An early morning walk... and what a walk it was. Mist hanging low over the fields, with just a hint of what was to come. Coffee in hand, I thought about Willow. Her presence will remain with me forever, I still talk to her as I retrace the same route we took every morning for eleven years.
The halo surrounding the moon faded away and the sky became visible. Mist covered the fields around Oxspring, while overhead, a number of planes made their way across the clear blue of the morning. Memories of lockdown came flooding back. Not a trail to be seen for so many months.
A chance meeting with a fellow dog walker proved fruitful. He asked if I'd like to take his border terrier out for a stroll sometime. Sal would love to, especially as Dougie is a little border terrier. A positive start to the day.
Loads of time before the race start but unsure about the amount of parking available. Set off at a ridiculous time and found myself with the luxury of walking quite a bit of the course.
The original plan was to snap a few shots of the leaders on Miller Hill then back to the finish. With the fog and mist around, most people would be driving with their lights on. Not an ideal mixture; runners coming into the finish line with bright lights affecting the camera settings and probably resulting in underexposed figures.
Had a walk around the course in reverse and found a suitable spot away from the traffic. Just the odd 4x4 making their way up or down the hill, way better here than on the main road. Decided that I'd catch the runners on the way up and stay in the same spot for their return.
Could have done with another cuppa and a piece of toast. Ah well.
A sigh of relief as the dinosaur came shuffling up the hill, at some speed I might add. I'd calculated, from the last few year's results, that I'd be snapping for around 80 minutes.
Can't say that I was looking forward to waiting around for too much longer than that.
Time passed and the appearance of the lead car meant that it was time to perform from behind the camera. Settings had been checked and it was up to me to record the efforts of the winter hardy runners.
Shutter speed 1/800th sec (too fast but ...) aperture f5 which meant that the ISO hit 1600. Not as high as I thought it might be.
Scott out in front by quite a distance. Considering that they hadn't covered much of the course, he set up a fair lead Unfortunately, two horses came into view at the same time. I mentally tried to speed them up. It didn't work. Managed to crop them out of this shot.
I was hoping that the runners would be tracking on the left-hand side of the road. Nope. Shortest route, cut the corner. Must remember to think like a runner and work out what line to take. Having said that, it was a bit dangerous. Traffic coming down the hill might have been in for a bit of surprise.
Photographs taken at the start of a race are never that good. Too many people bunched together to get a decent shot. There were one or two images that worked out quite well though, more than I expected.
They came and they went. The camera seemed to be coping well with the foggy mist ... or is it, misty fog? I was worried that the focussing system wouldn't be able to cope and there'd be quite a few failures. Only three or four out of 800 plus weren't in focus. Nice one.
How long before Scott would be bombing down the hill? He's on fire at the moment.
Tried my best to make this shot as atmospheric as I could. The trees make a great framework for this image and the background is just lost in the mist, nothing to detract from the athletic figure heading towards the finish line. Scott knows exactly where to run for me, in the middle of the road. Where would the rest of them go?
Using a lens with a focal length of around 125mm gives me the chance to take a few shots of a runner and then move out of their way. Luckily there wasn't one vehicle to interrupt my flow, a good thing when I'm spending time on my knees or backside.
I'm invariably to be found low down when shooting. It allows the runner to dominate the photograph.
Helen Roby of Longwood Harriers on her way to claiming the ladies title. Great action shot made easy by her running style.
Dave Thompson on his way to picking up a prize for the first Santa to cross the finish line.
And the floodgates opened, well ... trickled. Hoped that they'd come in ones and twos to get a decent image of every runner. They should know by now not to run directly behind someone, ah well.
Runners to the left of me, runners to the right, some down the middle. So glad that there weren't hundreds of runners to contend with. Good sized field for a photographer.
Too many coming down the hill at once. "Spread out across the road!" I muttered.
My mind went into overdrive. What about a change of scenery?
Run down to the finish line when the next gap appears.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
What about all the car headlights in the way?
Go for it. It'll make the editing process a bit more interesting.
Runner number 93 managed to be snapped twice on the run in. As she came down the hill, I put my best feet forward and managed to reach the road before the next runner came in. In fact I was in 5th gear and just got to the junction before her. I was cream crackered!
I needn't have worried about the car headlights affecting the photographs. The mist seemed to dim them somewhat and the resulting images weren't bad at all. Stuck myself just inside the bollards, keeping a close eye on the oncoming traffic. Wish I'd taken fewer at the spot above. Didn't realise how the estate agent's sign stood out so much. Ah well.
" Did I have to come to this running event? I much prefer the park."
My friend Caroline, waving for me to get out of the way.
Quite like this one, even with the headlights on full blast.
Andrea Lyons of Huddersfield Road Runners smiling all the way to the finish.
See you soon and hopefully take a decent photograph of you. A memory that will last.
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