Well not much to say other than congratulations to Ryan and the Andretti Autosports team for winning the 2012 IndyCar Championship.
2012 IndyCar Champion
The winner of the final race was Ed Carpenter, who happened to be the subject of one of my PHOTO OF THE MONTH editions earlier in the year.
2012 IndyCar Champion
See you at the track next season.
I have written about Professional Bull Riding a few times in the past, however over the next couple of posts I would like to talk about the photographers who bring you the great images from the PBR each and every week.
As you would expect I got paid a bundle to put this together. Well, Andy bought me a sandwich and a diet coke. I work for love and kisses. That, or I just really like taking photos up close at the PBR methinks.
Seeing as how it is my blog I also get to shove in a few of my shots… they won’t mind as I am sure that they have seen the odd bull riding photo or two.
I took the following photograph this past weekend in Columbus at the penultimate round of the 2011 PBR season… from here the traveling roadshow heads to Las Vegas for the World Finals, and the subsequent crowning of a new Champion. The photo was taken from the ‘Shark Cage’ in the middle of the arena, which I would have to say is my favorite place to be at these events. It is really cool.
Here’s Looking At You!
So who are the PBR photographers?
With the amount of imagery that gets created you would think that it is a large crew. In fact it is just three (3)… of the nicest people around… and very busy ones at that. Husband and wife team Andy & Jacey Watson who live in Montana, and Matt Breneman who is based in California.
They are BULL STOCK MEDIA.
Matt, Jacey & Andy at the 2010 World Finals in Las Vegas standing with the Champion’s Trophy & a couple of really big Checks!
As you would expect, after years of experience and practice they have it down to a science. Each of the three plays a part, and it goes something like this.
So what do you get when you cross a keen fisherman with a boy who grew up in a Montana National Park playing with Buffalo (I made the buffalo bit up… I think), who likes taking photos of dangerous bulls up close, and is into rebuilding old pick up trucks? That would be Andy.
For those who were surprised to hear in a prior blog that the photographers are on the actual arena with Flint and the Bull Fighters (and the Bulls), this is where Andy is located. You can see him in the below photograph taking a photo of former World Champion Mike Lee. Yep… I know what you are thinking… ‘whack-job alert’. For sure that is not a place to be if you don’t like beef up close or are a vegetarian.
Former World Champion Mike Lee in Columbus
Andy’s job is to to shoot (document) every ride that comes out of the chute, as you never know which one is going to win the actual event, or post a record score.
As the arenas’ are relatively dark for capturing good images of fast moving objects he has eight (8) high powered professional flash (strobe) units up in the rafters. He installs these at nearly every event, then they get shipped along with the rest of the PBR equipment to the next location on the PBR haulers.
Note: for those feeling sorry for Andy for having to lug these around…. he made me carry all 8 of the damn things down by myself last weekend… he had to take care of the ‘technical’ part of the diss-assembly. Yeah right… an Aussie doesn’t know how to disconnect a US extension cord?? Mind you… it seems that we are dumb enough to be a pack mule though. Still, I got to see the arena from a place that not many ever will. In case you are wondering… yes we are very high up here. That is a humpin’ big twin cab Ford pick up truck down there.
Andy ‘grizzly adams’ setting up Strobe units in Columbus
Andy uses a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera and an EF70-200 f/2.8L lens, and fires the strobes in the rafters with a Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 transmitter. He is also an accomplished fence jumper… which he is known to do on occasion to avoid the odd bull heading his way.
Time for me to squeeze in another one of my shots… taken from the Bull chutes at the Cooper Tires Invitational in Columbus with a Canon EOS-1 Mk4 camera and a Canon EF70-200 f/2.8L II lens. Focal length at 70mm as he was pretty close at the time.
Brazilian Robson Palermo
Not sure how many Bulls Matt got to hang around with in Orange County in Southern California but he seems to like getting up close and cuddly now.
