Photo gig next weekend.. need help

[cyberlord]

I've volunteered to shot photos for a tri-athalon type race. There will be kayaks, cross country run with orienteering, and a mountain bike section.

The photogs have free reign except for an official photog at the finish. Not sure who that will be yet, but up until the finish that photog will have free reign also. We can be on the trail with the participants as long as we don't hinder them, which is way cool!

We took a quick 2 hour tour and stopped at several spots along the course to show start/stop of each event. We may have some kodiaks (rubber boats) on the river for photogs to get some water shots.

The pictures will be available to the participants and some will be selected for the local papers etc.

I'll be using my Pentax DL with a 1G SD card. I hope to get a couple more SDs before next weekend. I've got the Pentax 18-55 and a Tamron 75-300. My back up digital will be my finepix 3000.

OK, so you get the jist of what's going on.

Anyone got any pointers for me to shoot this event?

Should I shoot flash at close range for fill or will it distract the participants too much? Should I get a car window reflector and set it up in advance at strategic locations along the trail?

Should I get a cheap tripod for the event? I have a broken one that I use for my external flash on a trigger, but I don't trust it to hold my camera especially out in the elements.

I have an A1 and focal lengths from 28-210 with 2x and 3x extenders. I've got a 500/1000mm f8/f16 also. Should I even bring it? 400 ISO film OK? What brand?

Any other tips that I'm not thinking of that some of you sports photogs know about?

I am well versed in outdoors, so the food and water issue I have covered. Bug repellant and sunscreen I have stashed in my truck.

Thanks for the help,

Tim

[another view]

We may have some kodiaks (rubber boats) on the river for photogs to get some water shots.

Think you mean Zodiac... In any case, they won't be an ideal platform to shoot from. Obviously you can get closer which is great, but be careful of your equipment around water. Dry Bags from a sporting goods store are pretty dry (not completely) but you could also use kitchen trash compactor bags too and tie them together to seal. They're heavier duty than regular garbage bags.

I'd forget about the flash, reflectors and tripod and just do the best you can - concentrating on the shots instead of the equipment. If it's overcast, you might want the longer lens (which, with lower light will mean a higher ISO) to reduce the amount of grey sky. If it's sunny, pay attention to how the light is hitting the person - maybe moving to a different location will improve how your shots look just because of this.

Any of your ideas could be a great help to your shots, but I'd be afraid of it slowing you down. Well, I'd bring the flash and probably try it a little bit - but most of the day I'd probably do with natural light. Oh yeah, batteries - twice as many as you think you'll need.

[cyberlord]

Thanks AV,

I've got 4 sets of rechargables and another 3 sets of alkaline. That should do me there if I don't use the flash.

I hadn't thought of water proof bags for this trip but have to get some for on the sailboat. One wave over the side and it's toast.

Weather forecast calls for partly cloudy morning chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon/evening. Looks like a chance of a muddy bike race.

Tim

[another view]

If you can trust the weather forecast (if you sail then you know what I mean ) then you might not have a whole lot of bright, harsh sunlight. With a chance of rain, bring a small towel to dry equipment off. A shower cap or ziploc bag will help keep the camera dry if you're shooting in the rain.

Here's what I'm getting at - you get a little more information about how it's going to work, and then think about how that affects your photography. Basically, it's problem solving before there is a problem. More info can come from a lot of places and weather is definately a good one with an outdoor event. Other info can come from looking at shots that you like that were taken in similar situations - figure out how they did the shot.
And, ask questions here!