A Canestagram Holiday
Looking for something different to give your favorite ‘Canes fan for the holidays?
The Canestagrams, Volume 1 Photo Book is a 50-page hardcover book containing photos of our first series of Classic Canestagram images of Miami Hurricanes greats from the past 25 years. From the paper to the printing, quality is at the heart of the Canestagrams, Volume 1 Photo Book. The 8” x 8” pages of this stunning book are printed on real photographic silver-halide archival-quality photo paper with a lustre finish. The binding system allows every page spread to lay flat without any gutter or unsightly seam to separate your pages. This system combines beautiful presentation with incredible durability, all contained inside an image-wrapped hardcover. This limited edition book retails for $149.99.
Preview the book here. Order the book here.
The Canestagram Metal Print is a 24” x 24” print containing photos of our first series of Classic Canestagram images. The image is infused right into the surface of a specially treated, lightweight sheet of high-gloss aluminum. The special sublimation process used produces an incredible level of detail, added depth and rich vibrant colors.
Because the image is infused right into the metal, and not painted on the surface, this metal print is extremely durable. Not only is the image waterproof, weatherproof, and scratch resistant, it can even be cleaned with glass cleaner.
The back of the images has a floating mount that suspends your image ½” away from the surface of the wall.
This limited edition print retails for $249.99.
Order the metal print here.
Also available are regular photographic prints of the composite and of the individual images here. Prices range from $12.99 to $49.99.
360º
If you were at the last home game vs. FSU and were in your seat between the 1st and 2nd quarters, you may be able to find yourself in the 360º panorama we shot.
You can view and interact with the image at this link.
Is it a GigaPan, the iconic panoramas made popular in part from Major League Baseball’s “TagOramic” and the famous image of the Obama Inauguration?
No. Despite being hosted on GigaPan’s server, it is technically not a GigaPan. In order to capture the image, our own Eric Espada had only about 45 seconds to capture the images needed by going to midfield between quarters and handholding the camera. After a test pass of a portion of the stadium, he has just enough time to make adjustments and shoot 26 images, starting and ending with the 50 yard line on the FSU side of the field. Typical GigaPans can take upwards of 10 minutes to capture.
Late last week I used GigaPan’s software and server to assemble and upload the image, after tweaking the images in Photoshop.
We are already thinking about how we can make this better when Florida comes to town next season.
The UM Sports Hall of Fame Portraits
Before last night’s 44th Annual University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, I shot a series of portraits of the inductees. In addition to my conventional Nikon camera I used a unconventional camera for a pro: My iPhone.
With the aid of a small LED light & a gray backdrop, I used the iPhone app “Pixlr-o-matic” to process the images as you see them below.
(Click on an image for a larger version)
#NSD – Don’t Sweat The Ones That Get Away
I have a few self-imposed rules about what I post on social media. They include no prospective recruiting comments and no prospective coaching comments in relation to UM. However, that doesn’t keep me from commenting on past recruiting.
I’ve witnessed plenty of National Signing Day drama through the years, shooting exclusively for Canesport every year since 1996. What has changed in those 16 years is kids are learning to take advantage of their initial 15 minutes of fame and play to the media with dramatics better suited for acting school. For some, it’ll be the only 15 minutes they’ll ever get.
Therefore, don’t sweat the ones that get away, because more often than not, we don’t hear much about them afterwards. I present these three examples I’ve witnessed firsthand:
Kayvon Webster, DB, Pace HS, 2009 NSD.
Dressed with a USF hoodie and a Miami tie on the outside, Webster sat down with two of his classmates and placed a Miami and USF hat in front of him on the table. Webster then flipped the Miami hat behind him, put on the USF hat and then tucked in his Miami tie under the USF hoodie.
In three years at USF he has a grand total of two interceptions, although he does have a 96-yard fumble return for a touchdown on his resume.
Deonte Thompson, WR, Glades Central HS, 2007 NSD.
Thompson also chose to dramatize his moment for the cameras. He had been wearing Miami gear and downplaying Florida before he appeared for the media with offers from UM, UF, USC & Ohio State on the table in front of him. No one, except his family, saw what was coming, the shocking reveal of Gator hats for he and his girlfriend.
Thompson had only one 100 yard receiving game in four years at UF, and even that was against a Division 1-AA opponent.
Jonathan Colon, OL, Miami Central HS, 2000 NSD.
Colon’s story is in a league of its own, and might be one of the all-time bizzare NSD stories.
