It's around a month since I last wrote one of my boring blogs. They are more of a memory jogger for the next time I visit a particular event; when to set off, how long it takes to get there, equipment I need to take, where to stand etc.
Although there are a number of people who take the time and trouble to read them, they are hardly a riveting experience.
In a few weeks, I'll reach the ripe old age of 70.
When fifty came along, it wasn't a problem. Fifty is no age at all.
Birthday celebrations at 60, along with retirement the following day. Magical.
Slept soundly for the next six months to recover from nigh on 40 years of teaching. Running was going well and quite a few age cat successes.
65 came and went with no great moments to speak of.
But 70 ... that is old.
Is it?
My mind is still fairly active. I'm trying to be creative with my photography, and our recent acquisition of a border collie, will certainly keep me on my toes.
How many more Triggers will I be able to attend in the depths of winter?
Let's hope that I can continue to snap runners for the next 5 years or more.
What have I been up to since the last blog session?
Trunce 8: Slightly more water in the River Don than last time, but even so, not that much to write home about. A few decent images but nothing spectacular. Never have I seen so little water flowing throughout a Trunce series before. Hoping it will improve for the 2023 races.
Attempting to raise more money for Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England, I hit upon the idea of creating a mosaic. A YouTube video had inspired me to give it a go, though the expected response from runners was a little bit disappointing. Twenty people put their names forward and I put together a rather mediocre, first-time effort.
Lacking the printer and size of photo paper needed, I had to send them off to a third party. Not the best decision I've ever made. Everyone who ordered one seemed to be happy enough, with the result being £100 raised for my chosen charity. Having reached the target of £2,500, I was able to renew a JustGiving page for Woodhead Mountain Rescue.
I have improved my mosaic skills within Photoshop, the end result being far more satisfying.
A local cafe that we visit on a regular basis.
Crowden Horseshoe: One of my favourite races to snap runners. Without a doubt, the weather was far better than it was for the Holme Moss Race in July.
Bright sunshine and fluffy clouds; couldn't have asked for anything better.
Just twenty minutes from home, I decided that an early start wasn't necessary for a change. Parking wasn't a problem, though there were quite a few runners and walkers out on the moors close to Black Hill. Had they parked at Crowden?
Where to position myself.
Two options: Looking down into the valley with the runners making their way towards Black Hill, or just stay around Soldier's Lump?
Spent an age debating whether I should stay near the slabs or ...
In the end, I thought that there'd be more opportunities to change position at the trig point.
Thanks to the lack of rain, it was far drier than I'd hoped for. Water and mud would have improved the resulting images in my opinion. Ah well, you can't have it all your own way.
I can't say that I was excited by the images from the day's outing, but I thoroughly enjoyed being out on the fells again. Great banter with the marshals stationed at the trig point.
Penistone Parkrun #89
Having acquired another rescue dog, parkrun photography has had to take a backseat. This is mainly due to the fact that Tan is unable to sit quietly in the back of the car. By law, your dog has to be "restrained" withing your vehicle. Willow was amazing, she knew that it was safer to lie on the back seat than to roam around. We've just bought a harness which can feed through a safety belt. Fingers crossed that it actually works.
Walked Tan early doors, made my way to Penistone Market and at the stroke of nine o'clock snapped runners coming onto the TPT.
That lasted only a couple of minutes. Battery failure. There's a first time for everything.
Denby Dash:
Decided on a couple of spots around the course that weren't too far from where I'd parked the car.
So much of the course is on tight tracks in woodland and not suitable for snapping runners. Way too dark.
Sun was in the wrong place.
Panic set in.
Would it have been better to have stayed at home?
Tracks were narrow, either fenced or walled on both sides. Not ideal for a decent image.
I chose a small hill for the outgoing shots and a stile for the return.
You win some, you lose some.
Too much sky behind the runners made the exposure levels difficult to judge.
Shepley 10k: Wasn't down to cover this race and I hadn't been "invited" as it were. Just back from a week in the Lakes, without my camera in hand, I needed to reacquaint myself with the mechanics of snapping runners. That's what I told myself. Photography becomes addictive.
Not too far from home again, only 13 minutes according to Google Maps.
Hit the race at two points as usual.
Why is the sun never in the right place?
First snapping point that was available and allowed me to drive safely to the second point, was around 1k or so from the start. Unfortunately, I had the sun shining directly into the lens.
Oh, what the heck, go for it. Maybe it'll produce the shot of the day.
And it did. Loving the shadows.
More or less sat on the road, hoping that any traffic from behind would refrain from running me over. Quite a large area of sky confused the exposure reading, adding to the fact that the runners' bodies would be in shade. It's amazing what Lightroom and Photoshop can achieve. "Deep" editing is time consuming, something I don't have enough of when dealing with 1000 plus images.
With everyone through at the first snapping point, I had a trouble-free drive to the "Toss O'Coin" pub. Now derelict and reeking of cannabis, the building has soon fallen into disrepair. Quite a few other businesses will no doubt follow in its footsteps.
There's a fairly quite lane opposite the pub, ideal for a downhill snapping point. With the background not being too cluttered, (Oxford Comma) and the sun behind me, it proved to be an ideal spot for some decent images. All I needed to do was to encourage the runners to take the middle line or stay to the left-hand side of the road. Their left that is.
I hit them while they were out of the shadows, though a few runners did take the shaded side of the tarmac.
Trunce 9: This race tends to fall on the first Monday in September, the week we usually head up to the Lake District. Although I was pleased at the second Monday in September being chosen, the light would be much lower than my camera could probably cope with. In the end, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Set up in the river, with the ISO set to a maximum of 10,000. If you're unfamiliar with this, it just means that the resulting images will be very grainy and hardly the sharpest photograph you've ever seen. Having said that, most people tend to view them on their phones rather than a large monitor like what I've got. Who cares? Me!
With some heavy rainfall while we were away in Eskdale, I expected to find a decent level of water in the River Don. Nope. Even less than last time. It's been the worst year for snapping splashing runners since I began my hobby in 2013.
The small stones leading out of the puddle were extremely dangerous; one or two people came a cropper as they sped from one side to the other. I tried to warn the rest of the field as loudly as I could.
With the light deteriorating, I decided to collect my gear and head up to the track. If I was quick enough, I'd even capture some runners for a third time. Looking back on the evening's shoot, I should have "done" this after everyone had been through crossing one.
Interesting light before I had to call a stop to the shoot.
Collection bucket was a bit of disappointment, but the amount that people have donated over the series has been amazing.
£2,500 raised for Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England and £200 for Woodhead MRT. Next year's images will hopefully raise even more for the local team.
What races will I be covering in the near future?
Shelf Moor at the end of September
Sheffield TENTENTEN early October
Cop Hill Fell Race in November
Percy Pud 10k early December
DDT 6 late December
Hopefully there will be the odd SYCCA X country race nearby.
A number of races have proved to be worthwhile attending. Generous runners donating a few quid towards my chosen charity are a bonus. While at others ... not one donation. I can't complain really.
I try my best to provide decent memories and meet with a bit of success if the conditions are right. Sorry to moan, it's in my nature to whinge about life in general.
Happy birthday to me when it comes round.
No, I'm not running 70 hills in 70 minutes to celebrate.
See you soon.
Comments