Crankworx Part Deux...

Day Two:

Weather was terrible. Shoot, hide from storm, shoot, hide from storm, shoot, eat lunch, shoot hide from storm.. on and on and on.. When it rains it pours, and this day was no exception to that rule. I started out the day setting up my alienbees, and gave up after the second storm moved through. It's just too much work and not worth it to risk the gear when the sky is clear for 10 minutes and then pouring for 30. I got to shoot some slopestyle practice in the morning, which was great! Then it was dual slalom practice, semi-finals, and finals.

For most of the event I shot using my SB-800(now replaced by the SB-900), run by a Quantum battery pack, held in my left hand, and triggered by Nikon's CLS (Creative Lighting System). This seems to work well last minute, but it's especially hard to make it work when trying to capture photos of two riders that are 10 feet apart. I'm not allowed to shoot between them for safety, so that puts me closer to one rider than another. Good thing I have photoshop for adjustments after!! It was supposed to be slopestyle best trick in the afternoon, but pouring rain quickly made the course too wet to ride... Big disappointment since I was really looking forward to setting up my lights!

The finals for Dual Slalom took place in the afternoon, and was a total slopfest, globs of mud splattered my lens, and everytime I stepped on a hillside, I would slide back down to the bottom with 3 inches of mud on my shoes. When it gets really wet like this, it works well to place your camera in your jacket between shots, and zip it closed. This will save your investment, and keep you from having to take out that 2nd mortgage.

More updates soon.......