Just got back from taking Texas Round-Up 5K photos in Austin. Racing started at 8:00 AM as most of them do. Really thought it was going to rain pretty heavily, but that turned-out not to be the case. Looked at the weather last night and again at 5:00 this morning, both with the same result. Rain forecasted for Sunday morning but nothing for Saturday. It's supposed to be just perfect.
I totally should have walked outside!
It was raining when I got ready to leave at 7:00.
This wouldn't have posed any challenges except for the fact that I planned my first motorcycle-based shoot. Ever. For this morning. Yep, you see how this ends.
Once I saw the rain, I immediately began shifting gear from the bike to the Jeep. Didn't take long. Of course, on the drive into Austin, it was dry as a bone. This is Texas after all.
Shot most of the race with a Canon F/2.8L 70-200mm lens and hardly felt the need to bring anything else even though the rest of the lenses were just a few feet away. I tried the F/2.8L 24-70mm last time out and didn't like it as a base lens for close-ups and racing. It's not versatile enough unless you're right on top of everyone and in their face. I hate when people do that to me, so the 24-70 stayed in the car this time.
One thing you really have to watch with Canon L-series lenses is THEY CATCH A LOT OF LIGHT and they're very fast. I shot for about 27 minutes this morning and adjusted ISO 4 different times. It's very, very sensitive. I love that, but for someone who shoots in manual nearly universally, I have to really stay on top of it.
This race was shot with a Canon 50D, which I still believe to be one of the finest cameras in the world for sports shooting. Mine is just superb in almost any condition. It wasn't initially my first camera of choice, but it is now. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about portrait work, although it works really well for that too. Just talking shooting sports. At more than 6 frames/second and burning 15.1 mp images, you can't beat it for versatility.
What would make this setup just absolutely perfect is a 1.4x or 2x extender, ranging this lens from 98-280mm or 140-400mm respectively. Still great for semi-closeup work, but gaining the advantage of really reaching out there to capture a face or an expression from a good distance away.
If you'd like to see what the 70-200mm and 50D combo are able to produce, check out the Texas Round-Up 5K photos when you get the chance.
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