With the assistance of Ian, Panda, and Lee, I was able to get everything set up quick and easy.

Check out the slide show below…

I was so busy with other stuff leading up to Shocktoberfest that I didn’t really get to put as much effort into shooting the dunk contest as I wanted to. I had my strobes back in the Bren and I had one remote camera set up on the top of the shot clock. It wasn’t the best choice, and actually a pretty bad choice. Once again I am reminded not to rely on my remote camera. Anyways, below are some photos of my assistants Ryon Tanara, Pratik Panda, and Ian Massey.

I started setting it up less than an hour before the game. It was rushed. No gobo. No tape on the focus ring. Didn’t clean the glass. Yeah, it was rushed. But it was a good chance to test out my new D3 and my 14-24mm.

Nikon D3, 14-24mm @ 14mm, 6400iso, f/3.5, 1/400th

Nikon D3, 14-24mm @ 14mm, 6400iso, f/3.5, 1/400th

Nikon D3, 14-24mm @ 14mm, 6400iso, f/3.5, 1/400th

Nikon D3, 14-24mm @ 14mm, 6400iso, f/3.5, 1/400th

The championship series is best of 3 and its tied at 1′s. Last game is tonight and I’m going to try to get there earlier and setup more properly. Possibly set up a strobe for some better lighting.

The game was scheduled to start at 4pm and I arrived early at around 1pm to set up a remote camera. I decided to set it up at home plate today. I had my camera behind home plate, looking down towards third base.

Once I got my camera all set up I was ready to head out and come back later before the game started. As I was leaving I realized that it would be cool if I could shoot from behind the center field wall where one of the ESPN cameras was. I walked over and found that behind all the trees and bushes, there was a permanent wood platform. I couldn’t believe that I had never known about it. Anyways, I asked the camera man if I could shoot a few innings from up there and he agreed as long as I went up and came down while his camera was off. Below, a wide angle shot of the field, taken from the center field camera platform.

Canon 5D, 15mm, 200iso, 2.8, 1/4000th

I knew that even with a 400mm I would still need to crop in a lot from this angle. I called up a friend and asked to borrow a 5D Mark II. I knew that with 21 megapixels I would be able to crop much more than with 8 megapixels. I then drove over, picked it up, and made it back in time before the game started.

About 10 minutes before the start of the game I grabbed my gear and went up on the center field camera platform. The first shots I went for were batting shots. Below, Jeff Cusick gets a solid hit off of the San Diego pitcher.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/4000th

It was too bad that the newspaper was already in production as I was shooting this game. Shots from this angle had never been published in our newspaper before. Once I got enough batting shots, I moved on and shot the outfield. Below, UCI’s Jordan Fox catches a ball that popped high and deep in the outfield.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 250iso, 2.8, 1/3200th

Below, UCI shortstop Ben Orloff catches a ball that is thrown in from the outfield.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 250iso, 2.8, 1/3200th

Shooting the infield was also different from this angle. I got the backs of people that I usually don’t get, but also the fronts. Below, UCI shortstop Ben Orloff prepares to catch the ball as a San Diego player slides into second.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 250iso, 2.8, 1/2000th

Below, a UCI player dives back at second plate but is too slow and gets tagged out by the San Diego player.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/4000th

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/4000th

From the center field camer platform I was also shooting into the sun. As the game went on the players became more and mroe backlit, and from some angles they were sidelit. I played around with the light a little and got a few cool photos. Below, Eric Deragisch stands ready in the outfield.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 100iso, 2.8, 1/4000th

Below, Ryan Fisher throws in a ball that is hit deep into the outfield.

Canon 5D Mark II, 400mm, 250iso, 2.8, 1/3200th

Here are the rest of the photos:

I want to thank these photographers/UCI students who lent me equipment:

• Michelle Kim
• Greg Thompson
• Nick Vu
• Drew McCarroll

This was the last UCI game of the year, but hopefully there will be a chance for me to shoot some baseball over the summer.

I got to the field at around 12:30pm. The decision was either to get a shot at home plate or at second base. My home plate remote success was pretty poor in the past, so i decided to get some action at second base. At first I was going to set up my camera above the dugout at first base, but ended up setting it up underneath the ESPN camera inside the first base photo well. If you look closely you can see it attached to the railing underneath the front of the ESPN camera.

It was at a good ground level angle, which was even better because nobody could physically stand there, so I knew I was the only one getting this shot. Since I had to leave the camera there from 1pm-11pm, I put on a rain cover due to the overcast weather that stayed around all weekend.

After I was done getting the camera clamped down and all the rings taped down, I left and came back at 4pm for the first game of Fresno State vs San Diego State. I remembered that I wanted to try a panning shot of the pitcher for when I shot Stephen Strasburg, but I had forgotten to try it when I shot him on Friday. I decided to try it and found that it was much harder than I had expected. Out of about twenty tries, this was the only shot where I got the pitchers face in focus.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 50iso, 25, 1/13th

During the Fresno State vs San Diego State game I also spotted a guy hanging a huge banner over the top of the parking garage that is behind the outfield wall. I heard that he doesn’t have any affiliation with UCI other than the fact that he likes our team.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 200iso, 2.8, 1/2500th

Below, the umps talk over a call that the Fresno State coach is unhappy with as the coach stands by for their verdict.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/1600th

Below, a SDSU player has a huge diving catch attempt. He didn’t get it.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/2500th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/2500th

It was a good opportunity for me test my remote in the first game to make sure that my focus was correct. Below, a Fresno State player slides into second as the SDSU second baseman throws to first base for the double play.

