BOSTON - JUNE 05: Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers support their team outside the arena prior to Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics on June 5, 2008 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Darren McCollester/NBAE/Getty Images)

It’s true.

The two most storied rivals, the two winningest franchises and most importantly the two best teams in the NBA will play starting tonight (Thursday, June 5) in the NBA Finals.

And no, Reagan isn’t in the White House, hair bands aren’t dominating the radio (reality shows instead), and shoulder pads aren’t back in women’s clothing.

Instead, the Lakers and Celtics will meet for the 11^th time in a Finals but for the first time in 21 years, also the last time the Celtics have made it this far.

A dream match-up for the NBA, for ABC TV, and a dream match-up for me as a fan of the NBA – and the Lakers as well.

Being in Boston for a little more than 24 hours now, you can see the Celtic pride all over the city: banners hanging off buildings, fans rocking T-shirts and vendors setting up shop selling souvenirs all over town. They even changed the time of the Boston Red Sox game tonight so the fans could attend the MLB game and then get home in time to watch the basketball game.

BOSTON - JUNE 05: Cars drive by a giant Celtics banner and a large replica of the Larry O’Brien championship trophy across from the TD Banknorth Garden prior to Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers on June 5, 2008 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images)

Getty Images has a full team to cover all the happenings inside the TD Banknorth Garden (the Boston Garden was such a better name) including two local photographers in staffer Elsa and stringer Jim Rogash. Plus, staffer Kevin Cox is in town from North Carolina.

Myself and Mary Ciecek flew out yesterday from Los Angeles and will handle all the editing and Anthony Jacobs from New York will be our on-site IT support. An entirely different team of shooters will be in Los Angeles for games 3, 4, and 5. Let’s call them our west coast team.

So stay tuned for more on a NBA Finals that many are saying will be a classic.

BOSTON - JUNE 05: Kevin Garnett #5 of the Boston Celtics walks across the court in Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on June 5, 2008 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PARIS - MAY 28: Maria Sharapova of Russia serves during the Women’s Singles first round match against Eygeniya Rodina of Russia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 28, 2008 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

What a difference the sun makes!

Photographing tennis on the orange clay of Roland Garros is awesome, especially when the sun is shining. The orange color saturates really well. It is the perfect palette. The players literally jump off the background. The shadows are beautiful. So are the swirls and streaks in the clay created as the match carries on.

The weather is warm. The play is good. Our editor is happy…

But what also makes the French Open so incredible to cover is the French attitude toward photography, which they hold in high regard. The Federation Francaise de Tennis, the FFT, has gone to great lengths to create desireable photo positions. They are well aware of the aesthetic nature of their venue as well as the need to document the tournament for posterity. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the organization of the French Open.

A friend of mine, a fellow American, summed it up best when he stated that it is impossible to look at any event in the US the same way ever again, after working at Roland Garros. Here, the photographer is truly spoiled.

PARIS - MAY 30: Michael Llodra of France celebrates his victory during the Men’s Singles third round match against Simone Bolelli of Italy on day six of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2008 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

PARIS - MAY 27: Rain delays play on day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2008 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Rain. Play was suspended again for most of the day with only an hour or so played in the afternoon.

Hey, you’re in Paris, so do a little sightseeing! Nope. When play is suspended, verses being cancelled outright, you cannot leave the venue. You try and find anything to do to kill time. Shoot a few weather features. Walk through the gift shop for the tenth time. Pester the editor. You get the idea. And there is absolutely no place comfortable to sit at a sporting event.

But I could be sitting in an office somewhere. Life is good.

PARIS - MAY 27: A lone fan waits in hope that the rain will stop and play will start on day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2008 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

It was very flat light today. Overcast. Even worse it started to rain in the afternoon. Tournaments played on clay differ from their counterparts played on a hard surface or grass in that if is not raining too heavy, play will continue. In fact, in dry weather conditions, clay courts are watered between matches, sometimes between sets, to maintain their playability.

The world number one Roger Federer made it through to the next round at the expense of the young American Sam Querrey. I was there for Sam’s first career win in Las Vegas a few months ago and he is a really nice kid. Too bad he received such an unlucky draw in the tournament bracket. I was hoping he would make it further.

The rain finally became too much and play was cancelled later in the afternoon.

Three games down and who knows how many more to go. Detroit took the first two and then on to Pittsburgh where the home team triumphed. So we’re in Pittsburgh for games 3 and 4 and another 4-1/2 hour bus ride back to Detroit for game 5.

In this blog, I will dissect the coverage of game three in Pittsburgh. Besides the actual game, I assigned coverage for the pre-game fan scene outside as well as the post game press conference. Usually assigned to those events are the photographers who aren’t doing remote cameras as they need to be turned just prior to the game time and then pulled down afterwards.

Viewing the arena map, each number is delineated below:

1. From a TV booth, Dave Sandford had a 400mm trained on the north end net.

2. Jamie Sabau shot the whole ice from a spot on the concourse with a 300mm and an occasional 70-210.

3. Jim McIsaac had the honor of shooting through milky Plexiglas at ice level. A 70-210mm along with a 16-35 for grab shots covered the action did the job.

4. A camera in the net with a 15mm lens was triggered by Bruce Bennett from his position, #9.

5. Remote: A camera at the base of the boards with a 14mm lens was also triggered by Bruce as this cameras radio receiver was on the same frequency as the netcam enabling both to fire simultaneously.

6. Remote:Jamie Sabau fixed his camera up high on a TV camera pole behind the net to shoot through a 3” opening between glass sections behind the net.

7. Remote: On a high platform, Jim McIsaac placed a 300mm focused on the south end net. The platform also provided Christian Petersen a good vantage point for arena overview images in the opening moments of the game.

8. Dave Sanford took up a concourse position and could shoot the whole ice with a 300mm.

9. Bruce Bennett shot from the visiting runway with a 70-210 and a 16-35.

Anthony Jacobs and Bob Covington had arranged to have the arena ‘wired’ for us. The photographers at rink side had their laptops networked with the editors. At timeouts, digital cards were fed into laptops and sent back to editors to save time. Runners picked up digital cards from other photographers to transport by hand to the editing room, and AJ Messier helped out again at Stanley Cup this year by attending to remotes by pulling cards, changing batteries, and pulling remotes down.

In total, about 6,700 images hit the editors with over 220 making it up to our site within 24 hours of the event.

Images are all from remotes:

1. Dave Sandford’s 400mm from the opposite end of the ice

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

2. Bruce Bennett’s netcam

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

3. Bruce’s Dasher cam with a 14mm from behind the net

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
4. Jamie Sabau’s TV pole cam

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

5. Jim McIsaac with a 300mm from the opposite end of the ice

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images