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Cycling and Wine -
Adelaide is Awesome! |
The problem with taking photos of a cycling event on your doorstep is that you end up with a lot of photos to go through. In my case, I think it was probably in the vicinity of 1500. Combine that with setting up a new computer and getting distracted with a new bike (yes, there will be a blog post), and it was always going to take a while for me to get this written.
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| TDU - The race everyone enjoys! |
The Tour Down Under is held in Adelaide every January and is basically a week long bike party with ample opportunity for the amateur photographer. I think there is also a bike race going on, but it's hard to tell with all the partying, photos and riding that happens! What's really nice about the tour is that there are a couple of circuit races involved that gives the amateur photographer plenty of time to experiment with different set-ups.
The following are some of my favourite photos from the event and a bit of a blurb as to why I like them.
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| Bikes make the pros happy too! |
This was taken at the Peoples Choice race, which technically wasn't part of the TDU, but is a circuit race that gives the riders a chance to see how they're feeling. And it gives the photographers a chance to get their eye in. What I like about it is how cheerful they look, which, considering they've just completed a race, is pretty surprising! It's certainly not how I look after racing!
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| Concentration is key(Rohan Dennis) |
The following three shots were taken during Stage 5, where the riders climb Willunga Hill twice. I really love capturing riders expressions, or lack thereof. Cadel Evans is someone I'd never want to play poker against, if he's hurting, you'll never see it. And by the looks of it he's been teaching those skills to a young Rohan Dennis.
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| Pain face |
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| A true champion(Cadel Evans) |
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| Feel the rush . . . |
The final day brought another circuit race and a chance to try and develop some technical skills. I managed to score a prime position on the inside of a corner, with the riders barely a meter from me. This posed it's own problems, as trying to focus on moving things that close is difficult, and honestly, the results left me frustrated. Still, black and white hides a myriad of errors!
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| Wheels in motion! |
The other technique I was trying to work on was panning. It was something that we had touched on in a photography course I did last year, but I hadn't really practiced much since then. One thing I noticed is it worked much better with riders who were in brightly coloured kit. There's a bit of a theory that this makes it easier for the auto focus to pick up.
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| Second favourite shot of the TDU! |
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| Santos Cup - Carl Purczel |
Both Carl and Brett had their cameras out during the tour, and shared some of the results with me. Brett also included some technical information about the settings he used. Both of them have much better skill at panning, producing excellent photos that capture the speed of the event.
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| Stage 6 - Carl Purczel |
Interestingly, we seem to focus on different aspects of the race. I tend towards close ups of riders faces, whereas both Carl and Brett seem to focus on movement and the race as a whole.
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| Stage 6 - Carl Purczel |
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| Brett Pulford |
Richie Porte (Team Sky) challenging Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) for third place at the end of Stage 3. Photo taken with Nikon D7100, f/8 @ 16 mm, 1/640, ISO 200, No Flash
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| Brett Pulford |
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) setting the pace on stage 6.Photo taken with Nikon D7100, f/14 @ 48 mm, 1/100, ISO 100, Flash
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| Brett Pulford |
Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) riding with two teammates on stage 6. Photo taken with Nikon D7100, f/14 @ 52 mm, 1/125, ISO 100, Flash
If you were wondering why my panning shot of the Lampre rider was my second favourite photo, this is the reason. Due to some amazing friends, I managed to get a picture with my favourite cyclist, Jens Voigt. Even better, Karen was right there with me! Actually, I have to confess I actually crashed her picture with Jens. But she was kind enough to let me. She's awesome like that!
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| JENS!!!!! |
The Tour Down Under is always an awesome way to start the year. Can't wait till next year when we can do it all over again!
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