Kentucky Derby: Under the rail
The Shot is a monthly series showcasing top photojournalism from staff photographers at The Associated Press.
Each month, AP photographers will share the stories behind some of their iconic imagery.
In the second post of this series, photographer Jeff Roberson discusses the process he and other staffers go through to set up remote cameras at the finish line of the Kentucky Derby.
Produced by AP News staff. The presenting sponsor was not involved in the creation of this content.
Jeff Roberson
Jeff Roberson is shown setting up cameras prior to the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The Kentucky Derby is often called “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” That may be true, but for photographers who cover the race it can feel more like a marathon than a sprint.
I've always thought the Derby is one of the more challenging assignments we cover, yet it’s also probably the most fun.
This year I was one of five AP photographers who traveled in for the event. In the days leading up to the race, some of us focused on early morning workouts and features while others pored over the thousands of images taken looking for gems to put on the wire.
And when dusk falls on the first Saturday in May, we all are covering the race.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 24mm | F-Stop: 6.3 | Shutter Speed: 1/3200 | ISO: 4000
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun, Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie and Luis Saez on Essential Quality to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
My job for this Derby was to coordinate the remote cameras we used at the finish line and around Churchill Downs.
The prep work and planning starts about a month before the race, when we send Sony a request list for gear.
Sony this year loaned us 16 a9II cameras and a variety of lenses, shipping all of it to St. Louis where I'm based.
Opening the boxes is a little like being a kid on Christmas morning. Even if it all has to go back to Santa on New Year's Day, it's still fun to play with the toys.
After making sure each camera has the proper date and time so that metadata is correct on every image and customizing other settings, the gear was loaded into a large, rented SUV for the four-hour drive to Louisville.
We have most of the day Friday to set everything up and dial in our settings. The Kentucky Oaks race on Friday afternoon, a race similar to the Kentucky Derby but limited to fillies, is a perfect opportunity to see what works and fix what doesn't.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 29mm | F-Stop: 4 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 1000
John Velazquez rides Medina Spirit across the finish line to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Eight of the 10 cameras were placed under the rail along the track. These are the cameras sitting on the ground looking back toward the grandstand and finish line that produce images of the iconic twin spires at Churchill Downs.
Once the cameras are in their positions on Friday, we aren’t allowed to move them until after the race on Saturday. To protect the cameras, we always use rain covers and even plastic bags.
The track drains well, but there is a risk that flooding damages the equipment, especially overnight when we aren’t there to keep watch. I’ve heard horror stories of this happening in the past.
Luckily, the weather was perfect this year.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 200mm | F-Stop: 5 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 1600
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit, right, leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun, Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie and Luis Saez on Essential Quality to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
I placed two more cameras atop what we call The Tree. It's a pole down from the finish where cameras are attached for a higher angle of the horses as they run past the finish line.
To ensure all of the cameras fire at the same time, they are linked with Ethernet cable that feeds into the remote port on each camera. At the end of that chain is a foot switch that I press while shooting the finish with a hand-held camera from on top of a ladder.
My colleagues placed the other cameras all around Churchill Downs while I worked on everything at the finish line.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 89mm | F-Stop: 8 | Shutter Speed: 1/2000 | ISO: 1000
Medina Spirit, right, with John Velazquez aboard, leads the field around the first turn on the way to winning the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Charlie Riedel, Kansas City staff photographer, set up and fired two remotes from his position on a roof overlooking turn one while Michael Conroy, out of Indianapolis, placed a camera down low around turn one from where he was shooting. He also placed another at his feet to get an angle different from his hand-held.
Atlanta based staff photographer Brynn Anderson climbed to the top of the starting gate to mount a camera. I know from experience getting up there is no easy task. It involves climbing, a steady hand and nerves of steel to get just the right angle. This was Brynn’s second Kentucky Derby but her first time rigging the starting gate remote and the result was terrific.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 518mm | F-Stop: 5 | Shutter Speed: 1/2000 | ISO: 640
The field of 19 horses and riders bolt out of the starting gate during the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. John Velazquez won the Derby riding Medina Spirit. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
All of those cameras are fired using radio triggers.
Those triggers, called PocketWizards, are a common tool among photographers who use remote cameras. Out of the box, the units all basically run on the same frequency which can cause problems when a large number of photographers at big events try to use the devices at the same time. AP has installed custom channels in our PocketWizards to avoid this problem.
The radio triggers are great and work well over a long range, but they are never a substitution for hardwire which is more reliable and cheaper.
Darron Cummings, also out of Indianapolis, headed up our team. In addition to coordinating all of us and handling the logistics, Darron set up to shoot the finish with a hand-held camera, then rushed into the media room to quickly file his photos before editing the mountain of images shot by the rest of us during the race.
It's a true team effort.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 52mm | F-Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 1250
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit, right, leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun, Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie and Luis Saez on Essential Quality to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 330mm | F-Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed: 1/3200 | ISO: 8000
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun and Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
On Saturday, we arrive at the track a full 12 hours before the race. We are all tired from an early morning on Friday but there is still much to do. There are more preliminary races, giving us more time to practice and make sure everything is just right.
Then it all comes down to two minutes. A long two minutes.
A million thoughts go through my head while I'm standing on top of that ladder waiting for the finish. Will everything work?
I hit the foot switch and find out.
Model: Sony ILCE-9M2 | Lens: 20mm | F-Stop: 4 | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 | ISO: 1000
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun and Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
“The Kentucky Derby is often called “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” That may be true, but for photographers who cover the race it can feel more like a marathon than a sprint.”
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Produced by AP News staff. The presenting sponsor was not involved in the creation of this content.