When you work in an industry where, as the old adage goes, ‘everything has
been done before’ it’s often a challenge to offer a fresh or different view
from an event or subject that has been photographed many times before.

One method employed by photographers is the use of remotely-triggered
cameras to offer a totally different angle, one that in most circumstances
would be almost impossible to capture by a photographer behind the lens.

In its most common use, certainly in the UK during winter months,
photographers use remotes as an extra man at soccer matches, positioning a
camera just behind the goal in an attempt to capture a different and often
more dynamic view of the winning goal or crucial save.

But this is a relatively simple use of the technique with the photographer
having easy access to the camera at the beginning and the end of the game to
retrieve the images.

For other events such as Basketball or Swimming where a camera may be placed
high in the ceiling above the hoop or in a purpose built housing at the
bottom of the pool, it may be necessary to secure the camera hours - or in
extreme cases the day before - the event and to run power and networking
cables to the camera to maintain its readiness for such a long period of
time.

For me though remotes really come into their own when the view they offer
really makes the viewer sit up and put down their coffee cup.

One such image is Desmond Boylans stunning frame of a bull careering through
the streets of Pamplona during the annual San Fermin festival. Such was the
impact of the picture across the world that a German newspaper published it
under the headline ‘How well is the photographer?’

He was of course fine having triggered his heavily protected camera
remotely from the ‘right’ side of the protective barriers on the route.

Moderator’s note: This post was initially mis-labelled as ‘filed by David Viggers’.