RatRace – Dirty Weekend

What a difference 12 months makes.

As many of you know, in September last year I made the decision to make Reflective Photography my full-time career.  I had been attending events like this at the weekend alongside my day job and I felt that the time was right to focus on these amazing events.  The pride I feel being able to capture the emotions of people who take part in these events – many of them for the first time with limited preparation – is immense and something I was so excited to be able to commit to fully.

Last year it was raining (ok it was hammering it down!)  and this year we had wonderful sunshine – if that wasn’t a sign that this was where I should be, I don’t know what is.

As usual with this event it was full of fun and laughter for both me and the participants.  I was photographing the racers as they came down “The Big One” and what a show they put on for me. Lots of splashes and funny faces pulled as they hurtled down the massive slide with water going everywhere – and yes, they were aiming for me as usual!  Not a problem saves me going to the gym 😊

There was everyone there from Superman (who not only did the event but also ran 169 miles from Essex and back all for charity), to The OCR Wrongens which i seem to capture everywhere i go, Baywatch Boys, Where’s Wally’s and yes even some friendly Vikings.  This event is a sure-fire winner and puts a smile on my face every time.   You are all crazy and I can’t wait to see what next year brings at Dirty Weekend. 

To See more pics from this weekend head over to our facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

The Major - Bramham Park

The Major - Bramham Park

Travelled up to Bramham Park again for another fantastic event from the major ocr . These are always very wet, muddy and loads of fun.

As always, I was posted to the wettest, muddiest obstacle which was 1.5km from the start, really should start wearing my FitBit to these things – may earn myself an extra slice of cake!  After a little walk I found the swamp/boggy area (home for the next few hours) and scouted for a good location to shoot from. I had to climb down an overgrown bank to the edge of the water just up from the swamp area although this was very soft under foot I figured it may be ok for the day. I got my kit out and camera settings sorted ready for the competitors to come through.

There were two BMF instructors on hand to help (torture) the competitors along the obstacle and after having a chat with them I figured they were going to make photographing this rather fun.  Yes Sir, Sarge!

As I was so close to the beginning of the race when the competitors started coming they came thick and fast. It wasn’t long before one of the BMF guys were in the muddy water with the competitors shouting at them to go under the foam bars. This made my job a lot easier as they were covered from head to toe in thick muddy water and they really made a meal of the whole thing.

As the day went on I was so engrossed with capturing the images that it took me a while to realise that either the water level around me was rising or I was starting to sink.  Looking around I saw that my kit bags where sort of floating. Luckily, I had put them on large plastic sheets which had folded around them so the camera bags were still dry, so up the bank they went. However, it was far too late for me as water/mud was all over me (standard) so back into the swamp I went.

Have a look over on our Facebook page for some of the great images from this event.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

RatRace - Mens Health Survival Of The Fittest

I covered both Cardiff and Nottingham this year. It was my first time at Cardiff Mens Health and the event and the location didn't disappoint, Both Cardiff and Nottingham are one day events with competitors running around areas of the cities with lots of obstacles thrown in for good measure.  

At both events, by complete chance, I ended up covering what they call the washing machine which is a large wooden structure with four doors on both sides and a machine pumping huge amounts of foam into it.  think back to your student days when you added too much washing powder at the local laundrette and you will get the idea.

This obstacle produced a lot of fun and laughter for the competitors. This for me was just too much to hold back from and I got stuck in with bubbles up to my chest and was soaked to the skin, but this enabled me to get some fantastic photos of the competitor as they tried to find their way through the bubbles and out the other side.  Let's face it if I hadn't jumped in by the end I would have been pushed in.  The photographer is never safe for long...

Some of these fun images will be posted on our Facebook page, so pop over and have a look.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

RatRace - Coast 2 Coast

EPIC....

This event is exactly that - 105 miles over 2 days.

First there was an nine and a half hour drive from Newark to Fort William at the edge of Loch Ness to a hotel and a very well deserved pint with a fellow photographer.

The next day I was up and raring to go at 04.30 for a two hour sunny drive north to Cawdor Castle which is only 7 miles from the start of the event. I shot images here last year and found all the competitors very fresh faced and full of positivity which helped get some fun/cheeky (you know who you are!) images so I was hoping for the same again. The day didn't disappoint as they were all up for having some fun striking poses for the camera as they ran past the castle.

Then it was off for a four and a half hour drive down to the Glen Coe Hotel to the finish line and yes some of the competitors manage to complete this epic 105 mile event in just 1 day...

I managed to arrive half an hour before the first competitors started to cross the Loch in the kayaks.  They looked understandably very tired, but still gave a smile as they ran , yes ran past me to the finish.

Day 2 and I was up early again to get to the road section to cover the participants on their bikes. I managed to get myself into position low down in a ditch to get the best reactions from the competitors as they came past with the mountains as a backdrop.  Those of you that have seen me at past events know how I love to jump out to surprise you all with the camera.  Too much "You've Been Framed" as a kid I guess.

Sure enough being this low down, I got the reactions I was hoping for and people loved posing as they rode past to help me produce some great images for them to cherish of their great adventure in the Scottish Highlands. 

For a few images of this event go over to my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Watch out for me next time - look low!