Photography policy at world cups

[Prometheus]

Does anyone know if there are any Rules/Laws/Customs regarding photographing world cup events in the United States?

[DHCJr]

This is not US, but FIE policy. There are really only 2, NO Flash Photagraphy. Second don't interfere with the bout. i.e. Stay out of the marked area that is set up with chains, rope, etc.

[bernard c]

The wire service photo taken in Paris, noted in another post here
, appears to have made use of arena strobes, which are commonly used in major arena sports in the US such as basketball and hockey. Another example is at the Fencing Photo of the Week here . These powerful lights are mounted high above the action, of course with the prior approval of the event management, and are controlled by a radio remote control triggered by the camera. In general, no camera-mounted flashes are allowed, as these could interfer with the competitors or director.

[pkt]

This site - courtesy of the Salle Aramis - provides some useful hints on what setting to use...
http://home.columbus.rr.com/salliearamis/aid.htm

PK

[veeco]

Originally posted by bernard c
The wire service photo taken in Paris, noted in another post here
, appears to have made use of arena strobes, which are commonly used in major arena sports in the US such as basketball and hockey. Another example is at the Fencing Photo of the Week here . These powerful lights are mounted high above the action, of course with the prior approval of the event management, and are controlled by a radio remote control triggered by the camera. In general, no camera-mounted flashes are allowed, as these could interfer with the competitors or director.

I was at the tournament that the AFP picture was taken, and I don't think I saw any strobes. Perhaps I wasn't looking close enough. They do have some pretty powerful lights in that gym though, but they are always on. Coubertin is a pretty well light gymnasium.

The Salle Aramis picture appears to have been taken with a regular flash, because of the reflection in the leather(?) seats behind the fencers, and the fact that the light seems to be aimed directly at the fencers from where the picture was taken.

I could be wrong, but that's how I perceive it.

[bernard c]

The Paris photo shows a slight motion blur at the foil tip of the left fencer and on both non-planted feet. It is unlikely that a shutter speed high enough for this could be achieved with just the ambient lights. (Unfortunately the tip of the right foil is not visible, so it is unclear whether it is planted or just in a whipping motion.)

Regarding the Salle Aramis photo, the glare from the leather seats could not be from an on-camera flash since the angle would direct the glare away from the camera. Also, that photo does not show the characteristic inverse square drop in illumination level of a point-source light directly from the camera location. The room appears evenly lighted, and there are no harsh shadows, only soft and diffuse shadows on the floor below the fencers. Strobing is definitely the best and only good way to light fencing photos.

[bernard c]

I emailed the wire service to inquire about the lighting. They replied that it was ambient light only. It must have been very bright, and the noise from the high ISO didn't show up in the small web photo. Nice background too.

[veeco]

You can also check out this picture I took, taken at Coubertin:

http://veeco.is-a-geek.com/albums/D1...0869.sized.jpg

This was taken with no flash at 1/80th f/2.2 ISO 80 on an Olympus E-10 which is a good camera, but far from being great for this type of shots (mainly because the ISO setting sucks), you can see that the place is pretty well lighted. The amount of blur is pretty minimal from what I would have expected to get.

Coubertin is a pretty well light stadium. IIRC, it has very large windows at the top letting a lot of natural light in, and some additional lights to top.

I still think the Salle Aramis picture is regular flash. The light just has that "flash" look to it. It's too crude and not soft enough, so I think it is either flash or a very powerful yet small light source. Also, I think that if you were shooting with a wide angle lens (as it seems to be the case) the reflection would still show in the picture, wouldn't it?

I am by no means an expert photographer, so I could be wrong, though. In any case, let me know what you think...

[pkt]

veeco,

A very well timed shot. I was going to PhotoShop it for you but can't open it since it was downloaded...if someone has any suggestion pls let me know.

Yes, the Salle Aramis foto was shot using s flash. If not, it was PhotoShopped. But it was too well lit for it to be the latter...

Show us more of your fotos...

PK

[veeco]

It needs definitely some cropping, but I don't think I can sharpen it well enough. But you're free to give it a shot if you'd like.

You can access the whole set of photos from the Div1 championships from France at the following address. You may have more luck with PS with the full size versions.

http://veeco.is-a-geek.com/gallery/v...bumName=D12003

Be nice, it was my first attempt at taking fencing pictures. And it made me realize the shortcomings of my current camera. Fortunately I should receive a better one soon, so I should be able to shoot better pics at the upcoming Monal Challenge.

If you're wondering, this picture shows Laura Flessel (l) and Jeanne Colignon (r). Flessel won that bout.

I like this shot because it shows how much women's epee has changed in the last years. It used to be that if you were a tall lanky woman you'd basically be a good women's epee fencer. Now these girls are as athletic as the guys and can fence like the guys.

If you compare WE fencing from 1996 from WE fencing from today, there is a huge difference in ability and a much broader range of actions. Back in 1996, only Flessel could do this. Now there is a new generation that fences like that as well.