US Open Tennis: what will they permit?

wxwax

Hi y'all,

I'll be at the US Open tennis tourny Tuesday and Wednesday. Anyone know what they allow as far as cameras are concerned?

I see what they say on their website:

Cameras & Camcorders — Guests may not bring commercial video cameras or recording devices into the facility. The use of flash is prohibited. Cameras (including camera phones) are allowed onto the site if they meet the 12"W x 12"H x 16"L bag requirements.

My bag is well within those parameters. What's inside that bag may tweak them. I can fit a 1DmkII, a 70-200 2.8 as well as a couple of smaller lenses.

Will they flip out at the white lens? Or do they really mean it when the only limit they place on still cameras is the bag size?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been tossed from the grounds. :lol3

Thanks!

wxwax

Judging by this thread, I guess I'll be OK.

wxwax

Judging by this thread I'll be stopped.

wxwax

I think pants and shorts with very deep pockets might be the way to go. Hide the white lens until I'm inside. I'll blame Viagra.

dbaker1221

sid..........

sorry I don't have an answer for you though

Andy

Waxy, all you need is a 24mm TS/E



That image is from my good friend Vincent Laforet.

torags

wxwax wrote:

I think pants and shorts with very deep pockets might be the way to go. Hide the white lens until I'm inside. I'll blame Viagra.

How will you hide the line of women following you?

Seriously tho'; Pro Bullriding don't like pro equipment either. I'm going to the Reno event in 2 weeks. I shopped for a diaper bag in Baby's are us & they were all designer stuff not to look like diaper bags. Hell, I wanted a diaper bag Pandas or sumthin' to fit my D700 w 70/200. I'll wear my D90 w 85 1.8 around my neck (with that delightful strap I got at the Sili Valley Smugger event.

I found a recyclable hemp shopping bag with circles ($2.00). Put a Thinktank divider in the bottom for firmness, will put a fleece pullover on top of the cam and a couple of bottles of water on the fleece.

Should work, they never search my wife's huge purse with that setup in it. I think the volunteers or security look for specific cam bags. My guess...

wxwax

Andy wrote:

That image is from my good friend Vincent Laforet.

It's beautiful, great timing too.

wxwax

torags wrote:

How will you hide the line of women following you?

Seriously tho'; Pro Bullriding don't like pro equipment either. I'm going to the Reno event in 2 weeks. I shopped for a diaper bag in Baby's are us & they were all designer stuff not to look like diaper bags. Hell, I wanted a diaper bag Pandas or sumthin' to fit my D700 w 70/200. I'll wear my D90 w 85 1.8 around my neck (with that delightful strap I got at the Sili Valley Smugger event.

I found a recyclable hemp shopping bag with circles ($2.00). Put a Thinktank divider in the bottom for firmness, will put a fleece pullover on top of the cam and a couple of bottles of water on the fleece.

Should work, they never search my wife's huge purse with that setup in it. I think the volunteers or security look for specific cam bags. My guess...

So all I need is a baby? Can I rent one in NYC?

Good thought on the bag, thanks.

moose135

A friend was there this weekend with his 40D and 100-400L glass. He's never had a problem bringing that lens in the past 3 or 4 years - one time he was stopped, and he simply went to a different entrance and got right in, it looked to be a problem with just the one security guard he encountered.

wxwax

I saw a guy with a very large Nikon lens, dunno what it was, but it was comparable to my 300 2.8.

I got in both days by stuffing the 70-200 in my pocket and covering it with a shirt hanging from my belt. Probably overkill but I didn't want to take a chance. They don't mess around with bags - very strict about enforcing the 12x12x16 rule. I'd have been happier with the 300 and the 1.4 extender. But with some cropping my shots should turn out OK.

Big crowds! Even the side courts had lots of people. But I was able to get into photographer's row everywhere except Ashe. Actually, in Ashe I took a wrong turn, bullied my way by a guard in error and was headed for the photog's pit through the secure media area and when I realized I was about to pop-up on the Ashe court itself.

Super facility, really worth a visit sometime.

torags

Sooooooooooooo.... where are some shots. This is a photography forum y'know...

CoryUT

wxwax

I elected to take the 5D instead of the 1DmkII. Two reasons: I wanted to make sure security couldn't accuse me of having pro gear (next time, I won't worry about that, no-one seemed to care;) and I wanted to be able to take true fish-eye shots of the Arthur Ashe stadium.

What I sacrificed is a bit of reach and, more importantly, autofocus speed and accuracy. I really wish I had taken the 300 2.8. I struggled to get background blur. Also, I had to crop these shots a lot.



Arthur Ashe stadium, the largest tennis facility in the world, I believe.





I was lazy and didn't haul my ass up to the top of the stadium before it got dark. Hey, Sharapova was playing. Can you blame me?

wxwax

Next day, in the outer courts, it was relatively easy to slide into the courtside benches, right behind where the players sit during breaks. Direct light was a challenge. Also, I'm surprised at how soft some of these are.



Magdalena Rybarikova, who won this match but lost in the next round to Venus Williams.








Her opponent, Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan.

wxwax

I'm no expert, but I thought the standard of tennis was pretty high, even for first and second round matches. These folks hit the ball pretty hard. Still, it doesn't take long to learn how to time your shots to get the ball in the frame. The hard part is getting their eyes, and getting any kind of expression. I did all of these in Lightroom v1, so no layers to lighten shadowed eyes.


Andrei Pavel, once a very good player, making a slow comeback from injury.









And the man who beat him, American Robby Ginepri, who had won a tourny in Cincy earlier in the summer. Ginepri went on to lose to #2 seed Andy Murray in the next round.

torags

Well you were on the right side of the sun.

Did you have a CP?

Rags

wxwax

torags wrote:

Well you were on the right side of the sun.

Did you have a CP?

Rags

No sir. Does anyone use a CP for sports?

I have some from the wrong side of the sun, too. They'll never see daylight.

torags

wxwax wrote:

No sir. Does anyone use a CP for sports?

You're kidding right?

wxwax

torags wrote:

You're kidding right?

Yeah, sure.

wxwax

wxwax

BBC gallery.

After looking at this, I don't feel like I did a bad job.