The Tools of Shooting Football

When I go out to shoot sports I want to be able to move around quickly and be prepared for any situation. This involves carrying little gear and being prepared for anything. Here is a run down of the gear I use to shoot Friday Night Football in the Great State (For all you people living in New Mexico, that's Texas). It gets very hot here in especially with field turf that just absorbs the heat. So I always carry a bottle of water with me, a hat if needed and sunscreen.

Here is a list of what I shoot with.
• 2 Nikon D2Hs
• 400mm f2.8 (below) or 300mm f2.8
• 70-200mm f2.8
• 16-35mm f2.8
• sb-800 flash
• monopod to hold 400mm
• Newswear chest vest: holding 16-35mm, flash, lens cloth, extra compact flash cards, rain cover for lens and camera, knee pads, pens and black sharpie maker, leatherman multi tool, four extra batteries, cell phone holder, paper, business cards. This chest vest saves your back distributing the weight on your upper body.

Now the 400mm is expensive and I tell people that if you are just starting out to purchase a 70-200mm f2.8. It's a long enough lens to get close action shots, and short enough to get the action when it gets close to you. It's not a cheap lens but well worth the price because you can use it too shoot sports or your kids graduation or family events. Plus because the aperture is f2.8 you can shoot in low light that you get in high school stadiums.

I dont use the knee pads to shoot high school football I do use them for college football. I've seen people use volleyball knee pads to construction knee pads.

Rain covers are essential. One you never know when it will rain. Two trash bags just don't work I've used them and while they are good while in a pinch its best to buy a quality rain cover to protect your expensive camera.

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Football

I am still planning on posting a photo of the gear I take with me when shooting Friday Night Football. But, I forgot I was traveling to Spain for vacation (to celebrate two years of being married) and when I got back, well I was still in vacation mode. So I promise there will be a full report this week (maybe). To tide you over, here is a picture of my and fellow North Texas alumni and DMN shooter Vernon Bryant before a football game.

There was a time when Vernon and I would eat buffalo wings and drink Texas tea before shooting a North Texas football game for the student newspaper. Those times are well behind us.

I'll also post a few pictures from my trip to España next week. The picture to the left is from Feria de Abril in Sevilla. Spain has a very rich culture and old culture. Most of the places we visited are older than the United States dating back to the 12th century.

I give a shout out to Jake and Annette Zapata who were gratious enough to let my wife and I stay with them for the week.



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