Photos
Gillette Stadium, Boston
Gillette Stadium, home of the Boston Patriots, was the site for a Canon Shooter’s Insight for the new EOS-1D Mark IV. Canon Explorer of Light Simon Bruty and Canon Technical Advisor, Rudy Winston went on the football field to test the new Mark IV’s new AutoFocus system while the Patriots and Jets battled it out.
It was exciting to be an NFL Pro Shooter for the night. And after that experience, I realize now I’ll never be able to sit in the stands again.
I was looking forward to the opportunity to be able to work with Simon. We talked several times via phone prior to make the arrangements for this event, which had a lot of coordinating and logistics. And he seemed like he was going to be a lot of fun to work with. I was right. It was quite a great time and watching the game from that perspective was quite unique. It was interesting also to get tips from Simon on shooting a football game. One really important one, “Watch out! They’ll run you over without even a thought!!” And he was right.
One of the most exciting moments for me was when the teams were at the Patriot goal post, and the photographers anticipated a touchdown there. Well, as luck would have it, I stayed at the Jets’ goal post. The Jets’ intercepted the play and ran it back to their own end zone for a touchdown! Right in front of me!!! I was one of the only photographers at that spot so I got quite a great shot. Simon Says: a lot of sports photography is about luck, and making your own. Lesson learned!
All footage of the Insight was captured on video and stills with the 5D Mark II by Rhonda, and stills with a 7D by Cliff Sobel, both of The Phoenix Group.