Through the Glass--First Attempt

[Zivnuska]

The local high school has an annual 8 team BB tournament. On the morning of day 3, the teams have representatives participate in contests. These are free throw, sharp shooter, 3 point and slam dunk. I got permission to shoot the slam dunk competition 'through the glass.'

This year, the field was very slim (few leapers) and unfortunately, they competed is t-shirts etc rather than uniforms. Nonetheless, it was a fun opportunity to give this type of shooting a try.

The camera was a 1D Mark III with the 24-105 f/4.0 L lens set at f/8, 1/250, ISO 3200. Lighting was from three Alien Bee B800s bounced off the ceiling. Pocket Wizards were used to remotely trigger the camera and then relay the signal to the Bees upon shutter release. Why that lens? Because it is the only wide angle I own. Why ISO 3200? Because I was in mortal fear that I would guess wrong on the focal distance (I am a rookie at this) and I wanted to maximize the depth of field to give me a better chance for in focus images.

Dual clamps, dual magic arms, dual safety cables were employed. Trust me--the backboard moves a lot and it was scary having $5k in the air. There is a lot less vibration with dual clamps. I read the SportsShooter article 5 times. It was my bible.
http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1062

Making a list of required equipment is essential. Don't forget the windex, the gaffer tape, the scotch tape, the wrench, new batteries etc. etc. etc. If you try this with strobes and Pocket Wizards, be sure to read the manual about "relay mode." Do a dry run with all cables and lights hooked up. I also had the chance to an on site rehearsal/inspection of the site to see how I could clamp. Measuring the distances (8" from camera to glass) I decided to set my focus for 42 inches.

Here is my setup:

The focus, switches, and zoom are taped with gaffer to prevent any movement.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1274.jpg

Here are the lights and goal.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1302.jpg


Here are a few pics. I missed a lot of dunks but that comes with guessing where the faces are going to be.

1.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk54of58.jpg

2.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk48of58.jpg

3.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk44of58.jpg

4.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk55of58.jpg

5.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk39of58.jpg

6.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/SlamDunk57of58-1.jpg

C & C appreciated

[tstowe]

I like them. Maybe put the camera a little higher and shoot down just a little more.

I'm doing my first throught the glass of the year on Tuesday. Well almost, I'm going to set the camera high and shoot straight down.

[GenuineRolla]

wow, not bad for a first timer. Looks like you got some keepers.

[northpointphoto]

Nice shots.

I plan to set up a remote like that for the county championships next month.

[tstowe]

Dual clamps, dual magic arms, dual safety cables were employed. Trust me--the backboard moves a lot and it was scary having $5k in the air. There is a lot less vibration with dual clamps. I read the SportsShooter article 5 times. It was my bible.
http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1062

I read it so much I printed it out and keep it in the bag with my super clamps and arms.

[Big K]

These turned out really well for your first time trying it. Great job.

I agree that mounting it from the top of the board to get a different angle would have helped but only slightly.

Hope you had fun with the entire process. Now you can go buy a bunch of the multimax's and learn how to do the multiple remote cameras off the same strobe burst like Robert Beck outlined on SS. :-)

[Zivnuska]

Hope you had fun with the entire process. Now you can go buy a bunch of the multimax's and learn how to do the multiple remote cameras off the same strobe burst like Robert Beck outlined on SS. :-)

Boy, with your ideas and my money, there's no telling how far we can go! ;) :cool::):lol:

I had a lot of fun with the whole project. The planning phase was a learning experience. Weighing ISO vs f-stop and therefore noise vs depth of field; going through old shots of dunking in a 3 on 3 outdoor tournament over the summer to gauge the position of the head during a dunk to estimate focus distance and the aim of the lens; the geometry of the two magic arms for stability; repositioning the strobes and getting a third Bee to maximize light to give a bigger boost above ambient; learning about the relay feature of the Pocket Wizard to stay in sync; really being scared about stability when I shook the goal and finally feeling comfortable about half way though the competition. Learning is fun. Applying the learning is even funner (almost as fun as run on sentences).

The AD was very, very helpful. My efforts to support the booster club and the coaches and refs paid off big time. Good relationships help. Bad relationships would have killed this whole project before it ever got started.

One more thing---since I only own 1 camera, do you want me to buy the multi max units before I buy the multiple remote camera bodies? ;)

Cheers.

Phil Z.

[Big K]

Phil,

At least if you were to buy the multimax units first it would be a cheaper purchase. :-)

Your preplanning paid off and for what it's worth, I think you did an outstanding job.

You really hit the nail on the head that good working relationships with all those who can quickly derail the best laid plans is huge. They are lucky to have you around.

Now get busy spending some money!! :-)

Have a good one.

Kevin

[HighPixel]

Very cool set up and shots as well...My take on it as it was a slam-dunk contest, I'd want images of them full bodied, up in the air, from the bottom the floor looking up(to give the appearance of higher leaping capability), going to the rim...
Not sure if you have a second body, but this is where one would come in handy...
Great perspective shots!;-)
HP

[Simon Turkin]

very cool shots
I dont know If i would survive the heart attack with the camera up there

[Zivnuska]

Set-up

GOBO


.http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1266-1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1275.jpg

Cables.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1276.jpg

Installed. The pre-made gobo wasn't wide enough and construction paper was added after a few test shots.
.http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1295.jpg
.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q225/zivnuska/IMG_1297.jpg

[Simon Turkin]

nice setup I still dont get how you put a 1 d and l glass up on a 12 foot hoop