Hey guys, just have a question for those that shoot at football games. I shoot for our local high school football team and always take my camera gear with me into the game and leave my bag right by the benches. I really don't worry about it there because our trainers are all over the area and I put a jacket over the bag to kinda cover it up.
However, this weekend will be different. I asked for and received a press pass to shoot at a major college football game this Saturday afternoon. This will be my first time to shoot a college game and I am very excited and very thankful to have the opportunity. My question though is, what do you do with your camera bag at a college game? Do you leave it in the press box or keep it somewhere with you on the sidelines or bring it in at all?
I have certainly enjoy the forums here and appreciate any thoughts or ideas on what others do in these cases. Thanks.
Where are you shooting? Each stadium is different. Some won't let you bring bags, etc., onto the sidelines, some will. Some places have secure photo rooms, others don't...
FYI, many places won't allow photog's into the press box - we're sort of the unwashed of the media team - banished to former dark rooms or closets turned into editing rooms, many of which are buried way under the stands.
Bring your camera, long lens, monopod and a fanny pack to hold extra batteries/memory cards. I can't think of a worse place to leave expensive camera gear than next to a bench with 250 lb football players with helmets, etc. I shoot HS football games and that's what I bring. The last thing you want is to have someone else responsible for watching your gear.
Karl: I'll echo what others have said. Unless you'll have access to the press room and can somehow secure your bag there, you should plan to take only what you need and be able to carry it all for the duration of your shoot. Whether you'll be shooting with one or two camera/lens rigs, you can carry one on a monopod and the other with a strap. Then a belt system, hip pack or backpack to carry anything else you'll need. A word of advice: be efficient! No sense carrying more weight than you need. You'll also want to be able to easily access what's in your bag (you don't want to have to put everything on the ground in order to get your pack off and fumble around inside of it).
Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I'm shooting at Georgia Tech on Saturday and have been told (by GT) that my credentials will get me onto the sidelines and the press box. Y'all are confirming what I had already thought and that was to just leave the bag in the car and just take what I need.
I'll have a 400mm on one body on the monopod with my 70-200 on the other body, plus my 24-70 on my waist just in case. I plan on taking a bunch of memory cards and spare batteries because I plan on shooting before going in and then a whole lot during the game. That's why I had thought about just leaving the bag in the car since I was going to be shooting going in.
If you have any Do's and Don'ts tips, I'd appreciate those as well.
Not to rain on your parade but there have been a rash of muggings, mostly of students, around the Ga. Tech neighborhood. You should not leave anything of value in your car. You should have a buddy walk with you to and from the stadium, even if you have to buy him a ticket.
Again, I'm not trying to complicate things for you or suck the fun out of your outing but I think you should be very careful down there.
I shoot primarily HS, but am going waist bag in part to solve this issue and for the convenience, 70-200 goes slung over shoulder and 300 2.8 goes on the stick and is carried that way, with extra battery cards a WA and such in the waist bag
you seem to have come to the same conclusion, please post your shots
Extra batteries, cf cards, rain gear if the forecast calls for it, a couple of Power Bars or the like, maybe some water and you should be good to go. Oh, and make sure everything's tight on your monopod so your 400 doesn't start 'sinking' toward the turf.
"everything's tight on your monopod so your 400 doesn't start 'sinking' toward the turf. "
Hah! I had that happen to me. I wound up shooting the entire game from my knees! That's when I found out what that stupid little plastic ring was for... good thing I didn;t empty the garbage.
I cable my pack to a chair in the media room at Qualcomm. I have a small luggage type lock I secure all the zippers with. There is always a guard posted outside the door but still you never know. Not sure if you have that option but a bicycle cable can be a great deterent if you have something to attatch it to.
I always carry everything on me. There is sometimes a locker available at some of the schools I shoot at, but I don't use them, since I drive back to submit my images.
Do you have access to "The Guide" on sportsshooter? This info might be helpful.
It may be an incorrect assumption on my part, but anytime I've shot D1 sports I just assume they know that to some degree they have to have accommodations for media...still photogs, reporters, tv crews, etc. In my experience that includes somewhere photographers can set up a laptop and process/transmit photos under deadline. Like Dennis said, these places often seem to be afterthoughts and are not glamorous in the least.
If you're working media (which we are to assume, since you got a credential. ) you might read that info in the guide and think about where you are going to process and transmit from. Looks like setting up your laptop and working from right there on the sideline might be your best bet.
OK, I'll cheat a little, in case you can't access the info at the link above (sorry, Scott ) . According The Guide, "the photographers work area is in the pressbox". This probably means there will be somebody from the school there at all times, but it also means there may be a lot of traffic in the area, as in a lot of people walking by your gear.
Sometimes when you work the same school a lot you will come to know the security guards and they will watch your gear for you. Most times the folks there are students who staff the rooms to help with IT issues or hand out and collect the vests (if vests are used). Many places, though, have nobody there to watch over the place.
In general, I will leave my Airport Security roller bag in a photo room, with all my unused or extra gear inside (including my laptop) and being more than a little anal, I lock the zippers, and lock the bag to something permanent, or a chair if nothing permanent is available. I will RARELY leave my laptop out while I'm not there (might do this if I'm running a PhotoShop action on a bunch of images at the end of the first half, so I can get back on the field), but many photogs have no problem doing this.
I also haul much of my gear with me in a TT belt system.
There's a LOT more info on Bobby Dodd Stadium in The Guide, but you'll need to join SportsShooter to get that.
from experience, stuff gets stolen from photographers's rooms. don't leave your gear anywhere unless you can afford to loose it. btw, what's with the extra cards and batteries? how many shots do you guys take anyway? I can't come close to filling one card per camera (4G) and batteries usually have at least 50% charge after the game. maybe i don't take enough pics.
) you might read that info in the guide and think about where you are going to process and transmit from. Looks like setting up your laptop and working from right there on the sideline might be your best bet.
) . According The Guide, "the photographers work area is in the pressbox". This probably means there will be somebody from the school there at all times, but it also means there may be a lot of traffic in the area, as in a lot of people walking by your gear.