By Sergio Perez

Despite its relative short distance from Madrid, around 100km (62 miles), I have never been in the small village of San Bartolome de Pinares. It is situated in the heart of a small valley surrounded by reservoirs and forest and is well known to trekkers and cyclists alike. However, a traditional night celebration which takes place every January 16th, known as “Las Luminarias”, is little known.

During the celebration, in honor of Saint Anthony, Patron of animals, revelers ride their horses through the narrow cobble-stoned streets to purify the animals with the smoke and flames of the bonfires.

The feeling when you arrive for the first time is that the whole village enjoys a festivity of which you are a part. Around two hours before it begins, all riders prepare their horses, bandaging the tail to protect them from the fire and decorating the manes of the animals.

When you take a tour through the main street, you will find bonfires at every step. They are built with branches collected by villagers a few days earlier in the forest around the village. The street lighting is dimmed to accentuate the almost phantasmagoric atmosphere around you. Just before the jumping begins, all riders take a tour around the village’s streets while the bonfires are lit. The villagers in charge of the bonfires throw damp branches and pour water on the fire to create a huge amount of smoke which engulfs all.

It was a great experience which confirms that, despite the deep economic and emotional crisis hitting the country, the friendly nature of the Spanish people rermains intact when locals share drinks with tourists and with everyone present, making the celebration extremely pleasant. But, as with many things in life, there is another side to this: you will smell of smoke for a long time.

Probably everybody in the business knows how to set up this type of camera, but for people outside the industry, it can be a mystery. The first thing to know is the equipment required: aside from a camera and a wide lens, other items needed are two magic arms, a piece of black paper to avoid reflections, a pair of radio transmitters and steel cable to secure the elements.

To get the best pictures, the most important thing is to choose the right place to set up the camera which is usually the lowest and closest area next to the rim. After choosing the camera position, you have to strongly secure both magic arms: one of them holding the camera and the other holding the first magic arm. This is a key step in order to avoid the camera falling during the game as a result of the vibrations produced when the players or the ball touch the glass. After that you can set up the camera at the correct angle while looking through the viewfinder and imagine where the players and the ball will be during the game.

The second thing to do is to fix the focus, which must be done without any players on court as this job is done while from atop a stepladder. The help of a colleague is often needed as they must hold something (a chair, broom, etc.) up high, around a meter under the rim as the players’ heads will be at that level, in theory, when they fight for a rebound or try to block a shot.

When you have done all this work, the only thing remaining is to secure the sheet of black paper around the lens, normally we used a 16/35, to avoid reflection from the glass and to make viewing objects from behind the basket possible. The final step is to link the radio receiver to the camera which has to be set up in the same channel as your transmitter and, obviously, different from your colleagues.

And, voila!! You’re ready to start work.