Hi, guys! I've only seen one other posting with "triathlon" in the subject line here, so maybe another is worth a look.
I had an opportunity to work with NBC Sports on the Ironman World Championship Triathlon at Kona again this year as a driver/spotter/goffer, and as always it provided me great access to the course. Here's a small sampling. Would enjoy any comments.
Chris McCormack - 1st finisher overall. Part of his prize package includes his photo on the next Wheaties box. I'd fully expect something similar to this will show up. We'll see. http://www.pbase.com/heinsite/image/129300965/original.jpg
Other than at night when the light is overwhelmed by low pressure street lamp pollution, this is probably the toughest shot of the day. It was taken from the pier directly into a low rising sun.
New womans winner this year? I follow the ironman somewhat as a marathon guy myself, and I seem to remember a girl from Europe who was unstoppable. Cristie maybe? Anyways, great shots. For the water shots, how fast of a lens did that take?!?
Chrissie Wellington (GBR) has won every Ironman she's ever entered, and Ironman Kona 3 yrs running (2007-9). She was here this year but came down with the flu just before the race and never started.
All of my shots this year were taken with a Nikon D3 and the new 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. In years past I had too heavy a bag so this year decided to lighten the load. The lens performed really well.
The "Blender" shot was taken at 1/350 f/6.7 at 300mm ISO 100.
Andy Potts was a little later when the sun was up a bit more but was taken with the exact same settings.
The EXIF data for my photos is available if you have the software to read it online. I use OPanda IEXIF myself. It's free. A right click will get what you need.
Chrissie Wellington, that's it! The girl's a freak of nature. I'm pulling for her to come back in 2011 and continue to dominate. Very gifted athlete.
Glad to see someone else who likes the 28-300 zoom option. I have a similar Canon lens on my 7D and find it great for things like this. The lens isn't heavy to carry around when it's the only one you have to carry.
The blender shot is awesome. I'm an avid triathlete myself and i know the exact feeling of what it's like to be in that mess of arms and legs getting kicked, punched and swam over. Never been to Kona but it looks like mayhem. Anyway, my point is that the shot captures exactly what i feel when the gun goes off at the swim start.
As the maker of that other for mentioned triathlon set, and the fact that this is a photo forum, I will be brutally honest :-) . I think these are snapshots at best. The "Blender" is a classic triathlon shot and my favorite.
Overall I see a lot of background clutter in the images and some weird compositioning such as the somewhat unflattering moment of "Andy Potts - 1st swim finisher" and the cut of arms of "Rachael Joyce". Chrissie might be famous, but the picture is ill focused and the colors are off.
If you would ask me, I would start seeking out local events where you are likely to have a lot of freedom in your movement in and around the track giving ample time and opportunity for great shots
RyanM17 wrote:
Great shots. Do you have any shots of the bike leg that you can share?
I don't take or post a lot of these because they mostly end up looking like, bike, bike, bike, bike. There's not a lot of action during that part of the event unless you somehow catch a crash. But here are a few scenes from out on course:
maurits wrote:
As the maker of that other for mentioned triathlon set, and the fact that this is a photo forum, I will be brutally honest :-) . I think these are snapshots at best. The "Blender" is a classic triathlon shot and my favorite.
Overall I see a lot of background clutter in the images and some weird compositioning such as the somewhat unflattering moment of "Andy Potts - 1st swim finisher" and the cut of arms of "Rachael Joyce". Chrissie might be famous, but the picture is ill focused and the colors are off.
If you would ask me, I would start seeking out local events where you are likely to have a lot of freedom in your movement in and around the track giving ample time and opportunity for great shots
And if you would ask me, I would suggest you might just as well completely delete your August posting of that, "other for mentioned triathlon set", since none of the images - for the sake of argument, let's just call them "snapshots" too for now, shall we? - are visible anymore!
Besides, if we measure interest or value by forum feedback, that posting didn't recieve much (1) anyway.
As an age group triathlete and a photographer as well I really like the set. You captured the physical challenges (blender) and the emotional reward, nicely done and thanks for sharing.
maurits wrote:
As the maker of that other for mentioned triathlon set, and the fact that this is a photo forum, I will be brutally honest :-) . I think these are snapshots at best. The "Blender" is a classic triathlon shot and my favorite.
Overall I see a lot of background clutter in the images and some weird compositioning such as the somewhat unflattering moment of "Andy Potts - 1st swim finisher" and the cut of arms of "Rachael Joyce". Chrissie might be famous, but the picture is ill focused and the colors are off.
If you would ask me, I would start seeking out local events where you are likely to have a lot of freedom in your movement in and around the track giving ample time and opportunity for great shots
Really I'm curious...how would you propose that he handle background clutter...let's use his first shot as an example? The guy is crossing the tape in a marathon where there are 1000's of people within 20' of him on every side but the front (where the shot is taken from) Not sure the folks at the Ironman would go for clearing out a path so you could photograph him with something more likable to you as a background.
tc-photo wrote:
Really I'm curious...how would you propose that he handle background clutter...let's use his first shot as an example? The guy is crossing the tape in a marathon where there are 1000's of people within 20' of him on every side but the front (where the shot is taken from) Not sure the folks at the Ironman would go for clearing out a path so you could photograph him with something more likable to you as a background.
