t3 practiceman

Every year the T3 training group put on a training event called the practiceman. Gets people used to switching from the bike to running, without the pressure of a race. I used it as a pre-race practice for my own photography too. Was a good way to dial in some things for the race on Monday. As I mentioned yesterday, practice with the camera is what is helping me get better shots. More familiarity with the controls, being able to change settings quickly and with confidence. The week in Big Bend at the start of the month further helped with that. A lot of night photography and learning to find the buttons more by feel than sight further dials in the muscle memory. I've sat watching the TV in a dark room, working the buttons on the camera in the near darkness as well, just to keep building that understanding of the layout. That way, I can change settings without taking the camera away from my eye, if needed, less chimping and looking at the camera, more making the shots you want to make.

I've also been working a bit more with the 580EX flash, on camera. Again there I'm getting more familiar with what it can do and how to adjust things to get the shots I want. Darkening down the background and then opening up the foreground with the fill from the flash. Off camera mostly gives better results, but using the fill on these really bright, sunny days can give the bit of lift that's needed.