Sports » Ronan Palliser Photography

What kite-surfing photographers and wedding photographers have in common

Aug 242011

Treasa Lynch of livingforlight.org was in to talk to Dublin Camera Club last night. My glance around the room suggested it was practically a full house, which, for holiday season, is a fair achievement and suggests that those present were keen to hear what she had to say or, perhaps more accurately, see what she had to show. I’ve met Treasa a couple of times and we have chatted before about photography so I was there too and her presentation had two surprises in store for me. One being a similarity between kite surfing photography and wedding photography that I hadn’t thought about before, the other being a new aspect to the variables affecting exposure that I’d never considered.

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TriAthlone 2011 (Part 2)

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Jul 052011

As I waited for the cyclists to reach the finish of the second leg of TriAthlone last Saturday I pitched myself right at the last bend of the circuit. That also happened to be near the place from where the swimmers for the next wave would be departing, so to my right I could see a whole bunch of people in wetsuits. As I looked at them, an older lady came walking through the group, in the other direction, and pushing an empty buggy. I gather its former inhabitant had gone exploring off to camera right in the shot above, which I loved as soon as I had seen it – even before I had taken it. The contrast between the lady out for a walk with, probably, her grandchild and the triathletes in their wetsuits and swimming caps readying themselves for a swim was something that was crying out to be photographed. In fact it is my favourite photo from the day. Just after I captured it a new wave of cyclists approached in front of me, taking my attention back to the triathlon that I was photographing. Some shots from the cycle, and a couple from the run, are below.

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TriAthlone 2011 (Part 1)

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Jul 042011

We drove over to Athlone on Saturday on a bit of a surprise visit so that Síofra could support her Grandad O’Neill in the TriAthlone which was taking place that afternoon. His wave was due to start at 4.30pm and he hoped to be finished the Sprint distance sometime around 5.45pm. The sprint triathlon consists of a 750m swim in the river – on Saturday due to the current they used the alternate start, which meant there was no turn in the swim on this occasion – followed by a 20km cycle out and back to the east of the town along the old Dublin road, and a 5km run lapping the narrow streets of the center of town. The course is well-suited to spectators, with good access to the riverbank, the end of the cycle and all the run (although a combination of roadworks and a non-ideal layout for the pedestrian route meant getting from the start to the finish, as a spectator, was difficult). Being well-suited to spectators made it also well-suited to photographers and you didn’t need a press pass to get access for good photos at the start and finish of the swim, the finish of the cycle, and the entire run. Naturally I had my camera with me, and as my father-in-law’s wave was due to start I strolled up to the start area to kick off my own photography triathlon. Today and tomorrow I’m posting a selection of my favourites in the order in which I took them.

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US Open Magic

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Jun 202011

I’m not a golfer, and not a massive fan – I certainly don’t watch it regularly – but I did find myself staying up past my bedtime last night to watch a little bit of golfing history as the US Open championship came to a close, and I doubt I was the only one to end up, at 12.30am, sitting up in bed and watching Rory McIlroy break or equal 12 records to win his first major in sone style. And when you get to photograph a champion from the comfort of your bed… well, that’s just a bonus.

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A lens workout

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Oct 282010

About two minutes before the marathon starts, which on Monday was about 9am, a funny phenomenon can be observed around the start area. A large number of the 13,000 runners, and particularly those who are closer to the front (hoping to run faster times and so, presumably, more serious runners) start to take off their clothes. Not all of their clothes, obviously, but outer layers that have been worn to keep them warm for the 40 or 50 minutes that they can find themselves standing around waiting for the race to start. But, penned into the middle of thousands of people, there’s only one way for them to rid themselves of these unnecessary items of clothing. They throw them over everyone else and onto the footpath. It starts a few minutes before 9am with one or two people, and within 60 seconds it seems as if half the runners are at it and clothes bombs start flying left, right and centre. On Monday, this phenomenon proved to be a good test for my new lens.

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