24 Hours in the ole Peublo (teaser picture)

[brianc]

Here's the first of my shots from the race. This is of Cameron Chambers, recent Pro racer for Gary Fisher. He's just burst on the 24 hour race scene, and beat Tinker this year, Tinker had never lost the 24H TOP in it's 5 years prior.

I have many more to pour over. My friend whom I supported during the race won the womens solo catagoy. she beat out 2 pro racers. I also by default supported the 3rd and 5th place mens solo racers. so I was a little busy wonce the race got into full swing, but I managed to fill at 512 MB card and a half of a 256.

Of course the Digital Reble that I was borrowing was very nice and now I really want a DSLR! =)

[Kokopeli]

Hiyas Brian,

Good luck on getting a DSLR. I just got a D100 a week ago and I'm loving it!

I have a question about the racer pictured above.. How long did it take him to get the car out of his bumm once the race was over? ;)

In all seriousness, this is a pretty cool shot. Gotta love how sharp it is and the saturated colors.

Thanks for sharing this one with us!

[brianc]

Thanks. I was rather happy to get this picture and to have it come out so well. I was really stoked when I relaized that it was of the winner.

Here's the rest of my keepers and a story from the race. X-post on MTBR

[JDub]

Here's the first of my shots from the race. This is of Cameron Chambers, recent Pro racer for Gary Fisher. He's just burst on the 24 hour race scene, and beat Tinker this year, Tinker had never lost the 24H TOP in it's 5 years prior.

I have many more to pour over. My friend whom I supported during the race won the womens solo catagoy. she beat out 2 pro racers. I also by default supported the 3rd and 5th place mens solo racers. so I was a little busy wonce the race got into full swing, but I managed to fill at 512 MB card and a half of a 256.

Of course the Digital Reble that I was borrowing was very nice and now I really want a DSLR! =)

Sweet shot. I just bought a DRebel tonight. Got a sweet deal on it, I got the kit with lens with tax for $920.

Cameron Chambers is from my neck of the woods. He dominated the 24 Hour Race here last year and gave MTB Hall Of Fame Member Steve Tilford all he wanted at the 12 Miles of Hell last year. I'm hoping he'll be back this year so I can get some shots of him (mainly shot video last year).

[Ouvinen]

Cross country is not that photogenic as far as I'm concerned. The bikes look dull and the terrain is well...boring. I've been thinking of shooting xc racing, but it would be hard. I'd probably pick a spot in a hard muddy uphill and try to capture the misery and agony in the riders faces. The fact that they wear tights does not help in photography..

[Photo-John]

Good panning, Brian. I don't know what shutter speed you were using, but a slightly slower would have got a littlemore blur and still given you a steady pan.

How did you like the camera? Can't beat the instant feedback, huh? Digital SLRs really do help people take better pictures.

Is that guy on a 29'er? Looks like big wheels to me. And I've been hearing lots of solo racers are racing 29'ers because they reduce fatigue over the whole race.

[Photo-John]

There's definitely more obvious action and drama in downhill and freeride photos. But I disagree that XC isn't as photogenic. At least year's Sea Otter I was much happier with my pro XC photos than my DH photos. This year I'm thinking about skipping the pro DH completely to cover the pro XC better. I think it's a bigger challenge to capture the personal struggle in XC racing than it is to capture big air. And you know how much I like photos of big air.

[brianc]

Good panning, Brian. I don't know what shutter speed you were using, but a slightly slower would have got a littlemore blur and still given you a steady pan.

How did you like the camera? Can't beat the instant feedback, huh? Digital SLRs really do help people take better pictures.

Is that guy on a 29'er? Looks like big wheels to me. And I've been hearing lots of solo racers are racing 29'ers because they reduce fatigue over the whole race.

Re: wheels. yes I think they are 29's. Cameron was just picked up my Gary Fisher, so I'll be that's what they are. The 29's are also a huge advantage b/c this course is very fast. people have done it on Cross bikes. And well there's Rudy, who came in 2nd in the Solo single speed cat on a FIXY!

