While shooting the Mud Race during Kremmling Days last weekend, I kept trying to think of something different I could do in order to come up with a really awesome shot. It was easy to shoot straight-forward action, so as I watched the first run I noticed there were a few of the trucks that had open roll cages that I might be able to attach a remote camera too.
Between runs I approached the driver of the truck that I had noticed didn't seem to get too much mud on the driver or in the middle of the truck where I would likely be mounting the remote. I explained to Mitch Perron of Soda Springs, Idaho, what I had in mind and he said go ahead.
After clamping the camera to the roll cage and adding a couple of safety cables to keep the camera or rigging, if it should happen to come loose, from dropping into the mud, Mitch checked out the set-up:
As Mitch's second run approached I got more nervous as I thought about all of the things that could go wrong. I had double-checked to make sure everything was tight, exposure was set and Pocket Wizards were working:
Aside from my concerns about my equipment, I was also worried about if the lens was going to give a wide enough view and if I was using too slow of a shutter speed. The answers would turn out to be no and yes.
The 16mm didn't quite give me the view I was hoping for and 1/30 of second was too slow for the speed and vibration from the truck. Oh well, live and learn. As the truck crossed the finish line I noticed that the Magic Arm and camera were starting to fall over (I think the vibration the truck experienced during its run loosened the Magic Arm). Fortunately the safety cables did their job, however the rig fell over far enough to put it in line where the mud was flying.
I finally broke down and cleaned the camera and lens this morning. The only consequence appears to be that I got some moisture in the lens while I was cleaning it and the autofocus seems to not be working. However, it does show signs of starting to work this evening.
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