I tried to take some pictures of last Sunday's Houston Marathon. The cloudy, dim conditions weren't the best for taking pictures, but I'm sure the runners enjoyed it. There were 3 out of 4 course records broken that day.

All shots were taken with the K100D and either the DA50-200 or the SMC300 F/4.


Around mile 8 with the DA50-200. Pretty dim. Shoulda used the 300 F/4.0.


A runner passes a water station. Taken with the DA50-200.


At the finish line, taken with the 300 F/4.0. How did anyone get through that mob?


A few of the participants, taken with the DA50-200.

Next year, I'll get there at the start, take some shots of the crowd starting out, then go to the finish and camp out for a shot of the winner.

[foxglove]

Nice series! That's a very interesting blur in the cups at the water station in the second one. Did you have SR on? The TV camera in the middle of mob in number 3 gave me a chuckle. Can you do anything about the blown-out orange capes on the cops in the background? They're a little distracting, otherwise, it's a nice capture of the herd crossing the line. The foreshortening of the long lens really adds to the claustrophobic feel.

I can't imagine running that distance. And I used to not bat an eye at 80 km bike races! Mind you, I never was much of a runner - give me a bike, or xc skis, and watch me go, but running? Ugh. You caught some appropriately exhausted faces, there, good going. Whew, I think I'll go lie down for a bit...

Julie

[clarenceclose]

Great action shots with lots of expression. I am with Julie, would like to see less of the safety orange color in the background.

Something is very attractive in the first shot, a mystical quality, if you were to crop out the people off the bottom, the tree branches make an interesting horizontal compo in their own right.

[vievetrick]

Nice series. I think #3 gets my favorite picture vote. It shows the mood in the faces ,

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Last edited by vievetrick; 01-17-2007 at 02:04 PM.

[Matthew Roberts]

Love #1, with the oaks branching over the avenue.

And #3!

#2 just seems a little too out of focus!

[rfortson]

Love #1, with the oaks branching over the avenue.

And #3!

#2 just seems a little too out of focus!

Most of the shots taken under the trees were out of focus due to the low light and my poor technique. That's why I kept them fairly small.

[rfortson]

Nice series! That's a very interesting blur in the cups at the water station in the second one. Did you have SR on? The TV camera in the middle of mob in number 3 gave me a chuckle. Can you do anything about the blown-out orange capes on the cops in the background? They're a little distracting, otherwise, it's a nice capture of the herd crossing the line. The foreshortening of the long lens really adds to the claustrophobic feel.

I can't imagine running that distance. And I used to not bat an eye at 80 km bike races! Mind you, I never was much of a runner - give me a bike, or xc skis, and watch me go, but running? Ugh. You caught some appropriately exhausted faces, there, good going. Whew, I think I'll go lie down for a bit...

Julie

Thanks for the comments. On the pan, yeah, I had SR on. I always forget to turn it off, because then I forget to turn it back on!

I never noticed the orange capes until you mentioned it. They are pretty garish, aren't they? I suppose I could selectively mute them but that would require something akin to work. :O I pumped up the saturation and contrast on all the shots since it was such a dull, gray day.

One thing about taking shots like this. I can see dozens of things I'd do different the next time, as long as I remember.

Thanks again for the comments/suggestions.

[rfortson]

Great action shots with lots of expression. I am with Julie, would like to see less of the safety orange color in the background.

Something is very attractive in the first shot, a mystical quality, if you were to crop out the people off the bottom, the tree branches make an interesting horizontal compo in their own right.

I hear you on the trees. We have lots of streets like this around here and I'd love to properly capture them someway. They always seem to have some ugly car parked under them or something's in the way. I'll figure it out eventually.

Thanks for your comments!

[rfortson]

Nice series. I think #3 gets my favorite picture vote. It shows the mood in the faces ,

Thanks, Pat! I really wanted to get the winner, or at least some of the finishers by themselves, but I couldn't get a good angle. The best angle was blocked off for the official photographer (imagine that).

[foxglove]

On the pan, yeah, I had SR on. I always forget to turn it off, because then I forget to turn it back on!

It does interesting things when you pan, doesn't it? I guess that's why they recommend turning it off. But it's actually a kind of cool effect!

One thing about taking shots like this. I can see dozens of things I'd do different the next time, as long as I remember.

That sounds familiar! I carry a notebook with me, but I always forget to write in it...

Julie

[Sailor]

Thanks for posting these, Russ. I watched this on TV, but that doesn't get the flavor you captured. My 31-year-old daughter ran the Half Marathon this year and dropped her time from 10.01 min/mile to 9.29 min/mile, so she was pretty pleased.

Since I could follow her (via transducer) on the web, I was able to time her finish and see her on television as she crossed the finish line (her husband recorded it). I was happy with that until I saw your pictures; next year maybe I'll see if I can capture her finish with my camera.

Again, thanks for posting.

Jerry