LONDON MARATHON 2005 (yesterday)

<B>Well yesterday was a beautiful day for a bunch of crazy people to

force themselves to run 42km (26mi) so I took some shots of the

runners in the 2005 London Marathon:</B>

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<A href="http://www.wprasek.com/photos/showgallery.php?gal=2005-04-

17_london_marathon">http://www.wprasek.com/photos/showgallery.php?

gal=2005-04-17_london_marathon</A>

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I was interested to see how the Tamron 28-75/2.8 and Canon EF-S 10-

22 would cope with fast moving subjects and was pleasantly suprised

at the results with the 20D. Even the humble 50mm/1.8 Mk I did

pretty well.

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Here I'm talking in terms of focus tracking in AI servo mode, not

the aesthetics of these shots, which are less than ideal due to the

harsh light, sometimes in front of me, and busy backgrounds.

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I didn't go for f2.8 and blur the background more because I was

worried the DoF would be too shallow considering the target was

moving toward me rapidly. I did however manage to get some photos of

the top-placed runners including world record holder Paul Tergat:

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<IMG src="http://www.wprasek.com/photos/2005-04-

17_london_marathon//img/050417-1111411_wprasek.jpg">

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Plenty more photos at my site:<B><a

href="http://www.wprasek.com">www.wprasek.com</a></B>. Would love to

get advice from more experienced sports shooters - all feedback

welcome. Thanks

<BR><BR>

Warren Prasek<BR>

<B><a href="http://www.wprasek.com">www.wprasek.com</a></B><BR>

photography - web design - interactive media

thing that struck me was definately the lighting on this and many of your other shots. A little more planning on your position prior to the runners showing up would do wonders. Depending on the local terrain, if possible some trees between your back and the sun would soften up the light and shadows as well.

 

Personally on such a shot, I would like to see a slightly slower shutter to give a tiny touch of motion blur to the feet in order to isolate the moving runners from the stationary crowd. That is however personal preference and that's all.

Good work Warren. I watched the Boston Marathon on TV yesterday.<p>

<img src="http://www.kenpapai.com/boston2002/hancock9287z.jpg")

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<a href="http://www.kenpapai.com/boston2002/hancock9287.jpg">That image</a> is from near the finish line.

Do you have or use the 70-200 2.8L lens? Talk about a sharp telezoom!

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-Ken

I consider the last pic underexposed. My take would have been at f2.8 focussing on the lead runner at around 1/500-1/1000 (my guess, but I'd be in aperture priority with some compensation or spot metering), and I would have tried to find a position where my subject wasn't quite so backlit. I like more detail in the subject - dark skin requires more exposure to get it.