The weather in Penistone on Sunday morning, was hardly inspiring. Early mist, low light and the odd shower. A decision had to be made. Either I stay at home and re-unite my body with the warmth of the duvet, or I make an effort with the hope that Bradfield is bathed in sunshine.
Crossed my fingers, hoped for the best and headed up Mortimer Road towards the Bradfield turn-off.
Camera gear chosen. I had thought about packing one camera with an 85mm f1.8 lens on it, with the back-up camera sporting a 50mm lens for wider shots.
Too much to cope with in a well subscribed event?
Probably.
Decided to stay with the 85mm.
I was looking for the usual leading runner shots and then I'd concentrate on close-ups when the dam filled to capacity with sweaty runners.
Parked up just before the road closure barrier, noticing the absence of vehicles compared to last year. Just after 9am, plenty of time to make my mind up as to where I might stand.
Clear for a while, but the rain started just before the off. Nothing too drastic and the lens hood would protect the glass from spots of water.
The klaxon sounded and in next to no time, the leaders appeared. On past occasions, there's always been a few gaps between the front runners. Apart from Scott, who led the charge, the field seemed to be far more bunched than I'd expected.
Belgrave runner decides to make the right-hand side of the road his own.
With an early "lone runner" deciding not to stay to the left, the number of shots I'd manage to take from a kneeling position would be limited.
ARGH!
I had a feeling that the morning was about to get worse. A marshal shouted, "Stay on the left, large puddle ahead." Echoing the sentiment appeared to be a pointless exercise; only at the last minute did they correct their angle of approach to the bend.
Gary Briscoe glances across the road; wondering why a runner isn't following tradition.
All too soon, I was hemmed in against the dam wall. Limited opportunities to snap runners from low down. My preference is to shoot from a low angle and see the runners as dominant figures. I had to resort to a standing or bending position and capture groups, or if interesting enough, single head and shoulder ones.
With the light being poor and the ISO nearly at it's limit, the aperture was at f4. This meant that only a few faces would be in focus. Apologies if you were one of those affected by this.
Focussed on the Penistone FR and a positive expression helps to achieve a decent shot.
With nearly 3,000 entries, I had to resist the temptation to try and capture every single runner. It's just an impossible task. I'd no idea how many other photographers were on the course, hopefully one or two others.
Bit of creativity on the "big puddle" corner.
The returning runners were still battling it out in number. There's usually a clear leader with decent gaps between the first ten or so. Not this year. Still haven't checked to see who, out of the pack above, actually won the race. Hallamshire were certainly well represented.
It is possible to take a few decent images with the well-loved flying feet pose when the field is spread out. Taking multiple shots allows me to pick and choose the best composition.
Apart from the cones, which are a colourful nightmare, I was able to come up with one or two photographs which I was well pleased with. Chose black and white to rid this shot of the fluorescent orange eyesores.
With more than one runner, the odds are stacked against everyone having a decent "pose" as they fly through. Occasionally you get lucky, but not very often. It's pot luck really.
This shot worked out quite well, most people flying by.
I was stuck on the kerb as the leading lady approached. It would have been better if she'd stayed nearer to the guy from Sheffield. Adjusted my position and managed to just about keep both of them in focus. If I remember correctly, I focussed on 46 and hoped that they would both be "sharp" when I edited the shot. The aperture was quite wide, this meant that the depth of field would be shallow. Poor light and high ISO didn't help the situation, I had no alternative but to set the aperture at f4.
There's always one.
After a while, the odd runner and small groups became fewer and fewer. It was "tidal wave" time, a new approach was necessary. I needed to move.
A composition repeated from last year's race.
Took one or two from against the wall. I should have stayed here. The leading line of the pavement helps with this composition. The reason I moved, was the ambulance in the background had its lights on full beam. Thought it might detract from the figures and be a pain when editing.
It's strange that I'd noticed the lights on the ambulance but was completely oblivious to the caravan behind the hedge. DOH!
All smiles as this young lady heads up the hill to the finish.
A few shots that seemed to work quite well.
With nearly 2,000 shots in the can, it was time to head home and upload the images onto my slow computer.
The last couple of months have been a little bit difficult. Leak in the bathroom. Oven packing in. Power cable into the house having to be replaced ... the list goes on.
As I drove back towards Penistone, a negative thought wormed its way into my head.
"All I need now is for the car to go wrong."
Thirty seconds later and the water coolant light "pinged".
The sound continued to nag me all the way home.
Do I really need this?
Garage the following day and a bill for £439.
BUM!
Back to the images.
1869 shots were trimmed down to 630, with the knowledge that one or two people might not be impressed with their facial expression or running "body shape". Apologies to all concerned.
Stuck the images on Flickr and the number of views stands at 7,342 at the time of typing.. I really like the idea of loading them up in a random order. Runners have to scroll through more pages to find a photograph of themselves. Less of a procession of similar images.
Apologies to the hundreds of people that I wasn't able to capture.
Massive thanks to the 27 people who donated to my appeal for funds.
The £255 raised so far, will pay for a year's subscription to my editing program and Flickr plus £27 towards another external hard drive.
Loved the positive comments too. Really makes a difference to me as a photographer.
I'll be at the Travellers 6 in a weeks time and then out at a more local race; Ambles Revenge.
See you soon.
Travellers 6
Ambles Revenge