Matt is the ‘everywhere’ photog. He shoots the portrait sessions (see the cowboy photos on the PBR website for example), as well as any functions and events. When he is finished with these activities he hangs out on the Bull chutes with the cowboys and gets up close and personal as the bull riders get on the bulls and exit the chutes. Having done this myself with him… you can’t be scared or allergic to bull-snot and bull-crap to be this close… and there is gobs of it to go around.
Now while this may not seem as dangerous as being on the arena, there are a lot of moving parts apart from the bull to be careful of. You share this space with the bull riders, the TV camera guys, the officials, and the stock contractors. And as you can see, Matt gets up close to the bull here, even sticking his camera through the rails as you will see in the below video, so it has its moments.
Matt on the Bull Chute in Madison Square Garden New York City
Now I have to tell you a bull crap story. Bulls seem to be factories for both crap and snot, and when they get excited in the chutes just before they try and buck the rider off… they don’t mind sharing it around. Last year in Billings Montana I was up on the Bull chutes with the TV camera guy when this bull unloaded on him and the end of the camera lens, and I mean unloaded. Being the pro that he was he simply got a big stack of napkins out of his pocket (yes he was prepared), simply wiped off the lens, and kept on trucking.
Matt runs two (2) cameras, both hooked up to WFT’s. A Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, typically with an EF70-200 f/2.8L II lens, and a Canon EOS-5D MkII with either an EF16-35 f/2.8L or EF24-70 f/2.8L lens. On the Bull chutes even a 16mm lens may not get it all in as you are so close.
Below is a short video (and a crappy one at that – a lot of crap seems to be flying here) that I took with my GoPro of Matt in action on the chutes last weekend. It is ‘as shot’ out of the GoPro with no editing so it is what it is. Turn the volume up… and check out where he is putting the camera (and himself).
And last, but by no means least… is the brains of the operation… Jacey (a.k.a. Photo Commander). To this day I have no idea how she does what she does. Maybe it is a girl thing, meaning that she seems to be able to do a hell of a lot of complicated things at the same time… with a smile on her face. I think it is the red wine myself.
To explain what Jacey does it is probably easier to simply explain how a typical event goes once the announcers say… ‘Welcome to the PB-RRRRRRR’.
The Photo Commander
Andy and Matt (and me if I go) have their cameras hooked up to Canon Wireless File Transmitters (WFT), which then in turn are connected to an FTP site (via a wireless connection/network and laptop that they have located just outside the main arena floor next to where Andy stands – he can actually lean over the fence and watch the live feed that Jacey is posting). What is really cool about how this works is that more often than not, Jacey is in Montana while the event is running… this is where the red wine comes in.
The photos hit Jacey from 3-4 separate cameras while the event is running. She selects, then crops and posts directly into the PBR.com Live Event Center ‘Live Photos’ section. Now while that is clever in itself, what is really clever (and ambidextrous) is the fact that she also carries on a conversation with all her ‘Herd’ as she calls them… which is several thousand people who log-in to the live feed, both to view the photos, and to communicate with other members of the Herd… it is a community of people who may have never met… but all like Bull Riding.
Live Photos Live Feed Chat
PBR turned on their new website this past weekend which has moved the Live Event Center, so here is the new link if you want to check it out. PBR LIVE PHOTOS. It isn’t the easiest thing to find now, so once you get there you will need to click on the drop down as per the below.
PBR Live Photos
So to close out this basic summary of Team BSM. What they do is both somewhat unique and unusual, and certainly not for the faint hearted. They make it look simple, and they try to make the PBR fans feel like they are part of the action and closer than they will likely ever get… and they are good at what they do.
Well that is enough on these yahoos for now. I will check back in after the PBR World Finals in Vegas.
See you next time. Same Place.
Me & Matt on the Chutes
So what does fly fishing and bull riding have in common? Not much if taken at face value, but one of them enabled me to try the other.
Been fishing before? Sure… put a dirty great big bait fish on a couple of big hooks, toss it in the ocean, put your rod in a holder… and sit back, drink beer, and wait for a bigger fish to swim by and commit suicide. Simple enough.
