I went out to watch and shoot the torch as it hit Winnipeg this afternoon. It was perfect conditions for it. Almost made to order weather. Something very satisfying about the large fluffy snow flakes falling almost straight down. What says Winter Olympics more than that?
Photographically it was quite challenging conditions though. First of all was the cold. For those who do not know, battery life quickly drops along with the temperature, and my camera and flash batteries were no different. The torch came along right on time, but in order to find a decent spot to shoot I had to arrive early. I did my best to keep my batteries warm in my pocket until the last minute, which actually worked quite well. Unfortunately my fingers were quite frozen, and I did not have the dexterity to fumble with the small AA batteries that my flash requires. So I did not have a working flash. In hindsight I should have put the whole flash inside my jacket until the last second. Ah well, live and learn.
My next obstacle was the herd of "support" that the runners had with them. So many. Too many photographically. I never got a decent shot of just the runners. Sigh. I'm sure they were there for a good reason, but it sure was frustrating.
I ran along side the runners for a block or two, trying to get better shots, but they were all crowded. As I was running along, I passed by a woman who yelled to me "Take good pictures! That's my daughter!" I don't know which runner she was referring to. I was on a mission, and I didn't stop to chat.
There was quite a few supporters lining the street, only outnumbered by police. They had both the Winnipeg Police Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police doing security and traffic control. There was even an aeroplane circling overhead keeping tabs on things.
Anyway, here's some photos.
Thanks for reading!
Photographically it was quite challenging conditions though. First of all was the cold. For those who do not know, battery life quickly drops along with the temperature, and my camera and flash batteries were no different. The torch came along right on time, but in order to find a decent spot to shoot I had to arrive early. I did my best to keep my batteries warm in my pocket until the last minute, which actually worked quite well. Unfortunately my fingers were quite frozen, and I did not have the dexterity to fumble with the small AA batteries that my flash requires. So I did not have a working flash. In hindsight I should have put the whole flash inside my jacket until the last second. Ah well, live and learn.
My next obstacle was the herd of "support" that the runners had with them. So many. Too many photographically. I never got a decent shot of just the runners. Sigh. I'm sure they were there for a good reason, but it sure was frustrating.
I ran along side the runners for a block or two, trying to get better shots, but they were all crowded. As I was running along, I passed by a woman who yelled to me "Take good pictures! That's my daughter!" I don't know which runner she was referring to. I was on a mission, and I didn't stop to chat.
There was quite a few supporters lining the street, only outnumbered by police. They had both the Winnipeg Police Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police doing security and traffic control. There was even an aeroplane circling overhead keeping tabs on things.
Anyway, here's some photos.
Thanks for reading!
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