Being an avid snowboarder and skateboarder I would really like to get into photographing these two extreme sports. I was just posting to see if anyone has any tips on flash set-ups for snowboarding photography...I've seen some crazy flash set-ups with a few on monopods stuck in the snow all synched, etc...A few of my friends are really good so I would like to show both mine and their skills.
And also if you would post some of your pictures I would really like to see them. Thanks!
I do contract photography for ESPN the Magazine, they send me there. To get credentials you need to have a publication submit a request for media credentials.
Jason Gorske wrote:
I really like your first one, if you don't mind me asking, how do you get a photo pass for xgames? Thats something I would love to shoot.
Look on this site some http://www.wheelsandwax.com/v3/
Look in the snow board section, plenty of decent images. I've never shot snowboarding, but I've shot bmx and skateboarding. I would highly recommend looking into a lighting set up. Pocket wizards are probably the top wireless transmitters, I use cactus triggers off ebay and they work fine for me. You can use basic hot shoe flash's, or look into some quantum q flash's. Probably wont want to carry around a bunch of studio heads if your just starting out, even though the people who do it for a living do. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help answer them if I can.
The great thing about the Winter X games is you don't really even need a pass. Yeah, you can get some slightly better spots, but you can still get kickass pictures standing on the sidelines.
Roberto is very right. I don't know about winter X, but when I first did summer X two years ago, I ran around and shot from suites, public seats, and pretty much anywhere except the crowded media areas. It was great.
The big difference between the general public and media for shots, in my opinion, would be the gear. I doubt they let a ticket holder roll out to a stadium with a 400 2.8. Other than that, and the media only areas, the same shots could be had if someone were intrepid enough.
Yeah, I did see one guy with a 400, but I never actually saw him use it. I had my 70-200, but I rarely used it. When I go back this winter the longest lens I'll probably take is my 135L.
roberto1979 wrote:
Yeah, I did see one guy with a 400, but I never actually saw him use it. I had my 70-200, but I rarely used it. When I go back this winter the longest lens I'll probably take is my 135L.
Just curious to know what other gear/lenses you would take to an event like this?
I used an 85 1.8 and my 17-40 the most just depending on what we were shooting. Next year I'll take my 135, 85, 17-40, and hopefully a new 10-17 fisheye!
I'm definitely no pro at this, but wanted to show another example of a shot without a flash. This is actually the first photo I have ever taken of skateboarding or extreme sports in general (taken over the weekend during a random stop at the skate park). Like you, I wish I knew more about flash setups, but until then , experimenting works just as well. But you may find that you won't even need a flash as often as you think.