Fly fishing has been something that I have always wanted to try, but never seemed to get around to it. As it happens, my buddies Andy & Jacey Watson at Freestone Productions were putting on the PBR Livingston Classic professional bull riding event in Livingston Montana. So… as the way ‘mates rates’ seem to go since the beginning of time… ‘you come and take photos of the event for us… and we will take you drift boat fishing’… Done Deal I say. As it happens, Andy is a part time fishing guide, so I am in good hands.
Now you might say that Andy got the better end of the deal… free photographer for an easy day fishing. Well let me say this… he had to row the damn drift boat all day while I sucked at trying to catch fish. Anyhow… I would have done it for free anyway. That is what mate’s do where I am from.
Blue Sky. Clean Air… can’t beat that with a stick!
Anyone who hasn’t tried fly fishing and enjoys being outside… get your butt over to Big Sky country and give it a try. Yellowstone National Park is just down the road, so make it a family trip. You (and your kids especially) won’t regret it.
So… did I catch anything? Well that is a matter of opinion. I certainly hooked a stack of them, but as it turns out I had absolutely no idea it seems on how to keep the damn hook in their small mouth and get them in the boat. Where is my big winding reel and 30lb fishing line when you need it. Andy, just to be a smart-arse makes a couple of casts and lands one… we have a name for people like that in Australia.
So now I had to fulfill my end of the bargain and take some photos of some bulls trying to offload some cowboys. It was a tough gig. Outside in the clean fresh air. Nice weather. Nice people. Big blue sky. Mountains in the background. I trudged on as best I could.
The Livingston Classic is part of the PBR Touring Pro Division, and as such is held in an outdoor arena, and generally during the week. The Touring Pro Division is akin to the minor league in Baseball, or the Nationwide series in NASCAR, so it is a combination of big time bull riders either taking the opportunity to earn some points and/or cash or regaining some form, and for rising bull riders to try and earn their way onto the Ford Built Tough Series (FBTS).
Now you might expect that the bulls aren’t so good, and it is an easy gig for the FBTS bull riders… not so, says the guy standing on the sidelines with the camera. Sure, some of the bulls aren’t ever going to make the big arena, and some are in training (yes bulls train), but some of them are the real deal. One of my favorite bulls is Big Tex from Chad Berger Bucking Bulls. One of my photos of him from last year’s event was used to help promote the event this year in the The Livingston Enterprise newspaper.
PBR Bull Rider – Cord McCoy
Andy & Jacey also do a great job at getting some PBR ‘celebrities’ to attend the event. PBR announcer Brandon Bates comes and does his thing. World Class entertainer Flint Rasmussen keeps the crowd laughing when there is a lull in the action, and some world class bull riders show up, like Cord McCoy pictured above taking it easy on the chutes.
PBR Entertainer – Flint Rasmussen
Well that’s about it. Need to pack up my gear and go and take some photos of some alligators and Blue Herons in the Florida everglades. Will post some photos at a later date… if I make it back.
Even Rock-Stars need to eat. I leave you with this photo of #511 Another Husker chowing down before the event. As far as bulls go he isn’t ranked all that high… but he still has a career buck-off rate of 68%, and 75% last season.
No such thing as… ‘just a bucking bull in the PBR!’
And YES… I am that close!… and have the bull snot stain to prove it.
Ever wondered what the view is like looking through the fire marshal access holes in the fence at a race track? In a word… spectacular! … and if your brain was working properly, also a little intimidating if you thought about what could happen.
IndyCar – Scott Dixon… He won this particular race
From purely a viewing standpoint, you obviously don’t have the mesh fence to deal with, or a bunch of your closest never seen before friends sitting next to you in the bleachers… and you are really close to the track (and by close I mean spitting distance).
But you do have to contend with the possibility that a car traveling at 200+mph will will have a brain fade and subsequently will try and get out via that same hole… a.k.a. the car hits the fence right where you are peering through the hole.
I have seen this happen… and sports photographers being wired how they are (or not wired up correctly depending on your point of view)… they simply kept of taking photos until the car hit the fence or tire barrier right in front of them… now that’s a cool photo op!
The possibility of having to pull part of the fence or car out of your teeth later, is a minor detail. Sports photographers are more worried about whether they ‘got the shot’, as every other photographer on the track is saying under their breath… ‘bugger… wish it was me there’.
