Skip to main content

The Beast


'The Beast', a brand new, very out of the ordinary cross country race which should be here for years to come. Now although it is the last thing I would ever sign up to take part in myself, having been up close and personal taking the photos I can see why so many would find this a great race. If getting dirty and wet while having a real work out is your thing then you would love the Beast. For more details on this race and to keep posted of future similar events check out http://www.purepersonaltraining.co.uk/index.php?page=pure_corporate. The Beast is just the first of many to come.

When I was asked to photograph this race jumped at the chance to photograph something different from the usual and to get out of the studio for change. This opportunity presented me with the challenge of capturing a great moment while making the most of the backdrop available to me, which at this location was beautiful.

I woke up that morning at first thinking, great its not sunny so we will have good, even light and I'll be able to get some good people shots. I'll just miss out on the brilliant blue sky that can make the surrounding landscape really stand out. Then when we arrived it started to rain and the sky seemed quite dark, so I started to worry about slow shutter speeds and rain spots on my lense. But by the time the race began, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared and the sun came out, unfortunately just in time for the first water obstacle, placing the sun at precisely the wrong position, completely throwing off the camera's light meter and forcing me to act very fast to make the necessary adjustments in order to still be able to capture my images accurately. Luckily the race includes several obstacles, many of which in very different positions to the sun allowing me to capture a variety of artistic shots worthy of publication and this blog.


When I agreed to photograph this event it never occured to me that I might actually need to be nearly as fit as the runners. I was told that I could position myself some where in the middle as there are several obstacles all quite close to each other. And to a runner, which the organiser of this event was, I'm sure they were all quite close. To me though, they were miles apart, and one of them up a steep hill. On more than one occasion I felt out of breath and wishing I had done some training myself.
Still, I found myself unable to resist the temptation of seeing what was at the far corner of the course. I didn't want to miss a potential photo opportinuty. So off I trekked. And to my delight the sky was full of definition and the light was perfect. I just sat back and waited for the runners. I am so glad I did as I captured several images I am very proud of, particularly this next image which is my favorite of the lot. It just goes to show you that when at times you feel like you can't be bothered who knows what you could be missing. I toyed with the idea of missing this out but I'm ever so pleased I didn't.

Well I'm off now to get in some training. With less than a year left until next years race I must get started as soon as possible.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

Teen Portraits - Prom Season is Just Around the Corner

If your child is heading to prom in the next couple of months I'd say there is probably no better time than now to have portraits created of your growing teen. With the purchase of a new (and probably expensive) outfit wouldn't it be nice to capture this milestone with a portrait created by a professional. Across the pond this is a hugely popular time to create portraits, and although I am not American (I'm Canadian) I wholeheartedly agree that this is a special moment to record. My prom was a key memory in my teen years and in fact I myself had professional portraits created also. I think I'll go dig them up if I can, though admittedly I think my mother has them back in Canada. I wonder if I can get her to scan one for me. My daughter is currently making plans for college and in the running is one that will move her away from home, as many others are probably experiencing for themselves, particularly those who are 18. This makes it all the more important to ...

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me...

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com...