Cam Ranger - Easily send photos to your iPad! The ultimate Nikon D4 camera control device?

Baseball HOF inductees Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox
(Nikon D4, 24-120 lens, 1/200th @ 6.3 , 250 ASA) 

As my career has progressed from B/W film, to chrome film to negative film and now to digital, I've seen the growing need for quicker delivery of images. The photographer has to be more than just a photographer - you have to be a solutions driven problem solver to make your clients happy. Technology can often help you with this.
I have previously blogged about the Nikon WT-4 transmitter.
The WT-4 allows you to send images from your Nikon camera to a configured iOS or Mac/Windows computer. The Nikon transmitter is a good piece of equipment BUT it is way too expensive for what it is and it almost takes an IT professional to set it up. Also, the transmitter was tied to the brand, meaning the Nikon transmitters work only with Nikon, not Canon. This was once a problem when I booked an architecture shoot and I needed to use the incredible Canon 17mm Tilt shift lens. Of course, that required me to use a Canon full frame body and I didn't have a transmitter to use for that shoot. I had to tether it to my Mac Book Pro to get a preview. A new solution recently presented itself to me. The Cam Ranger. I decided to use this new piece of gear on my favorite shoot of 2013 - Portraits of the newest Baseball Hall Of Fame inductees at the annual MLB Winter Meetings. 

Retired Managers Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox had been elected to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame by the Expansion Era Committee. This was announced on December 9 in a press conference inside the Disney Dolphin Hotel. 
My job was to take the first official portraits of the newest HOF inductees. 
I had my studio set up with 2 Profoto 7B packs, a 5' Photoflex Octodome for the key light and a Profoto beauty dish for the kicker. The strobes were triggered by the Pocket Wizard X. I photographed each man separately but the important photo was the group picture. Everyone wanted the photo of these great friends together. The entire shoot lasted about 3 minutes and the Cam Ranger transmitted each JPG from the camera to the iPad. The large preview on the 9.7" iPad helped me spot potential shadows that I would need to correct. After each shot, the people from the HOF would  also comment on how good they all looked together. This positive energy really helped energize the group. It became easy to get them close and to smile.

Nikon D4 transmitting JPGs to my iPad 4 via the Cam Ranger. 

Now, if sending images to a device all the Cam Ranger did, it would easily be worth the money. however, as I learned, the preview function is only one of the features.

The Cam Ranger comes with the device, power cable, a USB type A to USB mini B, battery and carry case. The removable, rechargeable battery is easy to swap out. 

On the right, the small on/off switch is next to the micro USB b port (used to charge the device). On the left, is where you plug in your DSLR usb cable. The ethernet port is for firmware upgrade.

The Cam Ranger costs $299 and will work with both Canon and Nikon cameras*. The set up is very easy. After you download the dedicated Cam Ranger app to the device, you enter a unique code when you open the app. The code is located on the backside of the Cam Ranger. No more IP addresses, Target server addresses with the WT-4.  

The Cam Ranger has the ability to:

• Send Preview images to a device (iOS or Android  device and Mac or Windows computer) for review
• Use Live view for both movie and still images
• Control exposure, ASA, focus and shoot photos (and movies) from your device
• Set drive mode, white balance, metering mode, focus mode
• Intervalometer for time lapse and bulb photography
• Macro photography, focus stacking
• HDR bracketing

I can see the remote camera feature very useful for me when I set up remotes at race finish lines. Often, these road races start so early that the finish line is in near darkness when you mount the camera. Now with the Cam Ranger, you can live view the image remotely, set focus and change exposure just before the finish. This is critical if the camera cannot be easily accessed. 

You can then hand the iPad to an assistant, and they can use the device to actually fire the camera. I will write another blog post about this feature once I shoot some of those assignments. 

