Craigswood 10k, Livingston, Scotland

[alan_potter]

We had lovely weather today, so around 11am I tried to find something to shoot. Turned out there was a 10k in Livingston, so I dashed over to that.

It was my first attempt to shoot something like this, and I thought it would be really easy. So I was surprised by how badly I screwed it up!

In my defence, I had no idea of the route so I just grabbed a spot near the finish. The sun was on the runners' right hand side as they came towards me. To compensate I over-exposed by 2/3 of a stop, hoping that this would stop the faces from being in shadow. Ad I shot in JPG, thinking that no significant post processing would be necessary.

I set AI servo mode on my 350D, and high-speed burst mode. I was using a 24-105mm f/4.0 L, I was handheld and tried to follow the runners as they came round a corner. I was about 500m short of the finish.

What I have learned is that AI Servo doesn't work between shots in a burst, and that I would have had much better lighting if I shot the runners as they ran into the sun. I have also learned that 1/125s isn't fast enough for runners

What I don't have is a technique for getting good, reliable, sharp focus. What do you guys do? Do you imagine a line on the ground and pre-focus on that; manual focusing and use a tripod? Just one shot per runner?

Or do you stand a LONG way away and use a long telephoto, buying you a few seconds as the runners are out there "at infinity"?

Okay, on to the pictures. All C+C invited and hints & tips gratefully received. EXIF should be in the pictures.

1. First in-focus shot, this guy came in around third or so
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_015.jpg

2. The first lady through. She managed a gorgeous smile in the frame before this, but I blew it and it was out of focus. How she can do that at this stage of a race having run so fast, I don't know. I'm normally ten minutes later and barely able to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, never mind smiling!
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_062.jpg

3. This poor lady picked the wrong moment to fiddle with her bra-mounted iPod!
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_221.jpg

4. A lovely cheery wave - but this guy looks like I feel at the end of a 10k!
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_333.jpg

5. Two shots in a row almost in focus! I think this was a record
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_334.jpg

6. I'm sure she could have halved her time if she had a smaller water bottle :-)
http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_467.jpg

Okay, so these were the good ones. But most came out something like this:
7. http://www.thepotters.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/temp/Craigswood_077.jpg

Thanks for looking,

regards,
/alan

[KIPAX]

I shot the accringotn 10k race today.. it's boring.. you do the lineup at start then wait half an hr for the first runner to arrive.. then its 400 runners and all the same shot.. just had to hope something would be worth it.. pensioners crossing the line are good for expressions.. some runners will play to the camera.. make they are the winner.. but otherwise its a bore...

My wife was running it so..

I used a 17-40 for the start and a few candids early on then used the 70-200 for the runners crossing the finishing.. you can get them at a distance for full leangth them quickly zoom and get head shoulders as they near.

I emailed the race organisers first and introduced myself when I got there... they got the race tannoy man to announce me to the runners and my website... so boring but possible winner for me:)

I did womens footy in the afternoon so it will be a day or two before I have any pics to show

[khall]

I think in a race of 10Ks you could have found a much better back ground.

[alan_potter]

Thanks for the comments.

khall, you're right. I'd claim that it was because I didn't know the route, but the truth was I didn't really think about it.

Kipax, the idea of using the 70-200mm sounds like a much better plan than what I was doing...I can feel an ache beginning to drow in my credit card...

regards,
/alan

[JulieJ]

Hi Alan,
I was "googling" the Livingston 10k race today to see if it was going to be happening again this year, when I found your kind comments. Thank you very much! My computer doesn't seem to be able to show me the photos, though, which in my case may be a blessing. I wouldn't have thought that Livingston would provide a picturesque backdrop really. How about photographing some hill races or cross country races? Most races are on the Scottish Athletics website. I'm sure my running club (Haddington and East Lothian Pacemakers) would be glad of your services sometime.

I hope your photography is going well.

Cheers,

Julie aka "the first lady through"
juliejoswald@yahoo.co.uk.

[alan_potter]

Wow - sure pays to be polite when you post things online!

I'll reply in personal mail, but thank you for getting in touch!

regards,
/alan