Category Archives: Cyclocross

Cyclocross WrapUp

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Today Manly Warringah Cycling Club held there final round of their cyclocross racing series.  A great turnout considering the weather was far from favourable.  Speaking to Rob Parbery from MWMTB club before the race, it was decided to remove the dreaded mud pit from the course to allow more racing rather than mud collecting, good choice in hindsight.

The turnouts for these events has been really impressive and today was no different.  Plenty of families out to watch mum or dad race and even have a run down the track themselves.  Great to see so many smiling kids outside playing rather than stuck at home in front of the TV or computer.

As for the photography, it was a very challenging day.  When shooting at bigger events I usually setup in a location and stay put for the duration or in the 24hour events only move around every 3 hours or so.  Today was challenging as I wanted to catch more editorial images and get a feel for the whole event.  This meant setting up new shots every 15mins or so and changing lenses which is difficult while trying to hold or stay under an umbrella.  At one point the clouds rolled in so thick it was almost black in the background of shots.  The flashes had to be turned right down to minimize the “deer in the headlights” look.  The Nikon D3s didn’t even notice the soaking it took, I was however, a little concerned about the PocketWizard TT1 and AC3 being tolerant of so much wet stuff.  Great gear though, all is good.

So as everyone huddled around the marquee and cheared on the last few competitors and the lighting strikes got louder, the first MWCC and MWMTB cyclocross series came to an end.  The club plans to run this event on a monthly basis starting in a few months time.  I am sure they will have even better turn outs as cycclocross popularity grows and more and more people hear of the event.  Look forward to shooting the coming races over 2012.

Thx

Gil.


Serious CX Racers…

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Cyclocross Round 3

Cyclocross Round 3

Sorry everyone who I told this would come a day or two after event, but internet connection has been acting up.

On Saturday January 7, the Warringah CC put on round 3 of their cyclocross racing series and I was expecting alot of chilled out, slightly plump and entertaining racing, especially after only being one week after the holiday festivities.  I was wrong, people were keen to race and race hard.  Maybe everyone had recharged their batteries and the legs were fresh and wanted to start the new year off with a win.  Either way the racing was very entertaining.  More riders in the main event and more CX bikes popping out of the wood-works.

Cyclocross Round 3

Cyclocross Round 3

This week I didn’t have a buddy as my lighting assistant so just stuck to only two places and get some good shots.  It proved a little more difficult this week as the sun was out and blasting the riders with harsh highlights and darks shadows.  Two off camera Nikon flashes help level out this lighting and produced some good results but took alot of test shots to get the exposures right.  This first photo was in amongst the trees and placement of the flashes was critical, I had moved them probably about 4x before I found a suitable and safe position.  Amazing how exact the lighting needs to be sometimes, experimenting keeps coming up with new ideas and looks.

Cyclocross Round 3

Cyclocross Round 3

The next shot was just available light and shooting direct towards the sun putting a nice rim light around the rider and creating a shadow in front.  This can be really hit and miss stuff but can sometimes really create a great image.  I find shooting with spot metering to help but not always as a competitor in complete black gear compared to white will dramatically change the exposure.  Sometimes good sometimes not.

Cyclocross Round 3

Cyclocross Round 3

This last image worked but not as I had hoped.  Too much sun in a totally open area and reflecting off the mud.  Will try again if different weather conditions or in another location/situation.

Cyclocross Round 3

Cyclocross Round 3

Either way, this event is awesome fun and such a great location.   Great mixture of terrain and surfaces, another wipeout on the gravel corner, makes it good to watch.  To the boys at MWCC and MWMTB good work, keep it up and I will spread the word.  Great racing guys, check out the gallery and see if you were snapped and again all pics available for purchase thru site.

Thx Gil.


Sydney Cyclocross

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On Saturday, Manly Warringah Cycling Club held their second round of their inaugural cyclocross series.  I missed the first event, but the perfect weather and good turnout madeup for it.  About 30 riders rode in the mixed Cyclocross and MTB event, followed by about 15 cyclocrossers competing for the round two title.  A good friend of mine came along and was my voice-activated light stands, good work buddy you passed lighting 101 :)

Now if you don’t know anything about cyclocross it is used in Europe in the off season as a cross trainer.  You still use the bike but in a different environment which builds better strength and bike handling skills.  The course is a mixture of obstacles usually requiring a dismount and bike-carry thru muddy terrain.  Being forced to run, carry, jump is a great cross trainer but the slippery mud creates better bike control skills when road riding in the rain or packs during the road season.  The clover-leaf course layout allowed for great spectator viewing and if you wanted to walk and see different sections of the course, you didn’t have to go very far.

As for the photography.  I was using a mixture of my 50mm, 24-70mm and 70-200m all with flash either on camera or two remotes.  Pocketwizards used to trigger remote camera in a A and B setup and  Manual mode in the camera.  It was a cloudy day which was great as it produce nice soft light rather than harsh shadows requiring powerful bursts of flash to compensate.

The Nikon D3s has been performing flawlessly but I nearly ended the life of one pocketwizard.  The riders flying thru the mud pit caused too much splash and gave one TT5 unit a nice coating of mud.  The pro quality gear functioned flawlessly as radio triggers but can also handle the odd mud bath as well, another reason to alway buy the best gear that you can afford.

As for the MWCC.  Good to see so many people getting out and enjoying cycling in larger and larger numbers and more and more varities of the sport.  From road and MTB racing to adventure / enduarance events to new styles like cyclocross, I have seen people of all ages competing but also just enjoying what all cycling does, getting you outdoors.

If you were competing at the event, I have uploaded all images from the day into a gallery on my website.  You can jump to the gallerry using this link, MWCC Cyclocross.

Have a great Christmas and see you all at round 3 in January.

Gil.