Bridge To Brisbane 2007

I was up at 0430 this morning for the year's annual Bridge to Brisbane fun run, which raised money for the Surf Life Saving Queensland (who do an admirable job all year round). I did my bit, not by running, rather trying to play pro (as in paid, not as in good) photographer and getting as many corporate group shots for the event photography business I was employed by. This in turn raised addition funds through photo sales for SLSCs in QLD. Also got a chance to get track side and try my hand sports shooting, which is damn hard! GO D200 AF system!

The light was harsh with the competitors coming in from the east against the sun with no cloud cover. Tried the trick of -1/2 to -2/3s EV comp. and bumped up fill flash comp. by +1 to balance things out background and foreground without blowing highlights. Didn't help that the company was wanting jpgs so there was little touching up to be done afterwards (I LOVE RAW!). Sharp sun after sunrise was also hard to work with, especially when people were wearing hats (learned my lesson from photos with Mel :D ).

Respect to these guys, they were v. fast!


So was the elite 1st place person (damn fast), he was in and out of frame before I knew how to compensate for his ebony skin! Have to remember that when I'm taking photos of Chief's family. Other people (Mr. Tease) were fast for other reasons (more on that later).


I caught up with Ali G. and Paul G. (Check out his gallery lots of awesome stuff! Sorry Paul if the photo makes you look a bit... what's the PC term... special needs? Just the wide angle lens skews and distorts! HE'S PERFECTLY NORMAL PEOPLE!)


Also caught up with Val and Tiff from Claire's Lab (aka Hume lab(?))... WITH YOUR POWERS COMBINED... you make for a nice photo??


The sun, heat and exertion seem to have brought out the PHREEKY side of people, especially our friend Mr. Tease who suggested... then posed for his shot (oh dear god, my right eye is still weeping blood).



Being photographer seemed to attract a lot of attention from girls... perhaps they were just more comfortable at getting their photos taken or yelling "YooHOO! Mr. PHOTOGRAPHER!" The old guy was 86(?) and had competed in all 10 Bridge to Brisbane runs since the inugaral in 1997! I have no excuse...


Did I mention I hate clowns?

The rest of the photos HERE.