IndyCar – Danica Patrick
A number of people ask… how do you take photos like that… some of them also ask… ‘why the hell do you want to stand there?”.
Well firstly… you have to be there! You can’t sit at home and expect to get photos from your lounge chair. And as many a good photo will attest to, you don’t have to be standing on the track to get them. Scouting out a good location in the stands and having the right gear and technique will garner some great take home images also.
Next, and at the risk of sounding like a photo snob… you need to have some decent gear. So many times I see people in official Photo Vests in prime locations on the track, but they are carrying something akin to a point & shoot camera that my kids have. Now I have a point and shoot also, and while it is great for holiday happy snaps… rarely will you get a good photo of something like an IndyCar, especially if it is moving at any speed. Plus… all the technical issues that relate to sensor size and pixel count come into play. So.. get a decent camera, and some good glass to hang off the end of it.
Professional photographers, as the name implies, are professionals, and for the most part they use high end, reliable, good quality gear… for a reason. I would hope that one day (if ever it comes) that if I am ever laying on a table somewhere with a guy in a white lab coat looking down at me saying ‘this won’t hurt a bit’… that he isn’t using the scalpel version of a point & shoot. You get what you pay for is what I am saying.
GoDaddy Girl – Danica Patrick
Irrespective if it is NASCAR, IndyCar, or NHRA Drag Racing, the following is pretty much what I take with me.
- Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Camera body (APS-H sensor = 1.3 crop factor) – 16.1MP
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II Camera body (full frame sensor) – 21.1MP
- Canon EF16-35 f/2.8L II Lens
- Canon EF70-200 f/2.8L II Lens
Depending on where I am going, and how I get there I may also take a Canon EF300 f/2.8L and/or a Canon EF400 f/2.8L lens. I will also toss in either a Canon Extender EF1.4x II or a Canon Extender EF2x II. You can hand hold the 300mm in most cases given the shutter speeds that you are generally using (although it gets heavy’ish fast),.. but you will need a monopod for the 400mm.
IndyCar – Ryan Briscoe
I use a Californian Sunbounce Sun Sniper Double Press Harness, which means that I can comfortably and securely have one camera hanging from each shoulder… yes you do look like a bit of a dork! I went through the phase of carrying just one camera and changing lenses as I went… but not only is that a pain in the butt to have to continually do this, you invariably miss good photo opportunities as the moment has passed while you are screwing around changing lenses, and you run the risk of filling up your sensor with dust with the constant lens changes outside.
I put the wide angle lens on the full frame 5D Mark II so as to maximize the full frame sensor capability. This is great for shots in the pit area or on the starting grid where there is a lot happening, and to get it in context you need some of the surrounding environment in the scene. Plus, you are so close at this point (I am literally touching the front wheel of the car when the driver gets in on the starting grid) that unless you are just taking tight shots of the driver’s head… you will need a wide angle lens to get it all in.
IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti
I will use the 70-200 lens on the Mark IV body. I use this for tighter shots on pit lane or the starting grid, and for a majority of the shots on the track (if I am close enough… otherwise the 300 or 400 get an airing). I will generally use the Speedlite with this lens when I am taking shots of drivers up close as it puts a nice catch light in their eyes, but it also helps open up some of the shadows as they are getting in the car as there are a lot of curves that don’t get a lot of light, particularly when they have a full face helmet on.
IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti
So how do you take the photo when the car is going at 200+mph?
Depending on what you are trying to accomplish your technique will vary. A lot of racing photos use a panning technique with a slower shutter speed so that you can illustrate movement and speed in the image. The trick is to get the car sharp and in focus, while blurring the background. Obviously this is only practical when the car is moving across your field of view (and not coming towards you). Sounds simple… it takes some practice. Another method is to simply use a higher shutter speed so that you stop all motion. This is a personal preference.
Personally I prefer images where the car is either coming towards you or going away, and preferably on a bit of angle from a perspective standpoint, meaning you can see at least three (3), and ideally, all of the tires to some degree.