Torn and conflicted, Colon was near tears as he signed with Florida on NSD in front of the media and his very unhappy father, who wanted him to go to Miami. But a signed Letter Of Intent also showed up on Miami’s fax machine that day. Colon had signed with both schools.
While UF and UM haggled over where Colon belonged, the NCAA spent a week sorting through the mess before finally making the ruling Colon belonged to the Gators, as he had signed his Miami LOI the night before signing day – making it invalid.
Ironically, Colon ended up at Bridgton Academy in Maine in the fall of 2000 and re-signed with the Gators on NSD in 2001.
Colon started only 22 of 43 games during his career with the Gators.
Golden Moments
Back in the spring, when we did a studio shoot with head coach Al Golden that went well and resulted in the artwork (shown above), little did I know it would only get better.
Last week Coach Golden was off the charts. After the ‘Canes defense held on a 4th down conversion attempt, as the play ended in front of the ‘Canes bench Coach Golden celebrated with enthusiasm.
And speaking of charts, Coach Golden runs full stride with headset in one hand and charts in the other towards a game official to protest a non-call. I have shot over 500 college and pro football games and I can’t recall ever having witnessed a head coach running like a player.
In one half last week it seemed I shot at least as much variety of Coach Golden as I did the previous coach in his entire 4 year tenure. Here’s to many more halves of action from Coach Golden.
Zooming Through Ohio State
See a larger version of this image with expanded web tools here.
The world just does not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm camera. ~W. Eugene Smith
Last Saturday I took those words to heart when I climbed up to the overhead camera position just before the start of our game against Ohio State.
While I took a standard fisheye shot of the stadium with a modern digital equivalent of a 35mm camera, I had something else in mind and in hand.
I had a GigaPan Epic robotic unit holding a Canon G12 camera, which shot 66 individual pictures across a grid from that same overhead camera position at the top of Sun Life Stadium early in the 1st quarter. Those images were then downloaded to a personal computer where software stitched, rendered, and projected the image together into a single image. The massive image was then uploaded to the free user community site gigapan.org, which allows high-resolution images to be stored, shared, annotated, commented, linked, geolocated, and embedded on any website.
The GigaPan process is far from perfect at public gatherings, such as a football stadium. It’s impossible to keep people from moving for a second, let alone the seven and a half minutes it took to complete this image. You’re going to find duplicate people who appear in more than one frame, or parts of people who were at the edge of a frame. Items that move during the process also can oddly appear. There were also a few spots where frames did not align correctly.
There is also new technology which allows users to tag themselves and/or their friends to post on Facebook. Licensing of that technology is still a bit pricey for us.
Photographer and UM alum (and my old college roommate) David Bergman embraced the technology early, creating this famous GigaPan image of President Obama’s inauguration, and these GigaPans for Major League Baseball. Ironically, Bergman was at the game Saturday, shooting conventional images for Sports Illustrated, and can be seen in my GigaPan image.
You can access all of GigaPan.org’s tools to explore this photo here. We are also making a 5×15 print of this image available for purchase at Caneshooter.com.
GigaPan Statistics for this image:
Date Taken: September 17, 2011
Size: 0.58 gigapixels
Field of View: 144.7 degrees wide, 59.1 degrees high
Panorama size: 581 megapixels (37720 x 15404 pixels)
Input images: 66 (11 columns by 6 rows)
Field of view: 144.7 degrees wide by 59.1 degrees high (top=24.0, bottom=-35.1)
Camera model: Canon PowerShot G12
Single image size: 3648×2736 (10.0 megapixels)
Capture time: 2011-09-17 19:41:53 – 2011-09-17 19:46:50
Aperture: f/4.5
Exposure time: 0.004
ISO: 800
Focal length (35mm equiv.): 142.3 mm
Digital zoom: off
White balance: Automatic
Exposure mode: Manual
Horizontal overlap: 7.4 to 20.6 percent
Vertical overlap: 6.6 to 8.4 percent
Computer stats: 4096 MB RAM, 2 CPUs
Total time 7:33 (6.9 seconds per picture)
Alignment: 1:06, Projection: 28 seconds, Blending: 5:59
Hurricanes Football 11×14 Gallery Returns
Our refurbished and expanded 11×14 gallery has arrived at Caneshooter.com.
Formerly part of the Canesport merchandise site, the expanded 11×14 gallery is a collection of over 200 our best and/or most popular images of the greatest ‘Canes of the past 20 years, spanning my time as a student and as the team photographer.
