My last visit to Cannon Hall was in 2018, another X-country race organised by SYCCA. Managed to snap a few decent images around the Senior course and the fast uphill finish was spot on for those anaerobic sprints to the line.
Cannon Hall 2018
With a four-year absence from this location, no blog to remind of any useful information, I had to plan my campaign from scratch. Not the best of starts by a long way.
Parking might be difficult with so many runners attending. Should I try Cannon Hall Farm and be assured of a place? Queuing traffic might be a problem over the narrow bridge.
I'll stick with my usual spot on the road into Cawthorne, there's always plenty of room there.
Spent a considerable amount of time pouring over the course map and the timings, making copious notes on what might work on the day, little did I know that this was a waste of time and effort.
A late start has its advantages. Plenty of time to walk Tan, devour a hearty breakfast and check all my gear. The downside is a late return home. Downloading my images onto the computer takes a couple of hours and on a Sunday, the late evening meal takes precedence over editing images.
Set off in plenty of time, hopefully I'd be able to sort out the snapping points that would produce the best images for my portfolio.
Parking nightmare.
Antique Fair this way proclaimed the sign.
Sh*t!
Hardly any parking near the church hall or whatever the building is.
One spot left.
What the flip is going on?
Made my way towards the entrance to the park and ... a football match in progress.
That's why there is so little room.
Cross the bridge and ... WTF!
Around a hundred people all walking one breed of dog.
COCKAPOOS as far as the eye could see!
Instead of sticking to the plan and visiting possible places to snap from, I decided to shoot some of the junior races to test out the light and various compositions. Problem was, apart from the finish area, none of these would be used for the senior races. Having been sucked into the earlier races, I hardly left myself enough time to recce the best spots for the main events.
My mind went blank, I panicked, and the rest is history.
I'll shorten snapping points to SP
SP 1: first senior race
Managed to capture the start, allowing the runners to thin out a bit to achieve that panorama of bodies. Focus point on the far left of the screen and with the aperture set appropriately, as many people in focus as possible. Hopefully, your eye travels from the leaders to those at the rear of the field on the right.
SP 2: Turning point on the medium lap.
It wasn't possible to hit the runners in the same way as the first image. Although you try and show everyone in full flow, it just doesn't work out that way. Runners hidden by other runners is part and parcel of an event with so many bodies at one point in the race.
SP 3: Woodland turn
One of the best places in terms of composition but not productive in terms of coverage. You are only going to hit a few people effectively. Too narrow a path for more than a couple of runners in full view.
Panic time.
Where to go next.
I thought I had a plan.
SP 4: Not good.
Around a dozen shots from here and not happy at all with the composition. Time to move on. My watch informed me that the senior men's race wasn't too far away from starting.
Sugar!
Interim shot before I set up for the next batch of images.
SP 5: Probably the best SP of the morning.
Settled into "runners into the distance" mode. Focus point on the nearest person on the right, just love these shots. There were strands of light and dark, trees blocking the sun in places.
Scott Hinchliffe, managed to capture him in full flight.
Ensured that the leading runners were in the light. Could have done with a little bit more sky in the shot, but the background colours really boost the composition in terms of success.
SP 6: Set up for the last turning point.
Confusion. Runners running on the left of the posts with others on the right. Stayed there for a couple of minutes and then moved again.
FOR GOODNESS SAKE, STAY IN ONE PLACE FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF MINUTES!
SP 7: Not too bad
I lost track of how many of the four laps had been completed and ran towards the finish area. Stopped at the bottom end near the lake and tried my hand there. It's a weird thing; why am I snapping the same section of runners while probably missing others completely?
SP 8: Should have worked well but not what I was after.
Unfortunately, there was another runner or marshal wearing a fluorescent jacket in view. Hate these tops as they cause problems with the camera exposure. I find it difficult to edit these bright colours. Tried my best to keep Shaun C out of the frame.
I thought there was another lap to go and was just about to make my way to the finish line. A number of competitors, including Scott H had already completed the course.
Ran as fast as I could to set up shop.
Took a dozen or so images.
Tired and frustrated.
Rain moved in.
Needed a cuppa.
Needed a wee.
Home time.
I'd had enough.
Edited and sorted, with a helping of frustration thrown in. I'll certainly know where to stand for the best shots next year.
Best thing to come out of the shoot: I decided to set Flickr to random sort rather than chronological order. And having shot from so many different points, it made the slideshow way more interesting. Need to do that more often.
Photos from Cannon Hall can be found here.
Cop Hill on Sunday and then X-country at Penistone on the 27th November.