*Cam Ranger  - Currently Supported Cameras:

Nikon: 

• D5000
• D5100 
• D5200 
• D90 
• D7000
• D7100
• D300
• D300S
• D700
• D600
• D800
• D800E
• D3
• D3s
• D3x
• D4

Canon: 

• Xsi
• T1i
• T2i
• T3i
• T4i
• 40D
• 50D
• 60D
• 6D
• 7D
• 5D Mark II
• 5D Mark III
• DS Mark III
• 1D Mark IV
• 1Dx

MLB Postseason Gigapans!

In October 2011, I flew just over 9000 miles ... 

from New York/Orlando/Dallas/Milwaukee/Tampa/St Louis/Orlando to St Louis. 

That is easily the most travel that I have done in a one month period. 

St Louis Cardinals manager Tony Larussa speaks during the World Series Celebration

Shooting panoramic gigapan photos from the entire 2011 Major League Baseball playoff run was an amazing experience. My friend, David Bergman, a leader in the use of gigapan photography, brought me on board to help him tackle this MLB project. We were tasked to shoot gigapans of every MLB playoff game during the 2011 postseason. What an assignment!
For those who do not know, the gigapan is a device that helps you to take extremely detailed panoramics by stitching together hundreds of photos together. You just program the device with the scene you want to capture, and you let it go!

The St Louis Cardinals World Series Celebration

Most of the images that I made were comprised of about 300 to 400 images (each one, shot with a Nikon D700, a 12 megapixel file) and stitched together the file is easily in excess of a 4 gigabyte file.  The amazing thing is that online you will see the wide shot of the baseball game, but you are able to zoom in and see people in the stands and, if you connect with Facebook, you can also tag yourself and your Facebook friends. Of course, the art of the gigapan is subtle. Anyone can get a gigapan on and let it shoot, but are the players in the right spot? Are they duplicated somewhere else on the field? Is there a real moment on the field of play?

Fans at Game 6 

On October 27th, I witnessed World Series game 6. In addition to seeing one of the greatest postseason games ever, I was the first person to ever shoot a World Series gigapan from behind home plate. Normally, the position has to be in dead center field because the goal is to showcase as many fans as possible. I was able to shoot from behind home plate because for games 6 and 7, David and I produced "dueling" gigapans from opposite sides so that we could virtually photograph everyone in the stadium. 

World Series Game 6 - Texas Rangers at St Louis Cardinals . All the blue squares represent all the people who tagged themselves on Facebook. 

This web feature has been very popular with the fans who pop onto the MLB.com website. According to a recent USA Today newspaper story, the use of this technology has driven over 100,000 page views on MLB.com this season. Here is a link to the 2011 MLB Tagoramics that David and I produced this postseason. 

A photo of me from World Series Game 7.  This is from David Bergman's gigapan from home plate.

Roy Halladay cover shoot

Here is the Roy Halladay photo shoot that I did in February 2010 for the Sporting News. Although it is over a year old, people still email me and ask questions about it. I had some behind the scenes video, so I put this together for you.


Roy Halladay Photo cover shoot from Preston Mack on Vimeo.

Roy Halladay cover shoot

My love of photography began with baseball cards. My brother Pat and I had thousands of cards, and I think I picked my favorite players based on the player photos. Whenever I have a chance to shoot a professional baseball player, this is always on my mind. When the Sporting News asked me to photograph Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, I knew it was an amazing opportunity. Roy had been traded from the Toronto Blue Jays and had never put on the Phillies uniform. I would be able to make the first ever photos of him in full uniform.

The assignment was to make a cover photo of Roy on the pitching mound. The Phillies hold their spring training in Clearwater, and Roy lives in nearby Odessa. He always reports early for camp which makes photo shoots like this possible. It is nice to be able to have this kind of access before all the other players arrive - before all the media requests and before they have a regimented schedule. I brought along two assistants for this shoot. My regular assistant Jorge and Shaun, a college kid out of Central Florida (UCF).

