Drag That Shutter

I shot the Labor Day Road Race yesterday. I believe this was the 31st race. I don't think I shot the first one, but
sure did a bunch over the years. It is so cool watching the runners near the end of the course. So many
determined folks, some who you would think not physically able to run from Pio Nono to Central City Park
for the 5k race, much less to do the 10k. But they do it.

Jacque Myers came to Macon from Tallahassee and ran both the 5k and 10k. Ran the 10k in less than an hour, wearing a Superman shirt. Should be Superwoman.

I spent a bit of time playing Monday morning. I do that more with digital. One reason is not buying film, and not having to process a bunch. My race shoot alone would have been over ten rolls of film. Also with digital, I can get an idea of what I am getting so I can adjust as I shoot. At the 5K start, I got down low, dropped my ISO as low as it would go, and shot a really low shutter speed with flash. My first shots were
way overexposed, so I was able to adjust and shoot some more. It was early and the ambient light was still
really low. I was fairly happy with the results. I shot a few standing and got this really nice wide shot.


The low shutter speed makes the action blur, and the really short duration of the flash stops the action.
The low angle just ads a bit of drama to the composition. So does the chopped off runners.

I did the ones shown here on Walnut Street. The sun was higher, and though overcast, a lot more
light. My Nikon's will only go down to 200 ISO, so if there is too much light, this doesn't work.
The Walnut Street shots had enough light to balance the exposure with the sky, Sadly my earlier stuff blew out the sky.

So the next time you are shooting some action, anything moving, try dragging that shutter. Might get some
nice keepers.