Not much going lately.....

There are about 3 major races left this season, Kissena Championship race, Mengoni Grand Prix, and Pete Senia Memorial race. Very disappointed about the cancellation of the Nancy Morgenstern Memorial Race at Bear Mountain. Thinking that it would be a great opportunity to learn about the logistic issues involved in covering a longer circuit race. In a longer circuit race, you don't get a lot of opportunity to get the shots. At the same time, you have to get back to the finish for the finishing shot.

The end of the season...

This is it...the end of the season. It has been great photographing the races. Made many friends and captured many good racing moments. Of course, I always continue to strive for better photos, better compositions, and better techniques to actualize my vision in order to produce quality shots.

There are couple of races I want to cover before the end of this season. The Nancy Morgenstern race on 9/11 (may not cover all the fields since that would require a whole day shooting)....maybe one of the CRCA club races in Central Park...and the last race of the Tuesday Night Race at FBF.

Well, I really want to race couple of races too. I have to renew my cat 4 license. What isn't cool with it is that my renewal would only last until the end of this year. How does this be a renewal if it does not last for 12 months. Yeah, thumbs up for USCF. If I want to race again for 2012, I have to renew it again after Dec 1. Man, I really want to do couple of races though....

After the race......

It has been a very busy weekend for me. 2 major back to back local races. The Lou Maltese Memorial Race in Central Park was different. I have my complaints. Usually the early hours and early morning light. That makes photographing action sports extremely difficult. The whole park was under shades of trees. This is called for high ISO. The park also repaved the road with some very dark asphalt. That further makes the color cast more colder. Overall, there were a lot of work in the editing, in order to make the shots to look good and colorful. Looking forward to shoot the Central Park race more often, with only a month or so left in the season.

The Tour so far...

The Tour is underway for a week now. So far, too many crashes. In the past, we normally witness one or two big crashes. This year, we seem to be witnessing a lot of minor crashes. Many of the Tour favorites have been abandoned. Yesterday's stage is a bit crazy too. Top GC contenders crashed out at the front when the Omega-Lotto was driving the descend at an incredible pace to catch the Thomas Voeckler group. Then, a French TV media car knocked down 2 of the breakaway riders because the driver was trying to avoid hitting the tree. He could stop. No, he decided to veer to his right and pass the breakaway group. I have been watching the Tour for the past 6 years, I have never read and saw things like that to happen.

Looking forward to this coming Sunday race, Lou Maltese Memorial, in Central Park. I think I should shoot there more often. The race there does not get enough coverage. The loop is twice the length as the Prospect Park and so I need to sort out a new shooting strategy. I would probably need to wake up at 4am and out the door before 5am. And to get to the park by 6am. :)

Another interesting weekend....doping..

Ok, one of our local elite racers tested positive for doping. Bike racing in our local level....I don't believe you need to dope to make it big. I mean, if you need to dope in our local level to make it, you won't make it racing with the big boy NRC or UCI races. The sad thing is that the whole community is talking about it.

How was the shoots? Floyd Bennett Field has always been a nightmare. With the high noon sun, by the time at the finish, it is extremely difficult to create good photos. I will take an overcast sky any time. The Prospect Park race was fine. I was able to capture the shots that I needed. No fog in the morning.

I am going to take a week break from the shooting the race. I feel that I need some time off to feel refreshed and inspired.

Harlem crit...

It was a busy weekend. The Saturday Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup race was a warm up to the more bigger and longer day on Sunday. Great weather but was a bit too sunny for myself as well as photographing the race. A lot of patchy bright/shades on the course tend to throw off the light meter. It was a 6 hours shoot. Had some sort of Belgian waffle with pork and BBQ source. It was OK. Glad I made the decision not to bring my 500L. Not sure I could carry an additional 9lb lens on me for 6 hours. My long focal length was sufficient enough for the job. However, I certainly didn't want to be the photog shooting the finish too close while riders sprinting at 45 mph+.

This past Sat race and the coming week.

