New Years eve and day were spent covering harness and horse racing.
Can you believe Christmas and New Years have gone already?
Not my thing really, but surprisingly cool to photograph.
The Cressy Harness racing event first in stunning light, with a track covered in a quite reflective gravel surface adding clarity and brilliance to the shots.
There is a restrained aggression to this sport.
It also added a certain grit to the shots.
The shape of this sport is photogenic in the extreme. the slower, lower racers and their rigs frame well and thanks to the width of the rigs, they are usually well spaced.
My 40-150 was a little too long for this (a 35-100 would have been perfect), so the groups were a little tight.
Gets you more involved though I guess.
New Years day saw me at the Longford racing carnival,
Grass, overcast light, faster horses and looser groups.
Aware that the finish would have tight crowds on the rails, possibly even tighter bunched horses and the reality that in one race already the winner was lost behind a crowd, I decided to try something new.
Climbing the hand rail of the only major grand stand I managed the two elements I wanted, the winner of the Cup and the decent crowd at this well supported event.