DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Getty use underwater robots to photograph Olympic swimming events

Aug 11, 2016 by John Aldred 3 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

getty_underwater_robots

The technological advancements that can be made in just four short years are amazing. 11 time Olympic photographer Al Bello is taking advantage of that fact this year. He’s covering the swimming events using underwater robot cameras.

Robotic underwater cameras at the Olympics aren’t a new idea. Reuters used similar robots during London 2012. But this is the first time Getty will be giving them a try. With an extra four years of research and development, though, these cameras should get some fantastic and unique shots.

In an interview with CNN. Bello spoke about some of the challenges of underwater Olympic photography.

In the past, with a traditional submerged static remote camera, you’d have to visualize the photos you wanted ahead of time and think about what race and stroke you want to capture,

It was limiting; you could only guess where the swimmer was going to be when they came into the frame.

– Al Bello

If positioning is a little off, you can miss your swimmer by a mile, so not get the shot at all. With so many events each day, being able to tweak and adjust between them isn’t so easy. Each organisation is also only allowed a single camera in the pool at once, so you couldn’t even cover your bases with multiple cameras.

The robotic unit houses a Canon 1DX Mark II and sits in a fixed place at the bottom of the pool. Although Bello told CNN that they do allow you you “zoom in, tilt, spin or get multiple angles”.

I can now execute many ideas in one session; before, I had the chance to make one happen.

With a remote liveview from a monitor, it sure must take a lot of the guesswork out of the equations. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future, and what other events robotics can help with.

Do you use any robotic camera tools with your work? Let us know and tell us what you think in the comments.

[via digitalrev]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Increasing Number Of Performers Ban Use Of Smartphones And Tablets To Photograph And Film Events Judgement day is upon us, Selfie Robots are about to be a thing thanks to ASUS Here are some awesome shots you can get with camera robots This is how you shoot mouth-watering food commercials with camera robots

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Al Bello, getty, Olympics, Rio2016, Swimming, underwater

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« How to shoot amazing night time photography
GoPro’s 360VR Omni rig now available for preorder and costs $5,000 »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy