Each sport has its own appeal with basketball having the added spectacle of boxing and wrestling. Well, seriously, the lights add to the photographic possibilities.

What about an adventure race? A good part of the stuff you can shoot really depends on how the race was set up and who were invited to join. One very good thing about being part of the media is, most of the time, you do get good treatment as regards placing yourself. That is, if the event was organized properly. Fortunately, this one I was recently part of, was very well organized.

There were two races actually – one was called Fast and Furious and the other, Slow and Steady. As the names imply, Fast and Furious was for those who really wanted to push themselves and was harder. For instance, participants had to kayak around two hours to a boat known as the Lili Marleen, climb up one of the masts, go down and then jump overboard. Some had trouble with the last part because of a fear of heights but most of them did after some prodding. After the jump, you hop on back to your kayak (not an easy thing) and paddle back to shore for another task.

Those in the Slow and Steady, like Rovilson and Vanessa, also had to kayak and go to a different boat but the distance was shorter and the task a tad easier.

Take note: never forget to look around. You may want to take shots of a passing helicopter that’s meant to cover the event or the children watching in the sidelines. As Langkawi was a tremendously beautiful place, get a load of the surroundings and shift to RAW (or NEF) to

shoot the scenery. I was asked by a member of the Malaysia tourism office if I used a filter to get the river shot with the clouds. Nope. No filter aside from the protective Ultra-Violet one. One really good thing about good sunlight is that if you shoot away from it, it really helps and keeps the light levels more manageable allowing your sensor (or film) to capture the hues more closely. No dramatic highlights or shadows that can throw it off.

Try to get as many action shots, of course, but it also really pays to try and get some reaction shots. There were many people in the Slow and Steady who weren’t into adventure races at all. They were just basically given the right amount of prodding from well-meaning friends. There was a participant who, upon finishing, talked to the race director and thanked him for coming up with tasks that were indeed doable but yet, asked participants to leave their comfort zones. This woman didn’t know how to swim but plunged into the water nonetheless. She trusted the people and, of course, her life jacket which really kept her afloat.

Another good example was Alora Guerrero of Manual Magazine. We were the only Pinoy journalists there so we really looked after each other (besides, her husband asked me to keep an eye on her). She was afraid of heights and took a while to jump overboard as part of her task. Took a bit of prodding but she did it and consequently conquered her fear.

Another possible reaction shot open to you is the pain in the face of those injured. In races like these, injuries, not serious ones, are not uncommon. One racer obviously was experiencing pain in one of his legs but he insisted on finishing. He was given first aid right after.

Try different angles also. Take note of the bicycle shot. Unless you place yourself in some sort of ditch, the only way to get a shot like this is to lie down on concrete or asphalt. Yes, one side of your body gets a bit cooked but we’re photographers. That’s par for the course. It’s also a bit tilted. That’s easily explained. That’s a composition trick to add dynamism to the shot. It gives an incline to the shot suggesting that the athlete has a bit more to go and an incline that goes from left to right suggests a rising action.

It’s actually funny sometimes but people buy cameras like the Canon 40D because it can shoot 6.5 frames per second but they don’t ever really use this capability. In the Wilderness Challenge, it did come in really handy. One participant went against the rules (to the consternation of the organizers who couldn’t stop him when he did it) and jumped overboard with a back flip. The 40D’s frame rate captured the action well enough. Hmmm. If only Canon Marketing Philippines had lent me the 1D Mark 2 or Mark 3 that I asked for. Sigh!

The major regret I had? Well, there are many physical things I haven’t done and maybe, I could’ve done them here. Another major regret? There were just two Filipinos in the race – Rovilson and Alora. I felt happy for the racers but well, I also wanted more Filipinos to have been there. Pulau Tuba was a beautiful place with so many trees still there. No problem with illegal loggers protected by politicians it seems.

There’s always next year, I guess. Those of you into adventure races, maybe we’ll see each other there next year. Armed with your cameras or not, this is a trip that you should try.

For feedback, suggestions and things you want tackled, please email me at ericklirios@gmail.com.