I always look forward to shooting under an epic weather condition. It brings out so much dramas and struggles. This past Sat race, Tour of New York, was no exception, missing the heavy downpour. Unfortunately, such weather condition brings along low light and low visibility. This makes photographing the race a big challenge. Special care must be taken to ensure proper exposure. The flash could only do so much. It can't light up the whole area of the park. Live and learn. I would probably shoot the similar condition differently next time.

This coming weekend is going to be busy. Back to back races. And not just any other races. It is the annual Harlem Crit. A full day event. I am still thinking about my shooting strategy. What gear to bring? Where and when to shoot. And how complete I want for the coverage. Whether or not I can post process all the shots in time.

Shooting a time trial, Floyd Bennett Field.

I kind of miss shooting Prospect Park races. You get the early morning sun and light. Not too strong. It was certainly an interesting experience shooting a time trial. Frankly, I have never done one or maybe because there aren't that many available around here near NYC. Of course, how do you effectively capture the riders in a time trial? I believe shooting with my 500L has solved this problem very nicely. I have to say the focal length is a bit too long. It becomes suspectable to atmospheric (UV and heat) distortions. A lens that big isn't easy to handle. I do wish I was using a 400L or maybe even the 300L. In any case, few things can certainly be improved next time shooting a time trial.

Seeing all the riders on their time trial bikes makes me want to have one too.....

Team United Thursday Night Race series...

Last night was my first time actually shooting the race series. Although the course is the same Floyd Bennett Field, there is a slight course variation. 3 turns and with the 3rd turn with a very tight corner leading up to the finishing straight. It was windy too at the finishing straight. With a large field, that turn can allow breakaway riders to gain time on the field. Of course, from the photography perspectives, you can some crazy leaning angle shots of the riders. The twilight color gave me some issue. It makes everything growing red. As if the riders' jerseys aren't colorful enough... Shot with my 70-200L markII last night too. Very impressed with the lens.

Got to pre up for tomorrow time trial at Floyd Bennett field. It could be a long day with total of 170 riders registered.

June 4th FBF Time Trial...

This would be my first time shooting a time trial. Is a whole new different beast here. Personally, I am a time trial feint, as a rider. It is about your pure fitness level, the size of your engine, and level of your threshold power. Much is going on during time trialing is internal, inside the mind of the riders. It will be a challenge to actually shoot one.

Of course, being a smaller rider, although I don't have problems doing a 40k time trial, I lack the speed. Since the course is in FBF, I have to shoot the time trial with the high noon sun. Another challenge is that there will be multiple riders on the course time trialing. There will be riders lapping the slower ones. It will get confusing, even for the riders since they may lose track how many laps they still need to do. Obviously, as a photographer, there is no way I can keep track how many laps the riders are doing.

Still thinking about if I should sign up and do one myself. 11 miles. I think I can complete it under 25 minutes on my regular road bike.

Some gear restructuring...

So, I found out that the Empire State Olympic game has been canceled all together. There would be no qualifiers in NYC. Is a shame. Apparently, NYS is too broke to sponsor it. The game isn't attractive enough to lure more corporate sponsors. Looks like a slow month of June in NYC. I have some times to restructure my gear. The Sigma lens isn't working too well as I expected. Auto focusing is too slow for races. Just working out some gear replacements before late June. The next big race is the Harlem Skyscraper Criterium. I need to workout some logistic issue to shoot this race. I may actually need to bring out my BIG GUN, 500L, for this. How do I get around the race course carrying a 8lb lens?? I may not need to if I will have the gear that I need.

Shooting Race for the Wine and Tour de Parc...

It was certainly a somewhat crazy weekend for me. Shooting both races and get the shots processed and uploaded in time. Well, I survived. On one hand, with the Race for the Wine, I was shooting with a bright sunny day. Most of the times, I was shooting with a backlit sky and somewhat with the sun facing me. It got so bad that my finishing shots for the cat 4 and 5 were barely usable. Years of bird photography taught me how to deal with such situation during the shots and in post processing.

