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Archive 2013 · America's Cup final race

  
 
Widgic
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · America's Cup final race


Since I started shooting the America's Cup in San Francisco I had this vision for a picture that I wanted to shoot: the winning team celebrating while crossing the finish line.

Until Tuesday when Team USA evened the score with Team New Zealand the logistics would have required that I be at the finish line (America's Cup Park) for every race, not realistic, especially considering that races get cancelled, etc... But Wednesday was THE day and before I continue my story, I got the shot I wanted (or very close to it):

http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v130/p1955766879-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA crew celebrates after crossing the finish line ahead of the the Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat to win the winner take all final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.The Oracle Team USA crew celebrates after crossing the finish line first during the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.



Here is a little more on how I got there.

My plan was to go to the America's Cup Park at Pier 27 in San Francisco, setup my gear early and wait for the finish of the race to get my shot. But Wednesday early morning things got a little more complicated as I received an email from my editor telling me that there was a remote possibility that we might go on the water with the Team New Zealand sponsors boat... But I wouldn't know late morning. So I packed my gear with both opportunities in mind and around 9:00 AM I headed up to the city. I arrived around America's Cup Park a little before 10:00 AM where fans were already waiting in line for the gates to open, more than 3 hours ahead of the start of the race!

I decided to park in a short term metered spot and stake out the shooting location. By 10:15 when I got to the end of the pier, there was already a crowd all along the guardrail, blocking all the good shooting spots. I asked around and all the high vantage points required either a VIP or press pass. So I got back to my car, googled the closest hardware store (smack in the middle of the financial district of all places) and went out to buy a $65 5' tall step ladder.

By the time I got back to the America's Cup park, all the local parking garages around the area were full, so I had to park a mile away (at Pier 39) and hoof it to the America's Cup park dragging my gear and my newly acquired step ladder while dodging tourists. Not a great start!

When I arrived to my shooting location around 11:30, the crowd was already 3 deep along the guard rail with hundreds more walking around the park. So I setup my stepladder, unpacked some of my gear, shoved my rolling suitcase under the ladder and... waited for the action to start. Back home in the morning I made the last minute decision to not bring a full tripod with a gimball (in my opinion required to shoot at 800mm) but only my monopod because I knew the shooting space would be tight. That ended up being the right decision as I would not have been able to use the tripod in such a crowd, but the downside was that shooting with 800mm focal lenght, standing on a 4" deep x 12" side step while leaning over... was somewhat of a challenge!

http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v121/p1964347916-2.jpg

http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v108/p2026168880-2.jpg

On the plus side, the weather was perfect and the breeze was picking up but not too much so the chances that we'd have a race would be good.

At around noon, the AC72 boats pulled out of the dock and paraded in front of the crowd, good opportunity to check my equipment and decide which lens to get ready for when the boats would come back for the finish. By that time the area was packed.

http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v45/p2015347855-2.jpg

At approximately 13:15 the race got under way, Team NZ taking the lead. The downside of shooting from the America's Cup park is that you get to see the boats only when they get down the leeward mark to turn around and then back when the race to the finish line. And even then, the turn as the leeward mark is pretty far (1.5 miles at least) so even with a 800mm (400mm + 2x teleconverter), you end up shooting through a lot of marine "air" which isn't great to get sharp pictures!

And for the last leg to the finish line, the are coming straight at you, not the best angle to shoot these boats. Oh well... that's not what I was here for really!

Anyways, Team USA caught up to Team NZ on the upwind leg, turn the afterburners on... and they were gone! I was hoping for a close race to get more shots of the boats together, oh well!

As they say the rest was history... Team USA made the comeback of the century, won the series and the Cup and I got the picture I wanted.

I decided to stick around for the award ceremonies where my step ladder ended up being a life saver again as the access to the front line of the podium was mobbed by official photog and fans.

http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v45/p2047322904-4.jpg

Then getting out of the city (1 hour), back home (another hour), get a few photos selected, edited, captioned and delivered to my editor (final article here) and rush to another late evening photoshoot... all in one day's work.

Full gallery of the day here

And a few selected shots below.

Gear used: Nikon D4 / Nikon D700 / 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 / 70-200mm F/2,8 / 400mm F/2.8 / TC20-III

Denis
www.widgic.com


#1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a example of what the "dirty" air will do at these distances with long focal length.
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v123/p2090803198-4.jpg
The Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat leads the Oracle Team USA boat during the first leg of the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v110/p2135987846-4.jpg
The Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat leads the Oracle Team USA boat during the first leg of the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8


#3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v109/p2113588581-4.jpg
The Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat leads the Oracle Team USA boat at the leeward gate during the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v90/p1981202989-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA boat is racing after the Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat during the upwind leg of the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.

<hr>
#5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v98/p1961654176-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA boat takes the lead away from the Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat during the upwind leg of the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v43/p2129023672-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA boat crosses the finish line ahead of the the Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat in the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v100/p1971636399-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA crew celebrates after crossing the finish line ahead of the the Fly Emirate Team New Zealand boat to win the winner take all final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.The Oracle Team USA crew celebrates after crossing the finish line first during the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v131/p1897111676-4.jpg
The crowd and San Francisco Fire fighter boat celebrate the Oracle Team USA winning the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v114/p1905070891-4.jpg
The Fly Emirate Team New Zealand crew waves at the crowd at the America's Cup Park after their defeat in the the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v127/p1931779081-4.jpg
The Oracle Team USA boat returns to dock after its victory in the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v87/p1880594418-4.jpg
Team USA owner Larry Ellison and skipper Jimmy Spithill celebrates with the America's Cup Trophy after his team won the final race of the final race of the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v113/p2081278355-4.jpg
Team USA celebrates after winning the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.


#13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://widgic.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v49/p1953705149-4.jpg
Team USA celebrates after winning the 2013 America's Cup Finals in San Francisco on September 25, 2013. Team USA won the Cup 9-8.



Sep 27, 2013 at 12:36 PM
sklar
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · America's Cup final race


Very cool, great shots, too!


Sep 27, 2013 at 01:55 PM
Paul Gardner
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · America's Cup final race


Nice shots, I didn't cover the last day as I had been there off and on for the last couple of months and got about 130 race shots. It was a hassel taking Bart from San Jose and the 49 bus to the end of Van Ness Ave. I found that the piers down by Green's restaurant gave me much better coverage than pier 27. Some of my images are earlier on this board.
Regards
Paul



Sep 27, 2013 at 08:45 PM
ian408
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · America's Cup final race


Quite a story. I have to say tho, I like #7 over #1 for the celebratory shot. Much more dynamic.


Sep 28, 2013 at 10:03 AM
nissanboy
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · America's Cup final race


Good stuff. Amazing boats.... Cool shots


Sep 30, 2013 at 01:08 AM
Aqualung
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · America's Cup final race


Great story, great shots...that's a long day.

Chris



Sep 30, 2013 at 07:55 AM





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