Tour de France in Rochester... at 3200iso? Oh b*gger!

I've PPed that to death using a trial version of Bibble and a little soft focus in Picassa (to emphasise the fact that I was actually quite nicely focused on the yellow jersey). If only I'd checked my ISO settings during the hour or more I had to wait for my 20 seconds of action!

<sigh!>

Still, after working all night and getting no sleep before heading for the train, something was bound to go wrong! At least I can console myself that my eye for a photograph isn't too far out even if my preparation is deeply, *deeply* flawed.

Andrew McP

PS Oh dear, just noticed the lamp post growing out of his head. Ok, apart from the ISO, PP, and composition, there's nowt wrong with that shot!

The lamp post is the only thing wrong with this, IMHO, and there's not much you could have done to avoid it. Catching that guy sharp enough between and behind the others is an achievement in itself.

With action photos and candids, you simply don't have the control that you do with a still life, or a studio portrait.

What do you do, miss the shot completely just because of a lamp post? Or miss a fantastic moment of expression on a face because the composition is "wrong".

I say not.

And as far as forgetting you've left the camera on some now-unwanted setting is concerned, I say, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I think the trick is to spot the lamp posts before you set up camp. But I know what you mean. I also appreciate every photographer has their fair share of "accidents". The trick is not to have them on a once a year (if that) opportunity!

Anyway, this shot might have been a better choice to post. I've fiddled with it much less, and I'm not a big fan of more than minor fiddling at the best of times.




Andrew McP

PS I'm enjoying watching the TdF on the TV now. You get to see rather a lot more from your archchair! It's a bit weird messing about with photos of things I'm watching on TV though. I keep glancing at the TV and getting a weird 'deja-vu'-like feeling.

Ooh, and my first experience of banding on the K100D. I guess that'll teach me not to shoot at 3200iso if nothing else does. Still, it is an exceedingly silly sensitivity designed for emergency use only, so what can you expect?




Andrew McP

I left my camera behind when we left to go see the 2 seconds of anything interesting.

300 cars plastered with adverts for 1hr, then 2 seconds of rider 201, then more cars, 6 seconds of the next 4, then cars and later the main group for 15s.

Not very exciting and not much to photograph for me.

I enjoyed being a part of the whole event... even if it was for rather a short amount of time! Perhaps as a pro-euro-pean I get an extra buzz from the TdF that others might not. It makes me feel a bit more European than I do already.

Anyway, I could probably have got the bus into Dartford and seen them pass through there, but Rochester's a much (much, *much*!) more pleasant place to spend an hour or two, and my original intention had been to find an unusual vantage point between castle and cathedral. That area was, predictably, stuffed, but it was rather pleasant to wander around and see so many people making the effort to turn out and cheer the riders on.

Andrew McP

PS Another factor is that I do genuinely admire long distance cyclists. They seem to wear themselves out rather quickly wrt lifespan, but their peak physical endurance is quite astonishing.

I was and still am feeling rather ill. Had a BBQ at a friend's house as it was right on the route. Our group was visible on a video shot as a blur. I can't believe they recorded it to look for us. I mean the motorbike is going at 20-30mph each frame is 1/25 at a maximum possible resolution of 768x576. Nobody (except my partner) seemed to understand that it would be impossible to identify more than a smudge.

Would have appreciated it more had I not been feeling like cr@p.

Ah, I think that's what they call a tactical error! Good luck purging your system of assorted unwelcome guests. A decent bout of food poisoning can be a real b*gger to get rid of.

Andrew McP

No, I was ill before then, but more flu-like:

Weekend sequence:

Wednesday: All day job interview
Thursday: Travelling and waiting for news
Friday: Rest and BBQ
Saturdat: 'in laws'' 50/50 birthday party till late outdoors. Two of us on photo duties (I had to stop at 21:07:55 because I have no dedicated flash unit). Didn't drink any alcohol until the camera was put away
Sunday, tour de france and BBQ (where I didn't eat as I was feeling very unwell) plus traveling for four hours to get back home.
Monday: Graduation (not a good day to feel ill)

All in all the busiest time I've had for some time...