I found in the beginning that I tended to not have the camera pointed down enough. I usually also angle the monopod and not just have the camera pointed down via a ballhead on the monopod.
If you've got a little time, even if very little, take one quick shot, chimp it, make adjustments with how the camera is pointing. Sometimes the camera will see glare or cluttered background that you can't predict shooting from that angle.
Also I've used the camera on monopod trick to shoot really low shots too by holding the same set-up upside-down. Even done that holding the whole rig over a bridge to shoot some work going on underneath it. Also sometimes on boats to get shots from beyond the railing looking back at the boat but this is a lot of torque since you're holding it horizontal with the heavy camera at the end.
Above all make sure you've got a good grip on the monopod. You can't have it dropping and hurting someone, damaging your gear or falling into a river/ocean/lake. |
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Tim Casey, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | USA | Posted: 11:58 PM on 09.05.11 |
->> Be ready to get a lot of angry looks if you do this at a crowded event and your camera on a stick is blocking other photographers' shots.
I've seen TV guys not-so-subtly elbow a photog in the ribs because the camera on a stick was ruining their shot. |
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