Zombie 5k - Part 2
Zone 8
Heading in to the zombie zone, I meet my fellow undead comrades. I introduce myself to my faithful compatriots and let them know that they would be photographed for the greater good of the horde. We did a few test shots of the zombies, and I asked a few zombies to act as runners to practice my technique and test my settings:
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| Come on man, give me a challenge! |
Camera Settings
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Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 16mm (16mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/8
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
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| Bob and weave, bob and weave |
Camera Settings
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Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 16mm (16mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/7.1
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
I noticed that I have to get really close to the subject in order to get decent shots, which also means that I will have to eyeball the distance constantly.
Hyper focal distance
One of the main issues that came up in the event is the fact that I need a very deep depth of field to have the widest and safest margin of error. Having a wide angle lens and a very closed down aperture is a good way to achieve this. An even better option is to pick a hyperfocal distance that expands a few feet towards the camera and extends to infinity. Below is a casual definition of Hyperfocal distance:
"... the hyperfocal distance setting ... is simply a fancy term that means the distance setting at any aperture that produces the greatest depth of field."
How to Use Your Camera, New York Institute of Photography, 2000.
You can also play in here with an online Depth of Field calculator.
Zombie Chasing
The zombies were chatting amongst themselves when I spotted a runner jogging and jumping across a wall in the distance. "Battle stations! We have a bogey approaching!" The lone runner went through the last obstacle before reaching us: a web of ropes that can only be easily traveled if runners crawled through the ground.
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| Rope Maze |
Camera Settings
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Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 16mm (16mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/8
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
We all stood there, waiting in a spread out formation, as the runner blazed through the web of rope. The runner then, coming out of the obstacle, realized the situation he was in. Left with only one flag, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and bolted towards us using evasive maneuvers, zig zagging through the zombie horde.
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| Let's dance |
Camera Settings
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Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 17mm (17mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/8
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
I started sprinting ahead towards him. He was surprised at the sudden zombie with a camera in its hand, gaining ground on him by the second. Dodging other zombies, I was still on his tail, pretending to grab his flag to provoke his adrenaline. The chase was much more rewarding and exciting than just going for the flag. In the end, I let him keep the last flag. Other zombies have an incentive to chase down runners if they have flags in them, and that is ultimately how zombies enjoy the run.
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| You better put more effort than that! |
Camera Settings
---------------
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 16mm (16mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/8
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
Rain and Lens fog
An issue in the morning was the rain. This caused problems with the Image Quality of the lens: I started to get big spots across the image. Although it was not a show stopper, it was annoying and distracting since I only spotted this after the race was over.
A bigger issue was mold. When I got back from the event, I freaked out on the possibility of an expensive lens getting damaged, and having to pay for the cost of repairing it. Doing research, I found that there are three conditions that mold needs for it to grow: Food, Humidity (70%) and 24 hours. Food comes in the form of dust, and there is plenty of it in most lenses, so no luck there. However, I can control humidity by having the lens in an A/C environment and letting it air out overnight.
Zombie Rules
As a runner, you are supposed to run and dodge. Flag guarding and/or hitting a zombie is prohibited. As a zombie, you cannot hit or tackle a runner, you can only go for the flags.
There are two types of zombies, stumblers and chasers. Stumblers just wander around aimlessly, only going for a grab if a target is nearby. Chasers will sprint towards a target until the target reaches a point in the course, usually the edge of a zone.
Zombie availability
An issue that we had at the event was the availability of zombies. Because of the issues presented before, people were confused of the location of the event or just simply decided not to go to the new venue (because of distance, etc.) Therefore, the there were times when there was not enough zombies, causing confusion among the runners. A solution was to merge Zone 8 with Zone 9. I directed the zombies to take this course of action. This was a temporary solution to a larger issue, but it was the best we could do at the moment.
Camera Settings
Although the camera settings were all over the place, here are the general settings used in Zone 8:
Camera Settings
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Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO 6400
Focal Length 16mm (16mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/8
Exposure Time 0.001s (1/1000)
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