On Assignment : Douglasville Triathlon

Feels like a while since I posted any of my work. I've been working on a motion graphics project the last 2 weeks for a show pilot. Can't say much about it now, but if it gets picked up, it might give me access to some athletes and move my photography in the right direction.

Speaking of athletes, I was one of 3 photographers covering the Douglasville Triathlon back in October (I need to catch up on some blog posts).

I was responsible for the cycling portion and then got some shots at the pool. This event ran in reverse order. Run. Bike. Swim.

This event was geared for 1st time triathletes. Since the temperatures are cool in October, the swim is held indoors in a pool. So it makes sense to reverse the order and thin the crowd out for the swim. This year was my first as a triathlete and I really enjoyed seeing all the competitors on the course.


These small events are excellent for perfecting those panning shots. It's always a challenge to follow a moving subject and nail a sharp photo. The drawback is seeing all these nice bikes and lusting after them. I'm already trying to figure out how to upgrade my current ride.

One of the challenges to shooting and outdoor event like this, is dealing with the changes in light. It's not so much the changes in actual sunlight, but having subject move in and out of shade/sunlight. You need to decide to either shoot in direct sun or shade. The difference can be as little as 2 full stops and that's not going to make for a great shot. I'll scout a location and find a spot where the light is going to be fairly consistent and even adjust my position through the event as the sun moves.



You can see from the 2 images above, that there's a clear line between sun and shade. I chose to shoot in the shade as the light is more even and softer. I also wanted to use a shallow depth of field and blur out the background.

One of the things I love about triathlons is the diversity in the competitors. Here are a couple more from the bike.







Once the majority of cyclists had made their way back to the transition area, I headed to the pool to see the competitors finish and catch some action shots.

I decided not to use a flash indoors and use a higher ISO. With my previous camera, I would stay away from ISO 800 or higher. As you can tell, these images look pretty good at ISO 800.





Looking back through these photos makes me anxious for the triathlon season to start up in the spring. Even though it's the off season right now, I'm still hitting the pool and cycling once a week. Since I just finished a half marathon, I'm taking a break from running. I'm considering doing a full marathon in March, so I can't take too long of a break.


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