Cycling - finish line photography

[Molydood]

Hi,

I will shooting a cycling race next wee (unpaid favour for the event organiser)
I need to capture the finish so that they can put all the riders in order afterwards.

Lighting
It will be outdoors, 7:30pm (it goes dark about 9pm here), so it could be slightly dull/overcast

Situation
There are 60 riders on track (1.3 miles) but they will more than likely be split into packs, possibly large ones. I am expecting finish speed to be anywhere between 20-40mph, never been to one before. I will have complete freedom to be anywhere on track

Equipment
20D, on board flash only, 18-55, 70-200, tripod

I am planning on doing a few test shots during the race, so I should be able to get it sorted before the end, but wondered if anybody had any tips for this particular situation? I am wondering which will be best from the following:

1. wide angle shot
2. + flash
3. tighter crop with tele lens at 5fps until all riders have passed the line
4. + flash
5. other

ISO will need to be adjusted to obtain appropriate shutter speed, assuming 1/250 min to prevent blur (camera will probably need to be stationary so I can fire of multiple shots, and also will need to be pointed at the line)

Any help appreciated. I will also be shooting the riders during the race, so any tips there good too.

Cheers,
Martin

[Katzy]

Hi,

Would have thought best postion would be on the finish line with the camera on a tripod at wheel hight. I have seen this on TV, you can then see which cycles finish first.

Katzy

[gsgary]

The event organizer has set you a hard task, i'm glad its not me. I wouldn't have thought the flash will not keep up with 5fps, how about a video camera

[gmen]

Sounds like a job for a remote camera to me.

This wouldn't be the Brentwood criteriums by any chance?

---- Gavin

[Molydood]

thanks all.

Gavin, not even sure, will need to check the name of the club, it's being run over at the Ford test track in Basildon/Dunton if that helps.

Why remote camera anyway? Why not just one on a tripod being manned by me?

Think I will go for tight crop, high ISO, no flash and high fps, it is about 7ish now and the light looks pretty good.

Martin

[gmen]

Originally Posted by Molydood

thanks all.

Gavin, not even sure, will need to check the name of the club, it's being run over at the Ford test track in Basildon/Dunton if that helps.

Why remote camera anyway? Why not just one on a tripod being manned by me?

Think I will go for tight crop, high ISO, no flash and high fps, it is about 7ish now and the light looks pretty good.

Martin

Not the criteriums then... as they're being run in Brentwood town centre... the big club in Essex is Glendene who are the organisers. I was just wondering if I might see you there!

I was being slightly tongue-in-cheek with the remote suggestion... although it would mean you could position the camera somewhere that you couldn't stand yourself - e.g. clamped to the finish line or above it.

I'd imagine that your plan is a good one - the light should be fine even if you have to crank the ISO up to 1600. I'd probably aim for a minimum shutter speed of around 1/500s (or faster) though as you'll want to be able to identify the competitors easily... 1/250s will introduce a fair bit of motion blur, depending on the angle that you're shooting at. The riders may well be moving pretty fast, particularly if it's a big sprint finish.

It might be an idea to get some height... take some stepladders along and shoot from just past the finishing line with a fairly wide angle lens... that would guarantee getting everyone in the shot if a whole bunch of bikes cross the line at the same time. If you shoot from a low angle, some of the riders may be obscured by others. I suppose it depends on how accurately the organisers want to record the finishing order.

---- Gavin

[Molydood]

cheers Gavin, the height suggestion is a very good one.
I am going to have to use my 50mm lens at f2.0 to get 1/500 in light like it is right now outside (8pm). That is only 30 minutes later than the scheduled finish, so it's looking like I may face some difficulties

I am thinking of going for two strategies in parallel:
-giving my spare body to one of the marshalls and use the wide angle + flash option
-use my 70-200 or 50mm prime on the tripod at high fps and high ISO

I just need to see what sort of depth of field I will get at f2, and if it will be enough to cover the pack 'thickness'

Martin

[gmen]

Originally Posted by Molydood

cheers Gavin, the height suggestion is a very good one.
I am going to have to use my 50mm lens at f2.0 to get 1/500 in light like it is right now outside (8pm). That is only 30 minutes later than the scheduled finish, so it's looking like I may face some difficulties

I am thinking of going for two strategies in parallel:
-giving my spare body to one of the marshalls and use the wide angle + flash option
-use my 70-200 or 50mm prime on the tripod at high fps and high ISO

I just need to see what sort of depth of field I will get at f2, and if it will be enough to cover the pack 'thickness'

Martin

If you're shooting from height, looking down on the pack, then your depth of field issues will be reduced, particularly if you're using a wide-ish lens - all the riders are going to be in roughly the same plane relative to the camera, so you should get acceptable sharpness even if you decide to pre-focus.

Flash would give you the option of dialling the ambient light down to zero... hence no motion blur at all (the flash will freeze the bikes) and an increase in dof.

The problem you will come up against (if using flash) is shooting in a burst... the flash may not recycle quickly enough without auxiliary power. However, one well-timed shot might be enough to help determine the finishing order.

This is a pretty tough job... so your idea of using one of the marshalls in a parallel strategy is a good one: Marshall = Remote?

---- Gavin

[Molydood]

yeah, I think the ideal will be the 20-30mm shot with flash, covering the whole pack, from height, with me firing fps bursts at high ISO with the 50mm at f2.8. Just checked DOF, and it isnt too bad at 2.8 from 3-4 metres away. Even ISO 3200 looks OK for the job too it seems.

Now, how do I get a marshall to stand on a stepladder for me
Maybe I can bring an assistant along.

thanks for the help Gavin, needed somebody to bounce ideas off.
Martin