Tuen Mun Dragonboat Races 2008

So, a very successful day's shooting, I shot around 650 frames out there in the hot sun. Been processing like mad since then, and have a few shots ready for display here.

It was tough as ever to get the shots, more so this year than last 'cos I was being hounded by security guards to move along from the quayside. There were more shooters there this year, too.

Exposure-wise, I was shooting with my Nikon SB-600 almost all the time, and was amazed at how well it took care of all the details, and how far it could shoot and recieve information to adjust the exposure. The cycle time was crazy, as well, even shooting 3 frames per second it could keep up.

Different day, different conditions, though: last year was bright sun, this year was overcast and threatening to rain in the morning. Which meant that the water was often a junk-coloured grey, and since it had been raining non-stop for the entire week before the races, the water was full of debris and mud. There was even a dead and bloated duck floating round. Yummy.

The floating offering
These offerings were made and released onto the waters early in the morning of the dragon boat races. Obviously meant to create good luck for the teams, they staged an impromptu race of their own before anyone got out onto the water.
you can also see how dirty the water was here in Hong Kong, after the heavy rains we have been having. The day before boat races saw the heaviest floods in 126 years on Hong Kong Island and the Lantau Expressway. 2 and 3
2 of the middle-size boats in action. I was quite happy with the symmetry of this shot, but for some reason blogspot is cropping it. Just click through to my Flickr page, which is hosting this photo.
racing to drum beat
This is another reason I like to hang out in Tuen Mun for the boat races: we have the biggest boats. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, size does count. And, for these boats, speed counts, too: because of the extra manpower, these boats really took off out of the water at the start line, and shot across the course. It was very difficult to get a shot of them, because they were absolutely flying. I managed to get some nice pics of the big boys, though - but it was more a case of shotgun than scalpel with the camera .

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