Team Penske – Will Power
So that’s it for now.
I leave you with a photo of current IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti taken just prior to loading up for a recent race. He finished second to Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon on this particular day.
Indy Car Champion – Dario Franchitti
I recently attended an NHRA Drag Racing event and was fortunate to be down on the Xmas tree with the cars as they staged and launched… I posted some happy snaps of the day on my website.
For those who have not been to a Drag Racing event before… these things are freakin’ loud… compared to just about anything. The photogs who stand down on the start line (where I was hanging out) either have to really like this sport, get paid really well,… or be stone cold deaf. My hat goes off to them as of all the car photography that I have done (NASCAR, Indy Cars, etc), this is one of the toughest in many aspects.
NHRA Funny Car – Jim Head
For the majority of car racing events, the cars literally go around in a closed loop (Rally being another where they usually don’t)… unless they tank it somewhere on the track they are always going to come back to you… and keep on coming back to you. So if you miss the shot, you will invariably get a few more chances at it.
NHRA Funny Car – Cruz Pedregon
Drag racing on the other hand is measured literally in parts of seconds…. and they don’t come back to you. Usually they make one run in a day (which lasts less than 5 seconds all up), and they go passed you in a nano-second… breathing fire and spitting what feels like acid on you.
Loud is a word that is pointless here. They are beyond loud, and I am amazed that people sit in the stands with no hearing protection at all. I had in ear-plugs, and heavy duty ear-muffs over the top and it was still loud. These engines produce around 8,000 horsepower (in comparison a NASCAR is 750Hp). And when your brain-box is about 15 feet from the exhaust pipe (as mine was), it adds a new dimension to what a bad hangover feels like. A dragster is around 150Db… hearing loss starts around 90Db, with permanent loss even with hearing protection starting at 140Db. A jet engine at 100 feet is 140Db.
NHRA Dragster – Nitro Spitter
The other hassle factor (depending on your point of view) is that these things literally ‘spit’ nitro on you when you are standing this close. The fuel is a mixture of around 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol. And if you haven’t been lucky enough to have this happen to you yet… it stings both your skin and your eyes.. and as a photog hanging onto some camera gear that costs as much as a car… you can literally see it corroding your gear in front of your eyes.
However… there are few things that illustrate such raw power as the energy wave literally hits you in the chest as they go passed. It is physical. You can feel it. And if you have a suspect sphincter muscle… where these photogs make their respective living… is not the place for you.
NHRA Funny Car Champion – John Force
For anyone interested in more detail here is the Wikipedia link and one to NHRA’s official website.
Yeah I know… It is just a guy on his knees in the dirt… but..
It is a photo of former World Champion Guilherme Marchi from Brazil… and it was taken while sitting in the Shark Cage in the middle of the Arena at the opening round of the 2011 Professional Bull Riding (PBR) season in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
BTW… the magazine cover is Aussie Ben Jones (photo taken by my mate Andy Watson at BullStockMedia – www.bullstockmedia.com).
Time for a little promotion for a couple of my friends, and a little bragging for me… well, I think they were just being nice to me… but I will brag anyway.
The Professional Bull Riding (PBR) Ford Built Tough Series has just started its’ mid season break. If you have ever been to see one of these events, and watched as many of the bull riders get the absolute snot kicked out of them, you would think that a ‘break’ would actually translate to not physically ‘breaking’ something in their body (again), but actually taking a break like the rest of us normal people do…. Not these yahoos.
Many of them continue riding in the PBR Touring Pro Series around the country. This is for a number of reasons. Rider points and cash being a couple, but for many it is probably more about maintaining their form and fitness so that they can come back ready to close out the regular season and make the World Finals in Vegas in October. Having been to this a few times now, this is a spectacular event and well worth the price of entry.
So… what am I promoting and bragging about?
Well my BullStockMedia buddies Andy & Jacey Watson run one of these PBR Touring Pro Series events, and they do a great job at it. It is also in a great location… just up the road from Yellowstone National Park in Livingston Montana. Mountains in the background, and some of the best bull riders in the world, all up close and personal… so drop in and have a beer and say hello. PBR LIVINGSTON CLASSIC
So now to the bragging part.