+1. I agree with tc-photo as well. These aren't meant to be portraits taken under controlled conditions. Far far from it. If anything, they show action and tell a story among the chaos of the day.
First of all, this is about pictures, and not about a person in any shape or form. In general I see 'two' kinds of pictures posted here. One set is completely over my head, or out of my league so I watch and enjoy. The other I see, is from people who happily sharing their moment and their pictures. Be it their new camera and child playing sports. I feel they wish to share, and not get cc. This serie, I felt is both in my league, and made by someone who is open to cc. Also for the record, there is apparently more than one tri serie still on the board, and the 'august' ones are not mine.
Yes, making this type of pictures is hard. But it is supposed to be hard. That is the game we play. Some of the pictures I am the most proud of, I would never show, because I would have to explain, that , yes, this but a simple portrait, but I had to take it under 30 seconds in an ugly room. This video illustrated it fantastic: " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Pool spray
To start with the clutter, well, obviously position is everything, and in some events a photographer gets an assigned spot, and that is it. I had a brief look at what some of the big agencies did, (AP, AFP ) and it looks like they were more back, and slightly higher positioned. Secondly, lens choice and aperture.
tc-photo wrote:
Really I'm curious...how would you propose that he handle background clutter...let's use his first shot as an example? The guy is crossing the tape in a marathon where there are 1000's of people within 20' of him on every side but the front (where the shot is taken from) Not sure the folks at the Ironman would go for clearing out a path so you could photograph him with something more likable to you as a background.
One solution is the one that other sports photogs were using: shoot with 300mm and 400mm f/2.8 lenses. That's great if you make a living shooting sports events and can afford/deduct the $6-9K those babies cost. My 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 obviously won't bokeh background like an f/2.8. In the very cramped confines of this particular "photo media only" finish area everyone gets the same angles. That's just the way it is.
The real advantage that this ground level shooting area had over the guys up above and behind was that we *were* down low and could occasionally shoot up at finishing athletes. Those above us only had one type of shot angle. I have shot from there in the past and was never happy with the results.
Because the finish line itself is elevated the camera here is just about at the same level as their feet! These same photos taken on a downward angle wouldn't have near the impact. You'll see this angle commonly used in high fashion model photos.
I'm a little late to the party, but I'll play.....
I love the shot of Macca (#1). Yes, it would be great with more bokeh. But.... I am looking at the cover of the December/January issue of LAVA magazine which shows Macca standing on the ramp after finishing and it is shot from behind. Pretty telling. Ain't much space to get the shot. In fact, I would bet I can ID the OP in the photo on the cover of LAVA. Right side of the ramp, and closest photographer? I tried to find the cover image on LAVA's web site but it's late and I'm not going to spend anymore time on it now. Image #1 here is vastly better than the image on LAVA's feature article on-line. BTW, LAVA is the magazine published by the World Triathlon Corporation, owner and promoter of Ironman.
Well done mate. Great photo and as good as or better than any finisher photo of Macca last year that I've seen. The only thing I can think to improve the image would be if you captured the timer above the finish line.
Not too keen on the photo of Carfrae. I think it was shot a little late as she held the finish banner above her head for a while upon finishing.
The "blender" photo is indeed the classic image of the swim start, but as good as any I've seen. Well done.
The Joyce photo I'd say is uninspired. If you were shooting for publication, it might be used just to have a photo of her, but honestly, the only point of interest in that photo is who she is, not the image.
I really like the last two images you posted. Great emotion although the second is better because you captured the face.
Now, as to the "snapshot" comment, I found it initially to be rather rude. After seeing the images posted by the person who made the comment I'm flabbergasted. Those images are not even in the same league as the ones in this thread IMHO except perhaps image 4 on the bike. And the photos in that series have more technical glitches than these here. They are good ideas that need work on execution. I wouldn't make these comments if it weren't for the comments as C&C that were left for the photos here. And to criticize open water swim photos and offer up pool swim photos for comparison leaves me dumbfounded.
I've shot a couple of TRIs and they are tough to shoot. Everything is spread out. They are fun to shoot though.
And you may wonder why I resurrected this old thread... I did a search on Ironman as I will be competing (mainly against the clock) in my first Ironman at Ironman Texas in less than two months.
Dave, you can shoot me anytime.
George Roffe
Houston, TX USA
Nikon D2H
Nikon D70
Nikon 18-70
Nikon 80-200 f/2.8
The girl's a freak of nature. I'm pulling for her to come back in 2011 and continue to dominate. Very gifted athlete. 
I'm curious...how would you propose that he handle background clutter...let's use his first shot as an example? The guy is crossing the tape in a marathon where there are 1000's of people within 20' of him on every side but the front (where the shot is taken from) Not sure the folks at the Ironman would go for clearing out a path so you could photograph him with something more likable to you as a background.