Cycling

Waiting for Edvald

Black And White Photography, David, Photography

 

20180516-untitled shoot-11-Edit-2As some of you may know, I have more than a passing interest in cycling. On the 16th of May the professional “Tour of Norway” passed my way. I arrived early at my chosen vantage point at least an hour before the riders turned up. People were already out and about eagerly awaiting the riders and,given the next day was a national holiday everyone was in a festive mood.

If you have ever wondered what would make a person stand by the roadside to watch 30 seconds of cycling go past haven’t thought about the fun had by the supporters beforehand. The chance of seeing a superstar whizz past is a bonus. In no other sport can Joe-public get so close to their idols.

If you are left wondering whom this Edvald is I’m talking about one of Norways cycling superstars Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Nikon D800

Nikon 14-24 f/2.8G ED

PP Silver Efex Pro II

A souvenir my way comes.

Black And White Photography, David, Photography

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The Tour of Norway passed close to my doorstep on Wednesday this week. Being I am a big cycling fan I placed myself where I knew they would have to take a sharp lefthand turn. I lay in the grass with my camera ready and shot off a load of images. After the leaders and the main Peloton had blasted past a straggler from the Uno-X team came into view. He threw his empty bottle away and that was my souvenir of the day…plus this shot. So whomever you were (I didn’t get your number) thank you.

Nikon D800

Nikon 14-24 f/2.8G ED @24mm

PP Silver efex Pro II

 

Life Behind (Handle) Bars…

Black And White Photography, David, Photography

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This is the view I have most mornings just before my 10 mile commute begins. My Cannondale waiting patiently to get my sleepy head on the road. Cycling is my biggest hobby at least as big as photography. It’s a fine balance and it would be impossible to chose to drop one if I had to.

Lets hope I wont have to for a while at least..

Leica M9P

Leica Summilux  50mm f1.4 ASPH.

PP in Silver Efex pro I

Racing Shadows

Black And White Photography, Photography

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Racers in the Bone Machine Crit race against each other and the setting sun in Portland OR.  Unlike most bikes you see on the road these are fixed gear bikes meaning that there are no gears, coasting or brakes.  You have to slow the pedals down to slow the bike down.  Imagine riding around a tight course with 70 other spandex clad racers at 25-30 mph for an hour.   The setting sun made things even more dramatic.  You can see more images from the race over on SMB-Photo.com

Le petit Peloton

Black And White Photography, David, Photography

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Another from my home safari:

Anyone that knows me  well will tell you I have more than a passing interest for cycling. It’s as much of a passion for me as photography. I’ve lost count of the hours I’ve spent in the saddle in all weathers and in all seasons. There is just something magic about it . Rather like photography in many ways.

Any of you have other passions/interests?

Nikon D800

Nikon 50mm f1.8

PP in Silver eFex pro2 and PS.

Racing The Storm

Black And White Photography, Photography

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Racing the storm.  I happened to find a moment where the rain wasn’t pouring down.  While I was dry, relatively speaking, at this moment I had been standing in the pouring rain with my camera waiting for the right shot for quite a long time.  Well, that might not have been the best idea.  Don’t let the big marketing machine fool you.  The weather resistance of the Canon 7D isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  This turned out to be a very expensive picture after my camera crapped out and needed a quick trip back to Canon to fix a little “moisture” issue.  See more images at SMB-Photo.com

Pirate On My Pack

Black And White Photography, David, Photography

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It my seem like a childish thing to have on my backpack. However he has hung there for many years now . The pack he hangs around on is the pack I use on my bike commute most mornings in the summer and a few in the winter. My other passion besides family, and photography is cycling. I purchased this little chap at Legoland many years ago as a reminder of my favourite cyclist Marco Pantani. Who sadly is no longer with us.

I took this shot in window light using my Hipstamatic app on my iPhone.

Cyclocross – Dust, Sweat and Tears

Black And White Photography, Photography

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Believe it or not this what I call fun.  You wouldn’t know it by the classic “race face” but this is what some of us crazy cyclists call fun.  Cyclocross is a little known cycling discipline that is typically held in cold and muddy conditions, kind of like steeplechase on your bike.  Here a cyclist dismounts his bike and jumps over 18″ high barriers then back on the bike, all at full speed.  Being able to get this close to the action proved to be  good testing ground for the auto focus of my new camera.

You can see more cyclocross on my blog http://samobiker.com/cyclocross/