Finally got some hot weather for the Memorial long weekend and the Mount Hamilton Road Race Sunday. I basically spent two hours testing equipment for France but captured a bunch of familiar faces while being eaten alive by swarms of biting midges. These images link over to the new VeloDramatic portfolio site where you can purchase prints directly. Thus far I've only transferred the most recent local race coverage, but I'll be uploading the Best of VeloDramatic in the next couple of weeks.
I'm liking the painterly feel of the higher-key, flash-assisted color work here. It's quite flattering and certainly helps even out harsh mid day light. Not a huge variety in the shots on offer though. I wasn't in the mood to work the hill too hard, and the Campus police are pretty sensitive about being there period, so I played it cool.
In the end the guys from Becher+ provided some terrific ink for a little edgier B&W treatment.
10 Comments
All are terrific photographs. I like the first one, with the reverse view of the handlebars and the road so clearly visible in the rider’s sunglasses.
the thing I like most about that shot Dave is she has what look’s like a milk mustache on her upper lip. I thought it was salt, but it could be heavy lip balm. Anyway it was definitely cute given how fast she was riding.
Any shots of Robert from TSJ? He was recently upgraded to Cat2.
I have one shot of Robert. Wish he didn’t always spot me before I spot him.
What is the Cat1/2/P winning time up that hill? Anyone?
Great shots and beautiful portraits. I like how you isolate the foreground and the lighting. What kind of flash do you use?
Hello Paolo,
To isolate the riders, I shoot wide open with little depth of field f2.5-f4.0 depending on the lens. For action the flash is supplied by a dual speedlight setup (430EX IIs) triggered by Pocket Wizards. The trick is to get just a touch of flash to soften shadows (under helmet etc), put a catch light in the rider’s eyes and help freeze action. Given cycling’s dynamic nature this can never be completely controlled, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. If the flash contribution to the overall exposure is kept low (say less than 10%), the image may work out even if the flash doesn’t fire (still recycling in a burst) or another rider shadows your subject.
If you’ve shot any cycling you’ll know the hardest thing to capture is a really decisive move or tactical effort. If you pick good locations based on some understanding of how the race may play out you give yourself the best chance of being there when something “real” happens.
::M
Tattoos are so incredibly gay on non r(t)ough people. Case in point, not even a great photog can save them.
Blah,
I don’t know… there are lot of skinny guys out there who are crazy bastards, but putting r(t)oughness aside I judge tattoos differently. The most important thing for me is the quality of the artwork and second the amount of coverage indicates a level of commitment I have to respect if it’s high. I’d never do it because I couldn’t live with a creative decision forever, but I liked the artwork on both of those guys.
::M