Color Run London
I’ve got to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to photographing the Color Run London (or Colour for us Brits) when I was assigned this for The Times. Sure, it looked a lot of fun, and there would be great pictures. But in my research, as well as all the amazing stills and footage that is out there from previous events, there were a lot of pictures of trashed cameras and lenses, covered in a multitude of colours of powder. But there was also a lot of advice on how best to protect your equipment. So I figured that to get the best pictures, I’d have to get right in amongst the action. One camera, a 16-35mm lens, no flash. And lots of cling film.
Three or four layers did it, taped to the lens hood and covering the whole camera. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to access the dials and buttons, so everything was preset. I could still use the back button focusing, and vaguely see through the viewfinder for framing. The 5km charity race is punctuated with a colour station every kilometre where enthusiastic volunteers spray coloured powder at the contestants. It takes its influence from the Holi Festival in India, with the UK races benefiting Save the Children.
It was a lot of fun, and even though I got pelted with powder a few times, absolutely none penetrated the cling film! Here’s some more of my editorial work for The Times.
