Excuses or results? (PJ)

M38A1 · November 29, 2011

Note: There's a little water, street and trail in this series, so stick with me on this one... Having completed two IRONMAN races myself, I was fortunate enough to attend IMAZ (IRONMAN Arizona) a few weeks ago. From the stands cheering friends and unknown racers on, one gathers a totally different perspective on the accomplishment - much different than participating in one.

2011 IRONMAN Arizona competitor #130 (Tina/sight impaired) on the right, with her guide Caroline on the left
exiting the 61*F water of Tempe Town Lake after completing a 2.4 mile swim with 2,642 other athletes.

Tina (L) and Caroline (R) well on their way to completing the 112 mile bicycle ride portion of the race. The weight
of the tandem offsets any mechanical advantage the second rider might provide.

Tina (L) and Caroline (R) on the 26.2 mile full marathon run
portion of the race. Both Tina and Caroline would go on to finish
IRONMAN Arizona race with a time of 14hr03min, and position
1756/1757 overall.

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torags · November 29, 2011

Great stuff Scott. Expressions of personal best... just great...

bfjr · November 29, 2011

Nice PJ piece here, Scott.

M38A1 · November 29, 2011

Thanks for the kind words...

Also, the title dawned on me as possibly confusing. Having nothing to do with photographic discussions and the worthiness of my thread, the phrase is used within our triathlon training groups to reference potential outcomes on race day. Sorry if that muddied up the intent...

Islandcrow · November 30, 2011

#1 I really like. The contrasting emotions make that one a very powerful photograph in my eyes. #2 it looks like you missed your focus, which I would have placed on the woman in front. Might be a little bit of motion blur as well, but not enough to really imply motion. . .just looks out of focus. Some panning would have worked very well also. #3 is a little bland for me.

Richard · November 30, 2011

#1 is terrific. Well done, Scott.

M38A1 · November 30, 2011

Islandcrow wrote: »

#1 I really like. The contrasting emotions make that one a very powerful photograph in my eyes. #2 it looks like you missed your focus, which I would have placed on the woman in front. Might be a little bit of motion blur as well, but not enough to really imply motion. . .just looks out of focus. Some panning would have worked very well also. #3 is a little bland for me.

Thanks...

As for focus, the 'story' I've tried to present via text and image is on Tina, #130 who is blind. She's the one in the back of the tandem, thus the focal point. Maybe my text needs to be beefed up in the first post to clarify intent or frame the story better???? (This whole PJ thing I'm really trying to work on so from that angle, please let me know what you'd suggest)

M38A1 · November 30, 2011

Richard wrote: »

#1 is terrific. Well done, Scott.

Thanks Richard.... that's my favorite of the series for many of the reasons mentioned above.

Islandcrow · December 1, 2011

I don't think the problem is with the text. Where she is in the frame simply doesn't make her the focus of the shot, regardless of whether or not she is "in focus". The woman in the lead would have to be much more out of focus, and even then, I think the perspective and framing just wouldn't work to draw the viewer's eye into your main subject. I do like the story you're trying to portray, but the photograph should for the most part speak for itself.

M38A1 · December 2, 2011

So now I'm wondering if just the first image would have been better with a bit more copy underneath maybe saying ".....they would both go on to cross the Finish line...."

BD, Russ - any comment? Would love to hear your thoughts on a PJ attempt too.

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torags · December 2, 2011

M38A1 wrote: »

So now I'm wondering if just the first image would have been better with a bit more copy underneath maybe saying ".....they would both go on to cross the Finish line...."

BD, Russ - any comment? Would love to hear your thoughts on a PJ attempt too.

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OR you could look at the relationship (and forget the race) of a caring friend. The expression of that caring is the strongest part of the image for me

M38A1 · December 3, 2011

Rags-
That's a nice approach as well.

(my head is beginning to hurt again thinking about the differences between street and pj, single vs multiple images, text quantity/content, captions high or low....

)

cdifferent.org is the organization which helps these athletes, so I'm not sure the guide is a known friend from the beginning. However, I'd surmise after the event they become lifelong friends.

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lizzard_nyc · December 3, 2011

Hey there Scott,
I saw these a couple of days ago and I was really pulled in by #1.
One woman helping the other along. The one looks like she's in pain and she's still going.
Love the looks you captured on their faces

michswiss · December 3, 2011

I just wanted to pop in to say, I enjoyed the series and didn't even need to read the text to get a feel for what was happening.

M38A1 · December 4, 2011

lizzard_nyc wrote: »

Hey there Scott,
I saw these a couple of days ago and I was really pulled in by #1.
One woman helping the other along. The one looks like she's in pain and she's still going.
Love the looks you captured on their faces

Thanks Liz. I really appreciate the comment. As a side note, they are just coming out of the water, the shortest part of the event. They still have the 112 mile bicycle ride and marathon run to do after this image was captured.

michswiss wrote: »

I just wanted to pop in to say, I enjoyed the series and didn't even need to read the text to get a feel for what was happening.

Jenn- Thx for the comment as well. I suppose I've achieved a bit of that emotional/connection level I'm trying so hard to capture and convey.

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M38A1 · December 8, 2011

BD? Russ? Just not worthy captures in this realm?

I really do value your opinions.

RSL · December 8, 2011

Well, I'm not much of a sports fan, Scott, though until about 8 years ago I used to put a couple hundred miles a week on my road bike. I think #2 and 3 are pretty routine stuff, but the expressions in #1 make it powerful. It's a very good shot.

M38A1 · December 8, 2011

Thanks Russ... I think the general consensus is drop #2 and #3 overall and I'd have to agree, they're not as strong as #1.

(...note to self, Russ no likey sports shots

)

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RSL · December 8, 2011

Come on now, Scott. I didn't say that. I said I'm not a fan, though I do stay up with "Le Tour" and Wimbledon.

M38A1 · December 8, 2011

Just playing a bit....

I will say the more we all interact here, the more we learn about each other. That's just as interesting a dynamic as the images presented. Well, for me at least.

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RSL · December 8, 2011

I'll go along with that all the way.

rainbow · December 8, 2011

#1 is strong because there is a strong interaction between the two. It is not readily apparent that she is blind, but the appearance of exhaustion and being aided elevate the shot.

#2 and #3 do not add to your story and require textual info. In thinking to the shoot, were you trying to depict her story? My thinking is that with three shots presented, one should include the swimming portion. If access was not there, then a beginning (does she have a white cane?), middle, and end shot. A stronger bicycling shot might be having her being assisted in the preparation for the ride and the end shot as she crossed the finish, likely in the dark. These two shots are not bad, but do not build strongly on the first one.

BTW, looks like you are up close and personal with all three shots. This adds to the immediacy of the photos whereby I do not feel like a detached observer farther away in a crowd.

Excuses or results? (PJ)

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