(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)
My favourite experience is photographing a sporting event that I have never done before. I don’t know what is going to happen and have to work out how to get good images in an unfamiliar environment.
One such experience was photographing the OVO Energy Tour Series cycling race in Salisbury in May 2019. As it happened, I only photographed the women’s race, which preceded the men’s race.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 110mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 140)
This involved a 45-minute race on a 1.2km circuit around the streets of the city centre. This might have been considered repetitive, but it did provide me with opportunities to try different ideas. Moreover, the lighting conditions changed during the race, so I had to adapt as the race unfolded.
One of the advantages of this type of cycle racing is that you can get close to the action, with the competitors just feet from you. Although there were a lot of spectators, the course was long and there were therefore plenty of opportunities to get good vantage points from which to shoot.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2500th sec; ISO 900)
I was using a Nikon D500 and I started with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, subsequently changing to a 70-200mm lens. I applied the same principles relating to camera settings that I set out in my blog on ‘Getting into Sport and Music Photography’, keeping the aperture wide open to make the depth of field shallow (except where I was panning to blur the background intentionally).
(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 70mm; f/5.0; 1/1600th sec; ISO 400)
I started off by positioning myself on a tight corner where the cyclists would have to lean over to turn (just outside Barclays bank for those who know Salisbury!). I experimented with the wide-angle lens, getting as low as I could and shooting through the barrier to provide drama as the cyclists raced by.
This captured the cyclists well, but there was a problem that the lead cyclists were in deep shadow, while the cyclists behind were in bright sunlight. Moreover, there was no separation between the cyclists and the background – so Toni & Guy and the Cornish Bakery were extremely distracting!
I decided to move further along the street (towards Waterstones …) and used the same 24-70mm lens to ‘pan’ as the cyclists went by, thereby blurring the shop fronts and spectators in the background and providing a great sense of movement. For more on panning, do to my blog on How to Photograph Motorcycle Speedway.
(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 58mm; f/22; 1/60th sec; ISO 1100)
Either the sun had gone in at this point or the location I had chosen was in deep shadow, so the images – while dramatic in terms of action – came out a bit flat.
Wanting to try something different, I switched to the 70-200mm lens, so that I could zoom in on the cyclists’ faces and as another means of isolating the main interest from the background.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2500th sec; ISO 720)
At this point, the sun re-appeared – which was a game changer. I therefore returned to my earlier position outside the bank and took advantage of the better lighting conditions. The colours just popped and the shadows on the road really added to the effect.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 102mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 180)
Having been in a similar position for some while, I decided that it was time to find a different place from which to shoot, so I made my way to the end of the finishing straight. There were plenty of people already there, but I was able to edge my way in …
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 180)
I have already said that watching the background is really important, but it is also key to ensure that the face of the athlete is clearly visible and therefore recognisable. One of the advantages of being at the end of the finishing straight was that the riders were coming directly at me and, as a consequence, it was easy to capture the faces. As the race was drawing to a conclusion by this stage, the expressions were taking on a more serious and determined look.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 140)
With the camera on 3D-tracking, the camera looked after the focus as the cyclists came closer – and with the shadows beginning to lengthen, the light was really good. As I was standing in a crowd of people, it was not possible to get low to the ground – which would have been my preference – but I was obliged to jostle for position to get what I could.
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 130mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 160)
As with all sport, the hardest challenge is to take a picture that tells a ‘standalone’ story. The image above shows a group of cyclists - you can see who is in the lead and you might be able to deduce that they are in the final straight. But there is no information to indicate how far into the race the picture was taken, nor whether the leader was about to be overtaken.
Against this background, I was determined to be in position to capture the moment of victory and this I succeeded in doing. The winner overtook the competitor who had been leading for much of the race on the final straight and the heroic runner up couldn’t resist a wry smile as all her hard work proved to be in vain. The finishing line in the picture adds to the story and provides the context of the outstretched arms. Success all round!
(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 125)
The challenge of this assignment had been to achieve a balance between concentrating on the individual cyclists and the environment in which they were operating. Too close in and the effect would have been to lose the fact that this was a race through the centre of a city; whereas too wide-angle and the background detracted hugely from the action.
As so often the case, the key was to separate the action from the background, and it helped to have two relatively fast lenses which enabled me to achieve the shallow depth of field.
So, I may not have known what was going to happen when I set out - but I certainly learned a great deal and would love the opportunity to do it all over again!
If you have enjoyed this blog or if you have any questions/comments, please leave a message in the comments box below.