Sports Shooter Academy offers students and working photographers four days of instruction in a hands-on environment, with a group of some of the best sports photographers working today, plus access to professional-level Nikon camera gear that participants can use during their shoots. The Sports Shooter Academy was founded by USA TODAY staff photographer Robert Hanashiro and Southern California-based freelance photographer Matt Brown to give students and photographers an opportunity to shoot real sports events where they can experiment, try new techniques, expand their vision and get immediate feedback from faculty at the events and during nightly editing/critique sessions.

The mantra of the Sports Shooter Academy is "See Better, Shoot Better".

Sports Shooter Academy IX will be held April 26 - 29, 2012 in Orange County, CA. Through the cooperation of local colleges and universities, workshop participants will be photographing real sports events including college baseball, track & field, swimming, diving, boxing, lacrosse, surfing, horse racing and beach volleyball. Using remote cameras is a popular topic and workshop participants will learn through both classroom instruction and at actual sports events. Location portrait lighting using Speedlights and high-shutter speed sync photography will also be covered during the workshop.

The SSA IX faculty include:

Matt Brown (Southern California-based freelance photographer)

Rod Mar (Seattle Seahawks team photographer)

Dave Black (Colorado-based freelance photographer)

John W. McDonough (Sports Illustrated)

Wally Skalij (Los Angeles Times)

Shawn Cullen (Sports Illustrated)

Myung J. Chun (Los Angeles Times)

Michael Corrado (Nikon)

Ronal Taniwaki (Nikon)

Robert D. Hanashiro (USA TODAY and Sports Shooter founder)

To get a peek at what the Sports Shooter Academy experience is like, check out this short documentary on two college students that attended a recent workshop:

http://sportsshooteracademy.com/videos/two-students/.

For more information about the Sports Shooter Academy, check out the workshop's website:

http://sportsshooteracademy.com/.

The Sports Shooter Academy Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sports-Shooter-Academy/218332281520720

And for videos produced from previous workshops, check out the Sports Shooter Vimeo page:

http://vimeo.com/ssacademy

TESTIMONIALS

"I never had a photography mentor before SSA VIII. Now I feel like I have 60 of them. Words can't express what The Academy meant to me. Everyone there, from the college upstarts to the seasoned pros, inspired and challenged me in a way I'd never been inspired or challenged before. I learned more over the past four days than I had the previous four years."

"There are so many cool things about this workshop that it I'm not even sure where to start! I guess it all begins with the instructors, they are incredibly knowledgeable, patient and...fun to be around. The workshop gives you access to sporting events that otherwise most would not have. The friendships you build and contacts you make will carry on through your career. Plus the confidence and skills you gain will help you reach your goals. Whether a beginner or more advanced I truly believe that the workshop will not be a disappointment!"

"I know of no other place where you are exposed to a diverse number of events to shoot, access to the best sports photographers in the business and be able to expand your own network in a five day period. Even if you have been shooting for a period of time, you will learn A LOT! Little pearls of wisdom are given out all of the time, just take the time to listen and keep an open mind and WOW will you see your images improve."

"Let’s start with the staff and faculty, which is a "Who's Who" list of photographers and think what it would be like to just hang out with them, let alone have them instruct you, shoot with you, and then critique your work, all on a daily basis. There’s just nothing like having your toes in the Pacific Ocean, photographing surfers, and being able to turn to Sports Illustrated's John McDonough and ask, “How many focus points are you using, John?”

"Simply put, it is a valuable investment you won't regret. It is a league of its own, nothing else compares."