A Saratoga Stereoscopic Saturday

So here’s the goal. I need seven perfect stereoscopic images of a day at the Saratoga Race Course. It’s a beautiful Saturday, and all I need is my cameras, a tripod, and the mental ability to make it through the 90-degree day.

Yeah. I can do this.

First things first. Just getting into Saratoga this year will set you back $45 before you even place your first bet. The parking lot next to the track jacked up their rates from $20/day to $30/day. Admission was $10, and a racing form – plus a ballpoint pen – was an additional $5.

But I’ve prepared for this day. I made sure that everything was properly charged. I’ve got two Nikon Df cameras at the ready, and I brought both the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lenses (to shoot the race itself) AND the Vivitar 19mm f/3.8 lenses (for wide-angle shots that don’t involve the races).

I checked over the program. Races 1, 2, 5, 8 and 11 would be on the outside dirt track, which would allow me a clear photo each time. Other races would be on the inner track or on the Mellon turf track, which might be too far away for my needs.

But let’s do this.

I set up for the first race. If I can get a good shot at the top of the stretch, the horses will fall right in place.

And sure enough … down the stretch they come.

I can work with this. One image down … six images to go.

Damn, it’s hot out here. I should probably go get an $8 bottle of water.

No. I’m not leaving $3,000 worth of camera equipment out of my sight just for an $8 bottle of water. That ain’t happening.

So … how about I try to get the bugler? A nice stereo shot of the bugler playing the “Call to Post” would work with this setup.

Well, apparently this year Saratoga has TWO buglers, and they not only play “Call to Post,” but they throw in a few other musical stingers along the way. Like when I wanted to photograph them at the start of the third race … they added the 20th Century-Fox intro to the “Call to Post.” I guess if you have to play “Call to Post” nearly a dozen times every day, you want a little variation to it.

They played their intro in front of a microphone … but I couldn’t get a great photo of the buglers. Not with a video camera filming them AND I was just in a bad location.

Thankfully, the buglers agreed to pose for a couple of moments after they played “Call to Post” so I could get this photo for my efforts.

There we go. That works for me.

The heat’s getting a bit rough. I need to find shade. I walk over to Man O’ War Way, the walkway where the horses parade from the paddock to the racetrack.

Now this is part of my planning. When I originally entered the racetrack grounds, I checked with one of the guards AND with a family that was near my proposed shooting spot to make sure I would be within the rules and not interfere with anything. So long as I don’t use any flash photography, I’m in good shape here.

And as the horses walked along Man O’ War Way … I got this nice shot.

Okay. So far, I’ve got three images for the View-Master reel. Let’s go back to the track and see if I can get another racing horse.

Fifth race. I think I can get a shot at the rail as the horses run by. It’s a little packed at the rail, but I found a spot.

Tripod set up. Let’s get this.

I look behind me. There was a little girl, trying to squint through the adults to see the horses at the rail.

I had an idea. “If you can move right here,” I said to her, pointing at my tripod, “just stand here and you’ll have a clear view.”

She did. I also motioned to her parents as to what was taking place, so that everything would be copacetic.

Look, if you’re small enough to fit here – and you want to see a horse race up close – let’s make it happen, right?

Okay. Now let’s get that race.

The horses ran right past me … and I took the shot.

And if you’re wondering … this is the horse that came in dead last.

So why did I take a picture of the horse that finished dead last? Well, I did get a shot of the race winner … but here’s the thing. One of my Nikons fired a millisecond AFTER the other one, instead of simultaneously. Normally that isn’t a big deal. But in a horse race … where even the slightest movement can show up in a stereoscopic image … it just didn’t work. Nuts.

Well, if nothing else, I now have four images.

At this point, I’m ready to figure out my next move … when … a young lady bumped into me.

“Oh,” she said, “I hope you didn’t mind, you were part of our TikTok video just now.”

Yep. Apparently two girls were dancing at the track and filming themselves dancing at the track, and somehow I ended up in the frame.

Then they asked me about my stereoscopic setup. I explained what I was doing.

And before you say to me, “Pics, Chuck, or it didn’t happen.”

I present stereoscopic pics.

Okay. I need to get out of the sun again. I’m overheating and it’s not a good thing. I can already feel the sun blistering my skin.

And as I head for shade … I walk past one of the musical bands that are entertaining the crowd. Yep, it’s Reggie and his Red Hot Feet Warmers. And they’ve got some dancing couples enjoying their music.

Shit, I can’t let this one get past me.

So I didn’t.

All right. I have five images for the View-Master reel (I can’t use the TikTok Girls without their permissions). Two more to go.

Hey, I have an idea. Although the next race is going off from the inner turf, the starting gate would be close enough to maybe, just maybe, get a photo of the horses as they leave the starting gate. It’s worth a try.

So let’s try.

Back to the heat. Man. I think the temperature went up another 10 degrees. Come on, Chuck, it’s only sunshine. You can handle it.

So let’s do this.

Yeah … it’s too far away.

So of the six images I could theoretically put on a View-Master, I’m happy with maybe three of them. But it just means that the next time I go to the track, I’ll have a chance to re-take some of the less flattering shots and work toward building a full-fledged View-Master reel.

So I’m fine with that. I’ve got something to build on, and lessons and notes learned from this excursion.

As I said … this is fun. I just need to build from this. 😀