Taking on a challenge can sometimes be a breath of fresh air. This is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish with a project I just started. I'm trying to get out of my routine and create something different, something that can make my mind think more.
To be more specific, my cycling team is organizing a marathon called "Maratonul Fagetului" (link: http://maratonfaget.ro/index_ro.html). Normally, I would have been really determined to participate. It is a great track that any mountain biker would enjoy. But I had this idea of photographing the contest from a different perspective. At first, it was just a thought, nothing too serious. Later, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Until last week, when I decided I would drop participating in the marathon to accomplish this thing I've been thinking for a pretty long time.
What exactly is the "thing" I'm trying to do? Every photographer at an event like this will try to get an image of every rider, the start, the finish, portraits of the winner and the end where the top 3 receive their prizes. They will try to catch the atmosphere, and the atmosphere is determined by the participants. The thing is, having experienced what organizing such a contest is like, I feel that sometimes the people behind the scenes don't get the credit they deserve. For example, there was a conversation on a forum one year ago about the fee being too high. Somebody complained and said they don't want to pay 50 lei (15 USD) for a shirt and a bottle of water they were going to receive in their starter package. The thing is, most people don't realize they receive so much more. In the end, somebody has to go out and mark the course at least one month before the contest, manage the website, search for sponsors, find somebody to do the timing, plus the overwhelming amount of decisions you have to make in the day of the marathon and the list goes on and on. I feel like these people don't get enough appreciation for their hard work.
And here we are at explaining my project. I'm tying to do a photo story from the eyes of an organizer. I'm trying to capture the marathon in a way most people don't get to see, going behind the scenes and immortalizing meaningful moments, moments of happiness an joy or moments when you just want to give up. It's not going to be any longer than 100 images, even though I'm trying to keep somewhere in between 50 and 80 photographs.
To be more specific, my cycling team is organizing a marathon called "Maratonul Fagetului" (link: http://maratonfaget.ro/index_ro.html). Normally, I would have been really determined to participate. It is a great track that any mountain biker would enjoy. But I had this idea of photographing the contest from a different perspective. At first, it was just a thought, nothing too serious. Later, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Until last week, when I decided I would drop participating in the marathon to accomplish this thing I've been thinking for a pretty long time.
What exactly is the "thing" I'm trying to do? Every photographer at an event like this will try to get an image of every rider, the start, the finish, portraits of the winner and the end where the top 3 receive their prizes. They will try to catch the atmosphere, and the atmosphere is determined by the participants. The thing is, having experienced what organizing such a contest is like, I feel that sometimes the people behind the scenes don't get the credit they deserve. For example, there was a conversation on a forum one year ago about the fee being too high. Somebody complained and said they don't want to pay 50 lei (15 USD) for a shirt and a bottle of water they were going to receive in their starter package. The thing is, most people don't realize they receive so much more. In the end, somebody has to go out and mark the course at least one month before the contest, manage the website, search for sponsors, find somebody to do the timing, plus the overwhelming amount of decisions you have to make in the day of the marathon and the list goes on and on. I feel like these people don't get enough appreciation for their hard work.
And here we are at explaining my project. I'm tying to do a photo story from the eyes of an organizer. I'm trying to capture the marathon in a way most people don't get to see, going behind the scenes and immortalizing meaningful moments, moments of happiness an joy or moments when you just want to give up. It's not going to be any longer than 100 images, even though I'm trying to keep somewhere in between 50 and 80 photographs.
WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR IN AN IMAGE?
1. Let's take a typical image. A cyclist goes up to a feeding point and takes a glass of water while still riding his bike. That would make a pretty interesting sports picture, but that's not what I'm looking for. What I am looking for, instead, are the volunteers that arrived 3 hours earlier to set everything up and prepare the food and water for every single contest. That's some hard work these people do in order to help, and I plan on showing that to everybody.
2. Let's take another one. This one is a real classic. The winner crosses the finish line with his hands up in the air. Once again, it could make a great sports picture, but that's not what I want. What I would capture, instead, is the winner shaking the hand of the organizers, congratulating each other for the hard work.
3. Last example. Let's take a typical ultra wide image of the start-finish area, lots of people in the shot, plenty of activity. That's true, there is plenty of activity, but what most people don't think about is the effort of the people behind the scenes after the prize ceremony ended, when it comes up to gathering things up and cleaning the place. It's a really SLOW process, and the effort of staying from 5 AM to 2AM the next day, while working, is imense.
You see, this is what I am trying to focus on with this project. I want to tell the story of the organizer, and show people the pure hard work that has to be put in order for such an event to happen. I've been lucky to see this effort, so I want to share it with others, hoping that the people who complain about fees or minor issues would realize the time and energy invested in such an event is huge, and maybe give the people behind the scenes some credit for their work.
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