This is a breakdown of what I brought for the shoot:

-Profoto 7B generator with 1 head

-Profoto Acute 600B generator with 1 head

-Profoto Acute 1200 generator with 2 heads

-Profoto Acute 600 generator with 1 head

-4 speed rings, 2 White domes, 2 small softboxes, 1 Octobank , 1 Profoto medium softbox

-4 grid reflectors, 6 c stands, 2 100' extention cords, power strip

-2 Pocketwizard transmitters, 4 Pocket Wizard receivers, AA batteries

-1 large apple box, 2 sandbags, 1 multicart, 1 Scrim Jim, 6 foot ladder, 1 monopod, 2 mats, a baseball glove and major league baseball

-Cameras - Nikon D3, 2 D300's

-Lenses - Nikon 20mm, 50mm, 24-70, 70-200, 300 2.8

We had full access to Brighthouse Field, the main baseball diamond where the Single A Clearwater Threshers play. The only "negative" was that we had to shoot this photo at high noon. When you shoot outside, there are many things you can control, but the most important variable is the sun position. When it is high in the sky it is difficult to make the light look pretty. Overhead light is harsh and not warm. I think that most people would agree that low, colorful sunset light is the best.

I found out that we had Roy for a total of 1 and 1/2 hours. That is an eternity! I am glad he was so willing. Of course, I had 25 minutes, the rest of the time was for Sporting News reporter Steve Greenberg's interview. Most of my photo shoots with athletes are usually 7 minutes or less, so I was more than happy. With all this time, I wanted to make sure that I had multiple photo locations ready to go. The most important one was the cover shot, the vertical photo of Roy on the mound. We arrived at about 10am for the noon shoot.

Set up #1 - I always like to over light subjects, and this was no exception. I set up the Profoto 7B as the key light, about 5 feet in front of the mound, just to the third base side. I put the 5' Octobank here so I could get beautiful soft light on his face. This battery operated generator was set to 1000 WS. I made sure to position the light low enough so the visor on his ball cap wouldn't cast a shadow on his face. I put the Profoto Acute 600B between the pitchers plate and firstbase, with the zoom reflector. I put the Profoto Acute 600 on the other side, mirroring the first rim light. Both rim lights were set at 600WS, or full power. I normally would put a neutral density filter on the lens to knock down the exposure, but from the low angle I was shooting, there was no real background other than blue sky. When you shoot large aperture portraits, it is a nice look because you normally do not get such depth of field control with lit portraits. The light for this photo was 1/250th @ F/16 , 200ASA with the Nikon D3 (24-70) and Nikon D300 (70-200). Since the sun was at a high position over first base, I had my assistant Jorge stand on a 6 foot ladder with the Scrim Jim. He blocked out the sunlight so I was able to light him only with my light. At 12 sharp, Roy came out. I told him that it was weird seeing him in that red uniform! All of us are used to seeing him in the Grey and Blue of the Toronto Blue Jays. He smiled and said that it was the first time he put the full uniform on and he didn't even look in the mirror yet. He went out onto the mound and did about all you can do as a pitcher - He posed from the windup, the stretch, hands up, slightly down, ball exposed and hidden, smile, no smile, etc. I made sure to shoot tight, medium and loose shots, allowing plenty of space for the page designer. You always try to shoot a little loose because the dimensions of the magazine is never the same as your camera image.

Set up#2 - I have always wanted to shoot a low, wide angle photo of a professional pitcher as he delivered the pitch to home plate. I think that action photo captures the power and elegence of pitching. The light for this setup would be easy adjust for - I just needed to eliminate the light on the firstbase side and move the third base rim light towards second base. Now, with my position low, and to the third base side of the pitchers mound, I get a dynamic look, low angle view of Roy pitching the ball. The reason this photo works was because of the sun's position. Normally you would not shoot into the sun - however, when you have full power generators providing strobe light, you have the ability to knock down the ambient light and make a nice image. The stands at Brighthouse field would be backlit since I am shooting into the sun, but I thought it added a nice dramatic effect. One last bit of technique, I used a 8X neutral density filter on the 20mm lens. I didn't want the stands to have too much sharpness - you have so little control of depth of field with wide angle lenses so I use this whenever I can. The exposure here was 1/250th @ F/8 , 200ASA with the Nikon D3 (20mm). Roy was very interested in the shot and looked at the image preview on the back of my D3 a few times to get his positioning and action just right. I had to move his follow through angle to right of home plate so that I could get his glove to hit the sun when he broke his hands.

