maybe a silly question...

So, this may be a silly question but here it goes. When ever you see a bunch of photographers at say a football game you see a little pad on the monopod that says "Canon." Where do they get those? Are they sponsored by Canon? Their vests usually say canon as well.

The pad on the monopod probably comes from their friendly neighborhood Canon Rep.

The vests are supplied by, are the property of and are required by the NFL.

http://news.cnet.com/8​301-10784_3-9748139-7.html

Mearly a variation on the "Golden Rule."

Them what spends the gold, makes the rules...

Canon = The OFFICIAL camera of the NFL.

So where do you find these reps and how do you get in good with them to get a monopod pad? Or will they find you when you start showing up at sporting events more and more?

If you're not shooting for Sports Illustrated or Getty Images or a major paper/publication, I would let the dream go........unless you have a cousin or in-law working for Canon or the NFL.

cwmehring wrote in post #5800733
So where do you find these reps and how do you get in good with them to get a monopod pad? Or will they find you when you start showing up at sporting events more and more?

Unless you are pro shooting for AP, Getty etc at a major NFL game you wont get one... Unless you look on ebay under monopod cover or monopod pad or monopod padding is how i got mine.

Ok, so kind of a tangent on the current topic. I shoot part time for a paper. I want to shoot sports though. Any suggestions on how to get my foot in the door? I live near San Francisco and I want to shoot baseball.

cwmehring wrote in post #5800804
Ok, so kind of a tangent on the current topic. I shoot part time for a paper. I want to shoot sports though. Any suggestions on how to get my foot in the door? I live near San Francisco and I want to shoot baseball.

Unfortunately most papers (major ones atleast) wont pay you to shoot sports unless you have a 300 or 400 f2.8. Also on the note of the pads i think you need to be a CPS memeber too unless you go on ebay.

I remember being kindly escorted to the field, and by one of the end-zones, there was a red table with people giving out..."Red Canon Vests!!" I started sweating, heart rate went through the roof, and I felt oh so lucky to be in a place where stuff was free!!.. Well it was mostly the sound of the crowd, and an impending need to use the local sanitary facilities.

As far as the vest is concerned, there is a lot less than meets the eye. What they asked me first was my driver's license, and offered me a numbered vest. Then they explained I was free 'to go', though I had to bring my vest back if I wanted to ever see my license again.

As far as the grips, it's some sort of Mile High Club for Pros. I have seen them, and they look nice and spongey. But I have also seen a photog grab his 400mm/1DIII rig on a hurry, and after a couple of downs, TD, and Kick, he looks at me and goes "Sh--!, this is not my camera!.. Then he calmly walked up and looked around for the guy who had his same lens and camera. Had they been mine, I would have stopped the game and declared war to some remote country before runnning like mad wondering if anyone out of tens of thousands may have taken off with my stuff. Not him, they shook hands, and it was back to work. I think that tells you enough about the characters and the gear that makes it in there on average (I was an exception, a probably lucky one on ocassion).

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What about Topps or Upper Deck? Do you know how to get hooked up with them. Thats my real fantasy. Shooting baseball card shots.

cwmehring wrote in post #5800852
What about Topps or Upper Deck? Do you know how to get hooked up with them. Thats my real fantasy. Shooting baseball card shots.

Scale it down a bit, eh?...

It is a good goal to have. Today the world of press is evolving, as smaller towns have lots of local politics involved, and it takes forever to make a small enough dent to get a foot on the door, and big cities -aside from hundreds of ambitious photogs and P&S sharing citizens in U-report type things- make it a tough scenario to work with.

Today You just have to be like the little martians from Toy Story, have lots of eyes, many ears, and keep on jumping for visibility, hoping slowly but surely the publishers (or Grapple) will see you, and grab you onto the next level.

As a press photog (with credentials to most events on the west coast), you live in a world where most Reporters are writing their articles and wielding an XT in their shoulders, and their good photogs are looking for a job or some couple ready to tie the knot in order to take photos of their happy day. Then you get all the young freelances (young in terms of experience), who are willing to sit at 100plus temps for entire saturdays getting hundreds of Little League photos, when the Editor knows for free he can choose a 4x6 -at most- and crop it and publish it as he desires.

What I am trying to say, be prepared for a tense environment.

Now I am not trying to shut down your aspirations, I am trying to be honest about the reality of the situation out there. I usually go shake hands when I see other photogs, who mostly use Canon -They probably are unknown members of these forums, going under made up aliases- but are always surprised to see you trying to be friendly.

I had a small publication get an intern, an 18 year old to shoot some P&S photos for them, and I started getting less work. His quality of work is completely different than mine -just different- but many times with today's technology, composing is not nearly as important as just being present. So many WILL go with the cheapest -least costly for them- alternative. This leaves many people out of work. This can and will happen to anyone. It's a life cycle out there.

For baseball stock photos, I am pretty sure that is a two-three man job per team, done in a semi-yearly basis. I am sure it is fun to see your photos on collectible cards. Perhaps some chump photographing the Great Bambino thought at the time "Why am I taking pics of Chubby over here, he'll never make it". I wonder how famous those pics and cards are now...

Who do you shoot for?

I am a stringer for California's Central Vally papers. (San Joaquin Co).