The jetlag must have played a part in keeping me awake this morning
because I felt as though I just slept 9 hours. Nice! We loaded up the
car and drove to the Hughenden Show grounds to get some shots of the
camels getting ready for the race. By the time we arrived at 6:30, all
the camels had already made their way to the starting line! One of the
things that was nice about the 2 day race format was that we could
learn from our mistakes on day one and then make up for them on day
two; It looks like tomorrow morning will be a little earlier than
today!
We arrived at the start line a couple minutes later and
found the Jockeys and their camels waiting around, cracking jokes, but
at the same time looking a little uneasy, not knowing what lay ahead of
them. The morning light we had planned for was a complete disaster as
there was a thick patch of cloud on the horizon, crushing any hopes of
golden rays of light hitting those camels. Improvising a bit, Jason
and I got to shooting in our own different styles. The dull light
allowed for shots with lots of detail and made my pictures look very
flat, which I find I sometimes like.
The time between the start of
the race and the end of the race today was a bit of a blur consisting
of Jason and I running around (and driving) the course trying to milk
every photo opportunity for what it was worth. At times this was
stressful as there were another dozen professional photographers there
covering the event, which made it hard to get a really unique shot that
was different than everyone else’s. Jason seemed to shoot with a cloak
and dagger mentality, making sure no one was around to snake the same
shot as him. After all, when your livelihood comes from getting very
unique shots, it’s imperative that no one else gets one similar to
yours.
As the racers finished their day and the sun went down, a
tired Jason and I, headed back to the hotel to eat our first real meal
of the day, and get some shut-eye. I set my alarm for 5:30 and fell
asleep before my head hit the pillow.