Set up #3 - If possible, I always try to shoot something different. You never know what the magazine would like to use, so this is where having extra gear is useful. We staged another setup with the Profoto Acute 1200 with the medium softbox on the dugout steps. I was going to put in a soft light onto the dugout bench and wall. The exposure here was 1/250th @ F/8 , 200ASA with a Nikon D300 (70-200). This was the simplest set up and the quickest to execute. The first image I shot was a close up of Roy holding a baseball. I love details of the game, so I wanted an image of him holding his sinker - that is his out pitch. This may be interesting only to me, but I think it is worth seeing. After that, I shot his portrait as he sat on the bench.

I was very happy with the shoot. It was a real pleasure working with Roy Halladay. He was open to all my ideas and posed for each image with a lot of energy. These images ran in the February 15, 2010 issue of the Sporting News. I think that the magazine looked great. My favorite image from the shoot is the wide angle image that became the full page opener inside the magazine. Special thanks to my assistants Jorge and Shaun.

Shaun also pulled double duty, shooting some behind the scenes video for this blog.

Cover shoot with Mets third baseman David Wright

Met's 3B David Wright

The Sporting News is one of the all time great sports magazines. One of my professional goals has always been to shoot photos for them, and covers if I was lucky enough. When I got the assignment to shoot Mets third baseman David Wright, I was elated.

David was named to the Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, so we had to shoot this last minute portrait before he left Mets camp and reported to Team USA. My assignment was to shoot the cover photo for the baseball preview issue. I always try and get a good selection of poses and looks to give the editors lots of options. To do this, you try to plan out the shoot so that it runs efficiently and you never waste any of the subject's time.

My assistant Jorge and I arrived at the Met's Training facility in Port St Lucie at around 7am. I had to do a quick scout. In all the years that I have covered spring training baseball, I had never shot in Port St Lucie. I quickly determined that the area around third base would not work since there was too much sunlight.

When I look for portrait locations, the first thing I need is a shady area. I like to have large areas of shadow in the foreground so I can have options with the subject. I always have a Scrim Jim with me to provide shade for the subject in case the sun is not in the right area. Since I had to shoot full body portraits of David, the Scrim Jim would not be able to provide complete shade. I had to set up with the sun 1/4 backlit. That is usually a good compromise.

The first set up was at second base area. I used two Profoto 7B lights. The main light was diffused with a 2'x3' Profoto softbox, positioned behind the camera to the right. The rim light was diffused with a small softbox pointed at the subject's right shoulder, about 10 feet behind the subject and to the left. The sun was hitting the subject's left shoulder, about 30 degrees to the camera and high. I had budgeted about 10 minutes at this photo position to get the fielding and batting shot.

Since I have only 2 Profoto battery powerpacks (2 more Profoto packs on AC power), I would have to fill some time while Jorge moved the portable lights from the second base area to third base for the final photo setup. I decided to light the dugout for a different bat portrait. I would shoot a portrait here to give Jorge about 5 minutes to move the lights.

