Meet Bill Frakes. Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve almost certainly seen one of his pictures. Frakes is one of the better-known photographers at Sports Illustrated, shooting covers ranging from Peyton Manning to college basketball. All that’s good, but where Frakes really shines is at the racetrack.

This photo, showing 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, doesn’t necessarily look like the end result of dozens of cameras and hours sorting through thousands of digital frames. It’s a great shot, but don’t think it’s simply a result of being in the right place at the right time. Frakes leaves nothing to chance, enlisting assistants and equipment galore to make sure that each event he covers is covered from absolutely every angle.

What did all that effort get him? This photo ran as inside art in the May 14 issue of SI. It’s indicative of the effort and dedication pro photographers are willing to put in just for a few inches in a prime magazine.

It’s important to point out that this image is uncropped. If you want to see just how cool Frakes’ images can be after a little editing, check out this slideshow from Apple, who ran a profile on him as part of the promotion for their Aperture software.

Want to find out more about Frakes and remote photography? Pick up the article after the break.

What does it take to get images like this? First, it takes a lot of kit. While Frakes didn’t release exactly what equipment he used for the 2007 Derby, saying only that it took more than 40 Canon digital cameras and lenses ranging from 14mm-600mm, he did put out a Sportsshooter article in 2004 chronicling the equipment he brought to the 2002 Belmont Stakes. Take a deep breath and get ready to scroll:

18 Nikon F3 bodies
4 Nikon F4 bodies
4 Nikon F5 bodies
2 Nikon 1DX bodies
4 Nikon F3 H high-speed bodies
3 Canon EOS 1N bodies
2 Canon EOS 1V bodies
3 Canon 1D bodies
3 Canon 1D Mark II bodies
1 Hassleblad X Pan
1 Canon 1Ds body
2 Strip cameras, custom built. One of which shoots 220 film.
2 Holgas, including a Holgaroid
1 Canon EZ 550
1 Nikon DX 80
1 Gossen light meter

Nikon Lens selection:
2 14mm
1 16mm
1 17-35mm
1 20-35mm
1 28-70 mm
3 50mm
2 80-200mm
4 180mm
3 300mm
4 400mm
3 600mm

Canon lens selection:
2 14mm
1 15mm
2 16-35mm
2 28-70mm
2 50mm
2 70-200mm
2 300mm
4 400mm
3 600mm
1 1200mm

Miscellaneous items:
3 heavy duty Kart-a-bag equipment carts
2 pair of rain pants, extra boots

Remote equipment:
5 Pocket wizard transceivers with custom channels
6 Prerelease triggers for the 1D, 1D Mark II, 1 Ds, and 1Dx bodies, with adapters.
45 Ball heads of assorted sizes, but mostly big ones
1 Box of Key Lime Luna bars for Jason
15 Bogen Magic Arms
30 Bogen clamps
5 Gitzo carbon fiber monopods, the big ones.
6 Gitzo carbon fiber tripods, 1 of which is really, really big
14 custom made aluminum plates with riser attachments (produced by Pat McDonough of the Courier Journal in Louisville)
40 MC 4A cords
10 MC 25 A cords
7 pushbutton triggers, loving constructed by Jason Parkhurst, my assistant
2 foot pedal triggers
50 black garbage bags
300 feet of zip cord
100 add-a-taps
1 bag of rubber bands
2 ladders
3 Sets of Kata rain covers
2 Lightware long lens covers
1 Entrenching tool
1 Car Battery
7 rolls of gaffer tape, mixed gray and black
8 Motorola radios
2 Tarps, a couple of rolls of plastic drop clothes
10 Sharpies
My notes, and a list of everyone’s cellphones.
And a couple of special things that you can see if you show up at the finish line.

One can only assume that his list is similar today, and that’s all for an event that lasts only a few minutes. What does Frakes do with all this gear? He composes and sets up dozens of remote cameras, each from a different angle and with a different lens length, and fires them during the course of the race. The result is thousands of digital images from a myriad of positions that will be whittled down to just two or three for SI.

“It requires a lot of calculation and planning,” he says in his Apple profile. “At first it seems like it would be easy, just placing the cameras around the track. It’s not easy at all. The horses can move all kinds of different ways. Calculating the speed, calculating the exposure, calculating the focus positions and calculating the camera positions is just a lot.”

To help himself, Frakes starts planning and diagramming for a race months in advance. But there’s still an element of spontaneity involved in the process.

“I don’t have a specific vision for the shoot until Derby day or maybe the day before,” says Frakes. “ I want to make a picture that you haven’t seen before. And, of course, I want the right shot of the winner. But don’t think this is a casual production, I start drafting my plans and organizing gear several months in advance.”

Frakes has to be prepared for anything. For the 2007 Derby, rain forced him and his assistants to release each remote camera’s shutter by hand.

I like to think that photography can be just as good on a budget, but this is something for which there is no substitute. It’s tough not to be envious of the resources available to Frakes’, as well as the awesome images he produces with it.

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