This year I had the honor to cover the NBA Finals again for NBA Entertainment. 2 Weeks on the road of traveling and shooting the best basketball players in the world, not bad. The Finals is extremely tough to cover as an event in whole, way tougher than regular season or any playoff round. The reason from the media stand point why its harder , is simple ... way more cameras, journalists, and media members in record numbers cover the finals and make it hard to get access with players and move around the arena in general. Also, security is always heightened throughout the arena, so moving around and covering multiple areas is 10 times harder than normal.
Below is a link to some postgame elements I captured as the 'at speed sound camera' (shooting 24 fps). The camera I am using is a Canon c300 marki (a versatile documentary camera). While on the court ... I'm shooting with an ND Filter of 2 stops, F Stop at 2.8, ISO 500/640, 180 degree shutter. Mostly every arena in the NBA when shooting at 24 fps you will want to have an ND Filter so you can shoot at the lowest F Stop.
Every shot in the link except one is from Canon 16-35mm , the trophy shot is Canon 24-70, because I was stuck in the crowd and could not get close to the stage. Whenever I have to capture moments like this, I mainly stay with a 16-35 to ensure I can get wide enough to get the scene. The last clip on on the celebration link is a shot of KD getting out of his car and being embraced by fans, perfect example of why you want a wide lense. A 24-70 on at this moment and I wouldn't be wide enough to see all the fans chanting his name, which to me made the scene.
