Praying for some reasonable light on the night, the good karma from the Rotherham Parkrun paid off. Couldn't have asked for a better start to the season with light cloud and the occasional glimpse of sun.
I was organized bright and early, missing a piece of gear wouldn't be a great start to the Trunce season. Batteries were charged, SD cards cleared of any images, Willow's Fund collection bucket in the car with the Mozziephotography sign for good measure.
Two cameras; the D7500 set up with a 35mm lens for river shots and the D7100 with my favourite lens, the 85mm, ready for snaps on the track.
Didn't want the hassle of changing lenses on one camera, as this might allow dust to collect on the sensor. The D7100 needs a sensor clean at some point in the future, half a dozen specks show up on "sky" images.
Arrived well before the start, set up the sign and collection bucket not too far from the registration tent. Had a natter with Shaun C and a few of the runners who were around. Contributions were steady, hopefully people would throw a few coins in at registration. I left myself half an hour to get to my snapping point in the river. My first task was to clear the trees on the bank, plastic and material had become entangled in their branches.
I entered the water.
FLIP ME!
It was colder than I thought, a lot colder.
And deeper than expected.
Job done, time to set up position and take a few test shots.
Thanks to the young lady and the beautiful little dog she had with her. Having someone standing on the stones gives me an idea of how far back I need to position myself without the runners being too small in the frame or having body parts chopped off.
It's a weird thing with the 35mm lens, just a few steps back from the chosen spot seems to make such a difference to the size of the figure within the composition. Wonder if it's the same with the 85mm
Waited patiently for the front runners to come down the hill. One false alarm when the lead junior was nearly advised to cross the river. Juniors seem to be getting taller and taller every year. Or am I shrinking?
With the sun behind the runners as they cross the stream, you're always hoping for thin white cloud to prevent harsh light and dark areas on the skin. It wasn't bad at all on Monday, though one or two faces were slightly in shadow. You have to accept the limitations of what happens on the night.
Hit most of the leaders spot on, the focus point was set dead centre of the frame. Nice one.
It was soon time for multi-athlete shots. There isn't the opportunity to move the fp around quickly enough. I can manage this in a race situation, but not so many people crossing at a right angle to me.
Cropping comes in useful and a runner which was to the left of the composition above, has been edited out. Apologies to the runner behind this wonderful "leaper".
More of these leaping shots would improve the quality of the finished album.
So, are the stones are pain? Or do they provide me with the opportunity to capture some exciting photographs.
I've tried shooting from the other side of the stones but it just doesn't work as well. The angle of the body is turned more away from me than on the other side.
Still find it hard to work out why a few steps away makes so much difference to the composition.
Dewsbury runner making his way across the river, probably just about the correct "size" for a landscape shot. As for someone crossing on the stones ... Just about managed to keep them in the frame. Not easy to do, by any stretch of the imagination. Having said that, the PFR runner below, is a bit on the tall side.
In all the time I've shot from the river, no-one has ever crossed to the right of the stepping stones on the way out. I walked that way last night and there are one or two large, very slippy stones underneath.
One young lady, probably a first timer, decided to give it a go. Not the only one I might add.
I felt awful snapping away, but with her friend from the same club alongside ... I left it to him to help her.
He laughed.
Thankfully, she got up and continued on her way. Star!
You're always hopeful that you'll come back with a few keepers. Leapers or battles between a couple of runners, spray everywhere. The image above is one of those keepers. Great body shape and he must be chuffed with the result. It would be ideal to have to produce a dozen or so snaps for the night, but everyone hopes that they'll be captured in some memorable way. Can't promise I'm afraid.
The rush turned into a trickle and thankfully, everyone managed to cross the river before the leaders returned. My least favourite attire for races, fluorescent top are horrendous. They have such a weird effect on the camera sensor and should be BANNED! I hate them. Usually, I convert them to b&w to tone the brightness down.
Keith, tail walker/runner does a grand job of hiding Alan for me, no disrespect meant.
Time to go to the other side with my gear and set up for the return. I had decided to stay until it got a bit too dark and then make my way to the top of the hill. If the number of entrants stays the same, I should be able to keep the same routine throughout the season.
There's a large tree on the bank, it prevents me from standing where I would like to be. Having said that, it's probably too close to the runners and the resulting water droplets that would hit the lens. Hitting them straight on, doesn't give me long to capture each runner at that "best shot" moment. You have to take whatever comes. Some of them, runners, are expressive, while other are content to amble across. There's not much I can do about that.
I did crouch down for a few shots, mainly to raise their head above the horizon and put it firmly in the tree line and sky. Problem: spray as they ran by might get onto the lens ... and it did.
Love the intimacy of the composition but I wouldn't have time to clean the lens each time spray hit it. Move on Mozzie.
Luckily, the runners now have to turn left after the last crossing. This gives me the opportunity to struggle up the shorter route and meet them as they hit the crossing. Squelching up the hill, I managed to photograph the runners that I'd already snapped a few minutes ago.
Altered the shutter speed to 1/640th sec and was surprised how light it was on the track. Shot a couple of dozen off and waited for a gap in the runners to appear. With rucksack on my back, camera in one hand and the mozziephotography sign in the other, I headed for the finish line on the TPT. My coat had been stuffed in the bag as I'd got a bit of a dab on. Way warmer on the track than I'd been down in the stream.
Shouted hi to Carol who was snapping runners as they entered the TPT and ran towards the awaiting crowds, for the runners ... not for me.
Now it was getting dark, time to widen the aperture on the camera. ISO was at it's limit - 6400. I decided to try to a few more images before packing in for the night. Surprised to manage anything at all. The D7100 did me proud in such poor conditions.
There comes a point when it just isn't worth taking any more photographs. Light was just about non existent, time to make my way home. Trunce 2 should be better but that will all depend on the weather, especially the cloud cover. Fingers crossed for another decent evening.
Picked up the collection bucket which contained mainly one pound coins rather than lots of shrapnel. Around £97 altogether, that's been bumped up to £100 and donated to Willow's Fund. Nearing the £2,000 mark and hopefully reach that in the not too distant future.
Massive thanks to the other photographers who make up a dedicated team of snappers at the Trunce. Carol, Lionel and Chris are always on hand to make the evening a memorable one. I don't think that there is any other low key event with so many "togs" in attendance.
See you at Trunce 2 on the 11th April. Not long at all.
Links:
Your photographs are fantastic. Thank you. Ps I don’t think I've ever been so talked about after a fall! Ha ha.