Canon 40D, 70-200mm @ 185mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/320th

The reason why I only had this one shot from this play was because I still had my camera in single shot mode from when i was doing my panning shots. After I realized I was still in single shot, I switched over to continuos and got some more frames of a SDSU player looking to throw the double play.

Canon 40D, 70-200mm @ 185mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/1000th

Canon 40D, 70-200mm @ 185mm, 320iso, 2.8, 1/1000th

After the first game I took out my memory card and downloaded the photos onto my computer to check to see how the shots came out. The focus and everything else looked good and was ready for the UCI game. Below, UC Irvine shortstop Ben Orloff makes the double play against Virginia.

Canon 40D, 70-200mm @ 185mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/500th

Below, UCI’s Eric Deragisch stands outside the dugout before approaching the plate to bat.

Nikon D300, 70-200mm @ 155mm, 2500iso, 2.8, 1/640th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1000iso, 2.8, 1/400th

Below, a few shots of UCI’s starting pitcher on Saturday, Christian Bergman.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/800th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/800th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/640th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/640th

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/800th

Usually my shots of the firstbase man making plays dont turn out too well. They are usually shot from the third base photo well and have a cluttered background. Below, shot from behind home plate, a UCI player slides back to first before the ball reaches the Virginia firstbase man.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/640th

Below, shot from the top of the seats behind home plate, UCI’s Jeff Cusick keeps his foot on the plate to get the batter out at first.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/800th

Below, UCI head coach Mike Gillespie talks with the infielders after speaking with starting pitcher Christian Bergman.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/500th

Below, UCI baseball staff and players review stats and strategy outside of the dugout.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 400mm, 1600iso, 2.8, 1/500th

I still wanted to get a good wide angle shot of a packed UCI ballpark. Here is a shot taken between games from the media tent that overlooks the field.

Canon 5D, 15mm, 500iso, 2.8, 1/400th

I waited till about the 7th inning of the game and then went directly behind home plate at the top of the seats. This is what I ended up with.

Canon 5D, 15mm, 400iso, 2.8, 1/50th

Check back for the last day of the Irvine Regionals.

Anyways, I shot UC Irvine’s win over UC Davis on Friday. The game was at 6pm and I got there at 5:30pm. I was supposed to meet up with an intern at 5:45pm who was going to tail me at the game. When I got to the field I hadn’t planned on setting up a remote camera, although I did bring all my equipment just in case. Good thing I did because as I walked in I saw the new bleachers that they just put in. These bleachers provided a new and higher angle to shoot from. I remembered back to when I last set-up a remote camera and how there were a lot of people blocking the shot because I was at ground level. I knew that this would be a much better angle that would result in more keeper-shots. I quickly took out my mounting equipment (magic arm, super-clamp, quick-release plate) and set up my camera. Once I had the camera in the right position I hooked up my pocket wizard remotes and adjusted the settings on my camera. Here is what I was seeing.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1250iso, 2.8, 1/8000th

At this point, Lee, the intern had arrived and was waiting for me to finish setting up my remote camera. The last thing to do was to tape down the zoom and focus rings. I ran back to my car, got the tape and ran back. Once I had everything taped down, myself and Lee headed down to the third base photo well. Below, a shot of my remote-camera setup taken from the third base photo well.

The setup was good. The angle was good. In theory this should have produced a very good shot. But I was reminded once again that a remote camera is nothing more than a remote camera. Its not something you can rely on because either the action happens or it doesn’t. And well, the action happened that night, just not as I expected. The shot that I was trying to get was a runner sliding into home plate with the catcher trying to tag him out. I got half of the shot but the catcher just standing there pretty much killed the photo. Below, UCI’s Ben Orloff slides into home plate while the Davis catchers waits for the ball.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/6400th

The only other logical shots to be taken from this angle were hitting shots. Below, UCI Senior Sammy Donabedian connects with the ball on offense.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/6400th

Below, UCI’s Tommy Reyes prepares to hit the ball.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/6400th

The rest of my shots during the game were taken from the third base photo well with a Nikon D2hs and a 300mm f/2.8. Below, at third base, Eric Deragisch prepares for the pitch to be thrown.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/5000th

Below, short stop Ben Orloff makes a diving catch.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/5000th

Below, Assistant Head Coach Pat Shine stays focused as he surveys the field.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/3200th

Whenever I can, I like to get some interesting shadows in my shots. Below, Corey Olsen catches a ball that is hit deep into center field. And although he had already caught the ball, I like the clean background and shadow.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/3200th

Below, Corey Olsen makes a huge diving catch in center field.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 640iso, f2.8, 1/2000th

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 640iso, f2.8, 1/2000th

Below, at second base, Casey Stevenson prepares to catch a ball and throw out the hitter at first base.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/5000th

Below, Ben Orloff runs from second to third base after a teammate gets a solid hit.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/3200th

Below, spit flies from the mouth of one of the umpires as he waits for the pitch to be thrown.

Nikon D2hs, 300mm, 1000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th

After the game ended I quickly headed back over to my remote camera. I was going to set it up and use it to shoot the fireworks. As I was switching lenses from my 70-200mm to my 17-40mm, all the lights went out the the fireworks start immediately. I repositioned my camera towards the fireworks, and adjusted my settings in the dark. I didn’t have time for test shots so I set my settings to what I though would work and then I started taking pictures. I shot in blub mode and did long exposures by holding down the test button on my pocket wizard remotes. Here are the good ones.

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 17-40mm @ 17mm, 100iso, f7.1, 10 sec

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 17-40mm @ 17mm, 100iso, f10, 21 sec

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 17-40mm @ 17mm, 100iso, f10, 24 sec

Canon 1D Mark IIn, 17-40mm @ 17mm, 100iso, f10, 61 sec

There’s only one more home game. I’ll be there.