Many of the great ones are here, such as Andre Johnson holding up the Sears Trophy, Darren Krein saluting after a sack, Gino Toretta carried off the field on his teammates shoulders after the Heisman clinching San Diego State game, James Jackson flying over the opposition in the Micron Bowl, Jeremy Shockey celebrating after scoring the game-winning touchdown over FSU, Carlos Huerta and Leon Searcy during the 1991 National Championship Parade (before the car caught on fire!), Orien Harris standing over FSU’s Chris Rix in the 2003 mud bath, the “Flying ‘Canes” shot of Santana Moss and Andre King from the 2000 Gator Bowl, Sean Taylor returning an interception past a diving Gator, Taylor again nailing a Pitt receiver in mid-air, Vince Wilfork nailing FSU’s Leon Washington in the 2004 Orange Bowl and Sebastian the Ibis through the smoke with the American Flag.
There are also stock shots of Steve Walsh, Craig Erickson, Lamar Thomas, Warren Sapp, Al Blades, Antrel Rolle, Clinton Portis, Dan Morgan, Damione Lewis, Bubba Franks, Darryl Sharpton, Devin Hester, Donnell Bennett, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Reed, Edgerrin James, Frank Gore, Greg Olsen, Jarrett Payton, Jerome McDougle, Jimmy Graham, Jonathan Vilma, Joaquin Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow, Kelly Jennings, Ken Dorsey, Kennard Lang, Kenny Holmes, Michael Barrow, Najeh Davenport, Nate Brooks, Nate Webster, Ray Lewis, Reggie Wayne, Rocky McIntosh, Rohan Marley, Roscoe Parrish, Russell Maryland, Rusty Madearis, Yatil Green, Willis McGahee and others.
Get 20% off photos from this gallery through December by entering the code “11×14″ at checkout at Caneshooter.com!
Follow Caneshooter on Twitter, Facebook
Follow us on Twitter (@caneshooter) and on Facebook (caneshooter.com) for more frequent posts and updates! Don’t forget our archive on the web, www.caneshooter.com, with nearly 65,000 images of Hurricanes Athletics!
Miami 45, Florida A&M 0
Ray Ray Armstrong returns an interception 22 yards for a touchdown during the 2nd quarter of the Hurricanes 45-0 victory over Florida A&M last night at Sun Life Stadium.
Here’s the morning roundup of local coverage of last night’s game:
Welcome to Jacory’s House
The Hurricanes take on FAMU tonight at 7:30pm at Sun Life Stadium (Jacory’s House) and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Jacory Harris on O’Brien, Maxwell, Manning Lists
UM’s Jacory Harris is on the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback by the Davey O’Brien Foundation, is a preseason candidate for the Manning Quarterback Award, presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback by the Sugar Bowl Committee, and the Maxwell Award, awarded to the best collegiate player by the Maxwell Football Club in Philadelphia.
The junior from Northwestern High School in Miami was selected as the ACC Offensive Back of the Week four times last season, and was the first ‘Canes quarterback to pass for 3000 yards in a season since Ken Dorsey did it in 2002.
Leonard Hankerson on Belitnikoff List
UM’s Leonard Hankerson is a preseason candidate for the Belitnikoff Award, presented annually to the best collegiate receiver.
The senior from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale led the Hurricanes in receiving last season with 45 receptions for 801 yards and six touchdowns.
Brandon Harris on Nagurski, Thorpe Preseason Lists
UM’s Brandon Harris is on the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top defensive player by the Charlotte Touchdown Club, and is a preseason candidate for the Jim Thorpe Trophy, presented annually to the best defensive back.
The junior from Booker T. Washington High School in Miami was a first team All-ACC selection last season and is a 2010 Sporting News Preseason All-America selection.
Allen Bailey Added to 4th Watchlist
UM’s defensive lineman Allen Bailey was added to the watch list for the Rotary Lombardi Award (down linemen) on Friday.
The senior from Sapelo, Georgia is also up for the Bednarik Award (best defensive player), Ted
Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (also best defensive player).
Colin McCarthy on Butkus Watch List
UM’s Colin McCarthy is on the preseason watch list for the Dick Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker. The senior from Clearwater Catholic High School was a second team All-ACC selection last season and joins fellow ‘Cane linebacker Sean Spence on the list.
McCarthy is also on the Bednarik Award list (best defensive player in college) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy list (best defensive player).
Matt Bosher on Groza Watch List
UM’s Matt Bosher is on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the nation’s top placekicker. The senior kicker from Jupiter, Florida is also a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award, which recognizes seniors who excel in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.
