I took these photos at The Oxted Pram Race. The event is very local to me, although I have never been to it before. It used to be held on a Friday evening, and this year was moved to a Sunday afternoon due to growing popularity.
I did some research about the event, through the website and speaking to people who have attended past races. I learnt that it is a charity fund raiser in which people dress up in all kinds of costumes with prams of sorts, running between checkpoints where they are required to consume a few drinks. Aside from this, I gathered that the event is also a large water fight, children and adults intent on soaking the participants, many of which are themselves armed with water pistols and suchlike.
Where the race ends is up a steep hill on a narrow road lined by several pubs. I felt this would be too crowded a spot, and not so camera friendly in terms of flying water. I decided that a viewpoint where I could see the beginning of the race would enable me to capture a variety of images, in particular the build up and start, with a clear view of the teams taking part and sections of the crowd. Most importantly, I wanted to show people having fun, as this really is the essence of the event, while raising funds for worthwhile courses in the process.
After taking a number of shots from the initial viewpoint, I moved along to about the midway point and found a slightly raised position where more of the crowd could be seen. Although it gave more of a procession feel to a few images, and a sense of the crowd participation, it was harder to create order from the chaos. I then found a viewpoint higher still and opposite where the participants would have been coming from. Unfortunately, I had not bargained for how quickly the event would be over. Although I now had a great vantage point, it seemed all the teams had started and passed this point. I later found out that there were significantly less participants this year. However, in hindsight perhaps I should have moved on from my initial viewpoint sooner. Nonetheless, I was pleased with the set of images and was a faced with a few dilemmas over the final selection. I have varied the size of the images below, to show how I considered some work best shown large, and others could still be effective when small. I made a collage with all the images, and then another with fewer in it, as the first was really too busy.
I think picture 10) best sums up the event. It shows that it is an organised event, a team event and family friendly. For visual appeal alone, 9) is my favourite. On its own it would be rather ambiguous but with other images it helps tell the story. I also think that 2) and 13) are important for showing what the event is about. Depending on where the final images would appear, i.e. local paper or marketing material, and how many pictures can be used, I would make different selection on not just the image but also the size of each one used.
1)
Waiting.
2)
Anticipation.
3)
Nearly our turn.
4)
They're off!
5)
Grab a drink.
6)
Hurry.
7)
Originality.
8)
Playing the roll.
9)
Prepare to get wet.
10)
Off they go!
11)
Get involved.
12)
Running through.
13)
Focus.
14)
Like a procession.
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