The high school boys basketball regional tournament was held in our fair city this weekend, and Corpus Christi had two boys teams represented and vying for a state tournament bid. It seemed like a good time to break out the remote camera.
I tried it last week for the girls regional tournament, and it didn't go so well. I originally wanted it behind one of the corners of the glass slightly above the rim. The tournament officials didn't like where I had placed it at first, so I had to move it. It ended up high in the center just under the clock, about even with the top of the goal. They were nice enough to lower the goal for me several times to make the change. Unfortunately I didn't take into account the change in glare on the glass once I moved it and after the goal was raised. Also, high school girls don't jump nearly as high as I expected, so they ended up super tiny in the frame. It was a good test run, but the images weren't really usable.
Cut to this weekend, and I avoided the glass all together, opting to have the camera hang further back and below the support post for the goal and net. It was a little more exposed to a flying ball, but the tournament officials were happy that it was much further back and less noticeable. I was pretty happy with the results as well.
I fired the camera with a Pocket Wizard mounted onto my camera as I shot on the sideline. That meant every time I took a shot from the floor, the remote camera would shoot the identical moment from above. It made for some neat pairings.
I wasn't really sure what to expect when my editors asked if I wanted to spend a week at the beach taking photos of the of the busiest week of spring break. I certainly didn't expect to see this.
Keg stands, pole dancing and sun worshiping were all part of the spring break fun along Coastal Bend beaches last week. This is the second year the paper has sent a three-person team to cover the busiest week of the spring break, when local high schools and the major Texas colleges are all on break. Two reporters, a live camera and myself set out each day to capture the action. And there was plenty of action.
Last year I felt like I'd lucked out and dodged the spring break bullet. Turns out, I was missing one of the best gigs of the year. Thanks for the memories, Spring Break. Until we meet again...