Below is the official event poster for this year’s event… and that is my bull riding photo. It was actually taken at this same event last year.
Now is it the best bull riding photo of all time?… not even close, in fact Andy (who does this for a living) would likely toss it out… but for a photo-twerp like me… it is as cool as hell to see one of your photos used like this.
Anyhow I need to get back to my real job now so that I pay for my trip out there again this year. For a boy from the bush in Australia, the countryside in that part of the U.S. is absolutely spectacular… so get out of your lounge chair and go and see it… you are lucky that it is just up the road… from Australia it is a 24 hour trip one way.
So I will see you there!
Well I was meant to be in Pueblo Colorado this last weekend with my friend Andy Watson from BullStockMedia helping out shooting the Professional Bull Riding (PBR) event (last one for the first half of the season)… but instead something came up and I couldn’t make it, which was a pisser. So I hung out around home.
… AND TOOK PICTURES OF FROGS in our pond. Now there is diametrically opposed photography experience. Mind you, some of these frogs are fierce and dangerous…
Eye Ball to Eye Ball
So to make it a little more interesting I messed around with some remote shooting. Frogs have a high twitch factor, and I was hoping to get one jumping… a shot akin to taking a photo of a moving bullet as they jump so fast (and they are erratic). I didn’t want to use a motion trigger… so my chances were slim to none.
Well I didn’t succeed in getting a decent aerial shot.. but did learn some things about setting up a rig for stuff like this. I had the camera set up around 10 feet from where the frogs sun themselves, and I fired the camera from inside the house looking out a window.
THE RIG
- Canon EF400 f/2.8L with a 2X Extender (lens equiv of 1040mm)
- Canon Speedlite 580 EX II (used 2)
- Wimberley WH-200 Mark II Head
- Really Right Stuff TP-243 Ground-Level Tripod
- PocketWizard FlexTT5 & cable into camera (used 4 TT5s)
The Rig
I put two (2) Speedlite heads on a small Manfrotto light stand. Stuck a Gary Fong PowerSnoot on each them and off I went.
I connected a FlexTT5 to the camera, one to each Speedlite, and used another one as the remote to fire everything. Note: When you do this, you need to set the camera and remote TT5s to Channel 1, and the ones on the Speedlites to Channel 2.
I also used a couple of power packs from Quantum (Turbo SC) to power the Speedlites. Note: It is a good idea to change one of the custom functions in the Speedlite so that it does not automatically power off when not being used (custom function 01 should be set to 1). While you are at it you may as well change custom function 12 to 1 also, so that the head is powered by the power pack only when it is connected. By default it uses the batteries, then the pack. This sucks if you drain the AAs, then remove the pack and you want to use the Speedlite on your hotshoe (and you don’t have any more AAs). It will also help your recycling.
Speedlite Rack
Then I stood inside looking out through a window like a ‘frog stalker’ and fired away. Easy as gravy… at least when the frogs cooperated and sat in the exact spot where I had pre-focused.
I also messed around with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III that I had converted to Infrared by Life Pixels, more so for self entertainment than anything else… there are only so many frog photos you can take.
Frog in Infrared
Below is a photo of my standard (non remote) rig for messing around with my long lenses. The only real difference compared to the above is going back to a standard tripod (Gitzo Systematic 3541XLS with a Gitzo leveling base in this case) to get off the ground, and firing the Speedlites with the PocketWizard MiniTT1.
My Main Rig
Conclusion: Firing remotely at something as benign as small frogs in a little pond is a bit boring (at least for me). It is more enjoyable actually sitting on your butt out there with them (mud and all). Plus if you are there you are more likely to get some more interesting and dynamic shots… however you need to be prepared to ‘sit’ there for some time so that they come back after you scare the crap out of them setting up your bazooka.
Well enough of Frogs… need a PBR Bull fix… I will even take ‘eye ball to eye ball’, and the 10′ proximity. Mind you, I am not finished with these frogs yet… I will get one flying!
See you later.