Read AP reporter Tim Reynold’s recent story on Bosher here.
Orlando Franklin: All Business?
A story in today’s Miami Herald describes ‘Canes OL Orlando Franklin as “all business” and that he is “a scowler.”
Except after wins over Oklahoma, that is:
Zampogna, Gonzalez, Marley on allCanes Radio Tonight
Former ‘Canes Rohan Marley, Joaquin Gonzalez and Francesco Zampogna will join Brian “The Beast” London on allCanes Radio, live from Smoke’t Southern Kitchen and Tap in Coral Gables tonight at 7pm.
Marley played at Miami from 1992-94 and played for Ottawa of the CFL in 1995. He is the son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley.
Gonzalez starred at Miami from 1997-2001 and spent four years in the NFL with the Browns and Colts.
Zampogna was the ‘Canes primary kicker during the 2007 season. Showing the form of Garo Yepremian but the results of Dan Marino, his touchdown pass on a fake field goal (above) helped lift the ‘Canes past the Seminoles in Tallahassee that year.
Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald will also appear.
You can listen to allCanes Radio online by visiting allCanes.com.
Cleveland Rocks Saturday’s Practice
Seantrel who?
Asante Cleveland, a 6’5,” 255 pound freshman tight end from Sacramento, California, was the newcomer to watch during Saturday’s practice in front of 3000 ‘Canes fans.
Cleveland sure caught Coach Shannon’s eye; he had this to say while meeting with reporters after practice: “I’m very excited about Asante Cleveland’s performance today. The big catch he had with three people around him was unbelievable.”
On To Football Season We Go
After UM Baseball’s disaster in Ganesville I thought the summer doldrums would commence with the image of error after error burned in my brain until football season. Fortunately for me the marketing department wanted to do their football shoot this week, and now I’m in full football mode.
So early this morning I made my way to Joe Robbie Stadium Pro Player Stadium Dolphin Stadium Landshark Stadium Sun Life Stadium to shoot Jacory Harris, Brandon Harris, Allen Bailey, Matt Bosher, Orlando Franklin, Colin McCarthy and Leonard Hankerson for the 2010 Hurricanes poster. We set up in the ‘Canes locker room and did the group shot then had fun with some individual set ups.
While I’ll wait for the poster release before I show the groups I’ll give you a peek at the individuals, like Jacory’s shot above, every so often in the coming days on the Caneshooter.com Facebook fan page.
The Dog Days of Summer
If you’re wondering about the recent lack of posts, well, it seems the dog days of summer are upon us. Our ambition at the start of this blog was to promote our website with a photo each and every day but as we reach the “offseason” (coaches always deny there is an offseason) it becomes harder and harder to keep up with relevant posts and images.
You may have noticed we recently changed the name of the blog from “The Daily Caneshooter” to “Miami Hurricanes Photo Blog.” This reflects the change from our original ambition to something more realistic. As always, you can get your ‘Canes photo fix by visiting caneshooter.com, where we now have over 32,000 photos uploaded.
So what will we post during the “offseason?” Well, we are in the middle of an ambitious scanning project which should take most of the summer. From JC’s start at UM in the early 1990′s, progressing from student to Team Photographer, to about 2001, slides and negatives were the method of imagemaking. Re-editing and scanning the thousands of images is a time-consuming task, and as we progress through the archive we’ll post some “archive finds” on the blog.
Our first example is a shot of former ‘Canes RB Dyral McMillan fighting off the attempted tackle by Arizona State DB Pat Tillman (yes, THAT Pat Tillman) during a game in 1997.
Micanor Regis Excels on Another Field
Relays and sprints aren’t the only segments of track & field in which Hurricanes football players excel. Defensive lineman Micanor Regis was the leading collegian with a throw of 14.40 meters during last week’s Hurricane Alumni Invitational.
In today’s shot put competition at the 2010 ACC Track & Field Championships in Clemson, South Carolina, Regis improved his personal best to 14.54 meters.
‘Canes 4×100 Relay Team Shines at Hurricanes Alumni Invitational
The ‘Canes football program has a long, rich tradition of players who excelled in track, and yesterday’s 4×100 relay team was no exception. Cory Nelms, DeMarcus VanDyke, Travis Benjamin and Brandon McGee finished first in the event with a time of 40.15 seconds, the fastest by a Miami relay team since the 1998 season and is the third fastest time in school history.