A River of Runners

You know another great thing about being an amateur photographer?  I can show you a mediocre picture without any penalty.

It was raining steadily at the overlook this morning.  And there was a light but steady breeze from the east.  There wasn't a chance for a sunrise and there are easier days to make dark and moody pictures.  But Monte Sano State Park was hosting the Mountain Mist 50K race — as always.  (The Mountain Mist is one of the named trails at MSSP.)  So I decided I'd try to make a shot of that.

Having observed this crowd running by before, I knew the decor (shall we say) would be as ugly as a rodeo arena. These folks are going to run 50 kilometers in the rain.  I don't think there are any prizes for "best-dressed".  And then there was the rain and the overcast.  So there wasn't much light and the light you have is pretty ugly.  What's a photographer to do?

Instead of freezing the action I decided to let it blur. A lot.  I had the title of the picture in my head before I ever shot it — A River of Runners. 

There wasn't as much neon in the crowd as I was expecting and, in hindsight, I think a higher perspective would have done better.  (I know the yellow line makes a nice "S" curve from experience. But you don't get that same curve drawing you on all the way to the background with the runners.

So, not a bad picture but not as good as I had hoped.  Live and learn.  I hope it is helpful to you in your photography.

Nikon D7200 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR

40mm

F11@2.5 seconds

ISO 100

Cropped

ROD_4550.JPG

©Don Brown 2024