When David arrived on set, he was pleasant and very focused, He gave me great smiles and serious looks. My favorite shot is him standing with the bat. I thought for sure that would be the cover shot. (The exposure for the bat portrait was 1/250th at F14 , ASA 200 with a Nikon D3 and 70-200mm VR lens. Zoom was set at 100mm)

When I got to the dugout for the second photo set up, I had David sit on the opposite end of the dugout, close to where the bat rack is. I shot the photo with a 300mm lens to really compress the image. I love the dark colors in the dugout because it makes for a real clean background. The main light was a Profoto

1200 acute light with an 5' Octobank. This was set up camera left, about 5 feet from his face. I "faked" sunlight in the dugout with another light, hitting him from above and to his

right diffused with a small softbox. The Sporting News used this photo as the opener in the main spread. (The exposure for the dugout portrait was 1/250th at F9 , ASA 200 with a Nikon D300 and 300mm VR lens).

The final setup was at third base. Since the sun is so strong, I had to use the scrim. It leaves a shadow on the ground, so it is not as good to use when you have to shoot full body images. I like this image, especially if they were to use it as a double truck opener. This was lit with a Profoto 7b as the main light with a 2'X'3' Profoto softbox and a rim light on the left. (The exposure for this third base photo was 1/250th at F14 , ASA 200 with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 lens)

You cannot make nice photos with out great subjects. David Wright is a real easy person to work with. I have never heard any media member, reporter or photographer, ever say anything bad about David. He approaches these photo shoots very professionally and I am grateful for that! David gave me almost 25 minutes for this portrait session. That is an eternity... I am not sure if I will ever get that long to shoot a portrait again!

Roger (Clemens) and Me

Roger Clemens throwing a fastball to me during the shoot
Myth Busters is a reality show on the Discovery Channel about proving or disproving myths and urban legends. I was hired to shoot the publicity stills for the episode. When I arrived for the photo shoot at Tinker Field in downtown Orlando, I immediately knew something was wrong. All the producers for Myth Busters were running around crazy.

Roger (Clemens) and me - after the 4 hour taping of Mythbusters

This episode would feature future Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. They wanted to prove if a curve ball really curved, if a fastball can actually rise or if a slider really slides, etc. Despite all of the planning for talent, location permits, flights and lodging, it seems that the producers forgot to hire a catcher. Who was Roger Clemens going to throw to? I think they assumed Clemens would bring his own catcher, but they soon realized that they were in a bind.
They only had four hours to tape the segment with Clemens. At nine o'clock in the morning, they had no idea where to find a catcher who could keep up with Roger's 90 mph pitches. I jokingly told the production crew that I had played college baseball 16 years ago and that maybe I could catch for him. To my surprise the producer said, "Great. Do you have any gear?"


After a frantic phone call, I was able to find a friend who drove out to the location and delivered the catcher's gear to me. When Roger arrived, I introduced myself and told him I would be taking publicity photos.


Clemens met everyone else on the cast and crew and then asked, "Where is my catcher?"


I replied. "That would be me. I am pulling double duty today." Clemens looked at me incredulously...
I spent the next four hours alternating between catching his arsenal of pitches and taking photographs of Clemens in full catcher's gear. Catching for a Major League Baseball pitcher is an amazing experience. I couldn't believe the accuracy of his fastball. When I set up my target, I didn't have to move my glove - he would just hit the target.

His slider was difficult to catch because he throws it so hard. It starts out almost as fast as a fastball, but has a late break down and to the right. You really have to watch the spin (and see the tell tale "red dot") to have a chance to hit it. Roger's curve probably was the most effective pitch that day. Real tight spin and it broke very late in the strike zone. It was an 11 to 5 break.


However his most impressive pitch is his splitter. He releases the ball with a flat wrist (just like his fastball) and his arm action is still really quick, so it is very deceptive. Your instincts tell you the ball is going to come in real hard, but then it is there 10 MPH slower and dives down hard and to the left.


At the end, Roger Clemens thanked me and told me I did a great job. Four hours later, that "great job" I did translated into a numb and bruised left hand, two sore legs, an achy back and wild cave man hair.


I need to give special thanks to photographer Jimmy DeFlippo who helped me on the shoot. The more tired I became, the more work he had to do...




(Originally posted on Sportshooter.com, 03-05-2007)