It was cold, wet, snowing, and foggy when I arrived at the bobbahn, camera in hand, ready to get some shots of my son training with his Austrian team. Turo has been bobsledding for Austria for a few years now, and he was going to work with a new pilot in the 2-man to learn the track here in Winterberg.

It was hard to get the settings right with the constantly changing light and fog. It was hard to get consistent focus, as well. Oh, and I was trying out a new lens I had bought. There were lots of variables that morning, so I arrived early to make sure I was ready before Turo’s first run.

I packed my Canon 1D-C to shoot this. It’s such a great camera. It’s full frame and clicks off the frames pretty quickly. Even shooting RAW the camera was able to keep up. 

I brought my favorite lens, a Canon 70-200 2.8, as well as my 24-70 2.8, just in case I needed some wider shots. Those two lenses can do so much that, usually, they are all I carry with me. The last few times I’ve shot bobsled, in Innsbruck and Königssee, there were times I wished I could get in a little closer to the shot, so I bought a Canon EF 100-400. I wish it were a constant aperture like the others, but it got the job done.

At first I was disappointed in the weather conditions, thinking I wouldn’t like what I was capturing. As I shot, I kept thinking “I can maybe fix that post pixel.” It was a mantra almost, as every shot was faded due to the fog. Another burst of shots, then mumbling “I hope I can fix that in Camera Raw.”

There was one point when I looked at the preview on the back of the camera and the shots were very clear. I hadn’t even realized, but the fog had lifted for awhile and I was able to get some clear shots.

But there was still the rain and the cold. Julia was with me the whole time, shivering and shooting.

After the bobsledding there were some people from Italy practicing skeleton, so I stuck around to shoot them. Luckily, they gave everyone a break between runs, so we headed back to the car to warm up a bit.

I was focusing on the starts today, so for the second run I stayed at the top. I moved to the other side of the track for a bit, looking for something different. We were going to be in Winterberg for several days, so I decided to save the other curves and finish for later.

After getting several more shots in the second run, we needed warmth and food. Just down the hill was a nice restaurant with a fireplace in the middle where we could sit. As a bonus, they had glühwein and good food.

Once we got back to our Airbnb, I downloaded the shots using Bridge and Adobe Photo Downloader. I sorted out the duds and processed the “keepers” using Camera Raw.

My first inclination was to fix the foggy images and make them as clear as possible. You can see a lot of that in these shots. I was amazed at what I could pull out of the fog. 

As I played with the images, however, there was something more interesting about the foggy photos, so I’ve left some of them closer to “as shot” here in this project.

Bobsledding is such an exciting sport to photograph. Starts are easy, really, once the light is set and you’re in position. Finishes are easy, too, as you just position yourself and wait. I’ve added a few shots I got a couple of days later of a crash at the finish. Luckily, they were okay.

As you move down the track things get harder because the bob goes faster…and faster. 

There have been times I’ve positioned myself, optimistically, in a position to grab some shots as the bobsleigh zips by, only to end up, comically, getting blurry shots of blur and blur. I think if I did this more often I would get better at these types of shots, but, for now, I try to position myself where I have lots of track to lead into the shot with and hope to get a few good ones as the sled gets close.

Lighting varies as you move along the track, too. Some parts of it are covered with canvas, some covered with permanent roofing, using fluorescent tubes to light the track, and other parts are open. The lighting in the open bits varies, too, though, as some of it is in shade, some in bright light and others shaded by the mountain or structures. 

Every time I reposition I have to test and reset my exposure settings. Auto does NOT work when shooting bobsleigh.

In short, shooting this sport is a challenge for many reasons. Fighting light, fighting speed, fighting cold, fighting security guards…and fog, and snow, and fighting the fatigue of walking up and down the mountain. If it sounds like I’m complaining, I’m not. I love it. I wish I could do more, but current times have made travel more challenging. I keep saying “maybe more next year.”

So, maybe more next year. But for this year, this project is all about one foggy day in Winterberg in December 2021.