Fargo Marathon – Lessons from shooting my first marathon

I recently had the chance to photograph the Scheels Fargo Marathon. It was my first marathon ever that I was involved with in any capacity. It is amazing how much work goes into one of these and the race committee did a great job. Here are a few things that I learned.

1) Start – need a stool! I shot the start at eye level and ground level. What I really need to do next year is get the camera between 7' to 10' off the ground. I am looking for a shot of a “sea of faces”. that can only be gotten if the camera is a bit above the top of the heads.

2) Extra shoes and pants – Race day was freezing rain and cold! I planned well with 2-3 shells and 2-3 fleece jackets, but I only brought one pair of pants, sox, and shoes. My shoes were cross trainers. I shot from the top of a 22-story building and there was standing water with ice up there. I was chilled for a couple of hours until my feet finally dried out.

3) Shots of runners finishing began to look the same. Editing became boring. Only a couple of runners had expressions that were interesting. While I did need shots of specific finishers, most of the time spent focusing on who is crossing was wasted. Most of the action happened behind me. I need to look at spending more time in the crowd shooting the reactions of friends, families, and the emotions of the finish.

4) I need an assistant to follow me around and get names and information for captioning. I always miss things while I am writing. Let the assistant get the names and I will make sure that I do not miss any shots. Stuff happens too fast and although the the runners have number bibs, they are not always visible and don't help me to know who the person hugging them is.

I have a permanent notebook on the marathon and I have pages of ideas for next year. I am already looking forward to working with the committee to meet their needs and provide art that communicates the great experience of the Scheels Fargo Marathon to future participants, volunteers, and sponsors.