I'm not sure the shutter. The camera was set on the highest jpg. That's how the guy had it set and I didn't do too much playing b/c I wanted to garrentee some good shots for him. One things I do know is that under similar conditions my S45 on Raw produced better images that the Rebel on high jpg. maybe that's do to the fact that I have the s45 set up how I like it. but more likely do to the additional info from Raw.

My panning was not that great. There was a zoom on the camera so I was panning and zooming at the same time. so I chopped some. If you look at the pic of Tinker on my Passon post, I chopped him, so I had to crop it to make the image work. I remember to try and slow it down some next time. I was going to used you rear sync flash tricks, but I never had the time.

As for the feel. I loved it. but I like the D10 better, go figure. =) too much plactic on the Rebel for me. The reaction I got from other people was great. I walked right up with the "pros" during the podium shots and the spectator got out of my way. Plus when I was out on the trail people would move for me.

[Ouvinen]

Yeah, I love the way you can go pretty much wherever you want when you're carrying a fat SLR body with a big telephoto and a flash... And preferrably a second camera around your neck with a wide angle on it. It's all about pro-cred isn't it sometimes? ;)

[SunnySideUp]

I would have to disagree with XC not being photogenic... I will admit, most photographers that I see have some boring shots of XC, but that is due to their lazyness than anything else. They only go to where they can walk, which usually means it is a dull area to shot... I think the best XC photographers are racers or photographers that get on their bike and ride the course to find the best shots. Being a racer, I love a good photograph of myself... but seldom do I find one that make me feel, like I feel when I am racing.
But again, I guess this can be said about any sport... any thing can be made to look interesting in the right photographers hands.

Cross country is not that photogenic as far as I'm concerned. The bikes look dull and the terrain is well...boring. I've been thinking of shooting xc racing, but it would be hard. I'd probably pick a spot in a hard muddy uphill and try to capture the misery and agony in the riders faces. The fact that they wear tights does not help in photography..

[JDub]

I would have to disagree with XC not being photogenic... I will admit, most photographers that I see have some boring shots of XC, but that is due to their lazyness than anything else. They only go to where they can walk, which usually means it is a dull area to shot... I think the best XC photographers are racers or photographers that get on their bike and ride the course to find the best shots. Being a racer, I love a good photograph of myself... but seldom do I find one that make me feel, like I feel when I am racing.
But again, I guess this can be said about any sport... any thing can be made to look interesting in the right photographers hands.

That's exactly the way I feel. I race some and ride a lot, and when I'm not racing I'm always shooting photos. I was at a big local race (200+ entries) and there were several "pro" photohounds there and then there was me, a guy who enjoys it but doesn't make much from it.

The difference was that the pros wouldn't venture into the woods as it was too much of a burden, but I hopped on my bike and with my knowledge of the course I jumped ahead of the racers and found some of the more technical aspects on the XC course to photograph. After the race, my photos turned out much better than the pros that were there simply because there photos were the same shot with a different person in them everytime because they were stationary.

Now granted, these pros are just local guys who probably shoot mainly portraits and weddings, but I sure thought they were missing the sweet spot.

[ThoughtfulPirate]

XC racing isnt photogenic in my opinion compared to DH stuff, but thats because I dont get interested looking at guys on short travel bikes and spandex. That said, I dont think that XC riding in general has to be boring, if your definition of XC is "with climbing" then I do tons of XC that is plenty photogenic. Nice shot brian. I like the way it came out. Man xens look weird without visors, remind me to NEVER take my visor off. Did you take any night shots?

[Photo-John]

Ahhhh. You skeptics just need to watch a Wold Cup XC race up close to have your eyes opened. I've been to one World Cup XC, in 2000, and I've never looked at XC the same. Those guys have some serious technical DH skills. They're just doing it on a smaller scale, on super sketchy bikes. It's all relative. And to get a good XC picture just takes a little more work and a good understanding of the terrain and how to actually show how difficult it is.

More riding, less typing!

[ThoughtfulPirate]

It really takes tons more effort and skill than a picture in which the stunt just speaks for itself. If someone is going huge all you have to do is take the picture (sort of), but if someone is just climbing up a hill, it takes a real good eye to get the shot. That said, I still dont really like XC races.