Jul 18, 20224 min read

Busy, Busy, Busy.

Another busy week of snapping, starting with the Trunce. Chris Cull was unable to cover the second crossing and I wondered if it might be worth giving it a go. Bright sunlight and deep shade under the trees, would definitely be a "NO!" to setting up there.

Parked up and left the collection bucket at registration, the thin cloud seemed to be covering the sun and the possibility of snapping at a different point became a reality.

Crossing two it is.

The walk to the river is further than I remember. It's years and years since I'd ventured down towards the mill. Buildings now adorn the once empty pasture and I had a problem finding the path through to the water.

Once set up, the sun decided to play tricks on me and came out through the cloud. Too late to change now, I'd just have to suck it and see what came out at the end of the session.

Out comes the owner of the house next to the river, offers me a cuppa and a bottle of water to stay hydrated. No wonder Chris enjoys coming here. I don't blame him for keeping that quiet.

Messed about with which lens to use and where to stand.

Decisions, decisions.

Not even time for a sip of coffee because here comes the leader, Tom Saville.

Feel sorry for the first few runners that fly by. Having to guess and hope what the composition may turn out to be, they sometimes lose out on a decent image.

Managed to adjust my position and then George Parr come into view.

WOW!

That was one spectacular fall George.

I could have packed up there and then and been happy with the resulting photographs. Thanks goodness my camera can shoot 8 frames a second.

One or two runners chose different routes to gain access to the gate and I found myself shifting position from time to time. Squatting down to gain a more "powerful image" angle meant that my backside dipped in the water. Wet bottom in warm weather wouldn't be a problem.

Stepping stone walkers were too far away to capture. Their problem, not mine.

Considering there was harsh sunlight, the results aren't too bad.

One positive, I only had to snap the runners once. Far fewer digital negs to sort through the next day or so.

Not sure that I'd return to this spot again. Maybe team up with Chris for one of the Trunce events next year, see how we'd get on in terms of covering everyone.

Thanks to everyone who made a contribution to the Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England Fund. We should hit the revised target of £2,500 by the time the last race is run.

Spencers Dash:

I can't remember the last time I snapped runners at this race. There aren't many good spots to stand due to the amount of traffic on the course.

Decided on the hill down from Kexborough but totally forgot to take the marshal into consideration. Motorists seem hell bent on aggressive driving as part of their lives and woe betide any human or animal that gets in their way.

SLOW DOWN W*NK*RS!

Sun out again, which didn't help, but made the best of a bad job that I could possibly do. Don't think that makes sense. Ah well.

Gareth in the lead and his shots were nothing to write home about. My fault not his.

Never be in the lead when I'm out snapping, I need time to adjust the composition.

After a while, I decided to go round the bend and snap from there. Better light wise but not enough separation between the runners and the background. If I'm kicking about for the next one, I'll go somewhere near the motorway bridge that's not too far from the finish.

Toss O'Coin:

So, three shoots in seven days didn't make me that popular at home.

"Going out again?"

"Trying to raise money for Freedom of Spirit Trust for Border Collies pet."

I'd been out the day before to recce the route and make a decision as to where to stand. I always try to pick a couple of places to shoot from if possible, as this increases the chances of capturing everyone.

The gods smiled on me on the day, thin cloud cover which made for even light.

A photographers dream for situations like this. Hung about on Windmill Lane waiting for a text from the organiser. The Toss O'Coin route is decided on the ... toss of a coin. Heads clockwise and tails ... anti-clockwise. Fingers crossed it was tails. It was.

Down to the Yorkshire Water site at Rusby Woods for some double bend shots.

With only 66 entrants, the composition didn't quite work out as I wanted it to. Having said that, some pleasing shots of the runners.

Last one through and time to head off to the very end of Windmill Lane.

The idea was to catch them on the first bit of flat after the steep climb. Unfortunately, giant lego bricks are in place to stop off road vehicles using the track. Moved down and knew that abuse from the competitors would be coming my way.

They were a great bunch and tried their best to put some effort into running/jogging up the slope. Thanks to everyone who took part.