For the Tour de Parc, it was cloudy for the entire day. It was a long coverage for me, from 9am to 3pm. You know I am a flash person. However, my high voltage external batter for my 580ex II was running low on juice after 1k shots. I knew it would happen and I have couple of spare AA batteries. Obviously, it was not as good as my high voltage battery pack since it can't keep up with my 1dmark III burst speed.

Another challenge is how to effectively shoot and cull shots from a criterium. You have riders doing the same turn maybe 10 to 20 times. They don't look or ride any different than the 5th lap to the 10th lap. I took a lot of shots that day but I was only be able to use few in order to avoid repetitions.

I have some doubts about my new Sigma 70-200 OS lens. It does the job but I wish it could auto focus faster. Maybe more sharper at wide open. The weather wasn't that great on Sunday. Maybe I am demanding too much from my gear. Looks like in the month of June, the NYC racing calendar is somewhat slow. The next big race is the FBF time trial. I actually think about signing up.

Back to back races this weekend.

On Sat, we have the Race for the Wine at Floyd Bennett Field, early morning. It should have some good turnouts. The weather seems to be cooperating. Hopefully, there is a blue sky so that I won't have to deal with the white/gray overcast sky. On Sunday, we have the Tour de Parc in Long Island. It would be my first time shooting that race. Just looked up Google map, the finish has a long stretch of road. Maybe I could use my Canon 500L for the first time. I normally use it for bird photography. With this lens, I could capture some of the dead head-on shots of the peleton speeding down the stretch, without worrying about the safety issue. Of course, having the potential to capture some of the most awesome finishing shots too. With that lens, it would like I was on a motor bike, next to the rider, during the finish.

I just ordered the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 HSM OS. A new mid range telephoto lens. It should increase my keeper ratio over my Canon 70-200L F4 no IS.

Covering the Prospect Park races....

The past Saturday's Lucarelli and Castaldi Cup race was really fun to shoot.  The Pro 123 field was on fire.  According to the race officials, they were clocking under 7 minutes per lap.  What?  29 mph averaging over 13 laps.  Team Somerville Bike Shop really set the race on fire from the beginning.  No breaks lasted more than 30sec ahead before being pulled back into the field.  That led to some very exciting finishing sprints:
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/LucarelliCuprace5-14/17052665_Qn22cZ#1291216178_Z6JN6d6

http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarellicastaldicat4/17062616_LnzkdB#1292189809_tdgtxhp

Shooting at the park has its own challenges too.  The race is usually early in the morning.  You don't get enough decent light until near the end of the race.  Most of the times, you are pushing your camera gear to the limits.  The park has a very scenic feel to it but also creates its own exposure issues.  Various shadowy patches cast by the trees can cause exposure problems with the camera.  In one moment, you are capturing a rider under the morning sun.  In another moment, you are capturing the rider underneath columns of trees.  Without light, there is no photography.  That's why I am a firm believer of flash photography.  As a rider, we like to bury ourselves and faces onto of the handlebar.  How do you get the light to the faces of the riders?  Really looking forward to cover the NY Empire State Olympic Game Qualifier in middle of June.  50+ miles over 15 laps.  1 field.  All categories.

Shooting the Tuesday Night Race at Floyd Benett Field.

Although the course is pretty much an abandoned airfield, it posted various challenges to cover the race.  Whatever you shoot, you have the sky as the background.  The background, by far, isn't all that interesting.  There are several areas in the course that can easily give the illusion that the race isn't held in NYC.  Panning shots are easier given that there are various long stretch of roads and very open.  The late evening light can post another problem too.  Typically, you have about 45 minutes of good twilight.  After that, be prepared to shoot with little ambient light.  Shooting at high ISO is in order.  Flash is pretty much mandatory.  Light come first.  Subject second.  Without light, there is no photography.

Really would like to cover this Sunday's Bear Mountain race.  Unfortunately, the race course changed so much since I last raced on it, that many riders didn't like it.  Worst, now, only 1 field can race on the revised course at one time.  For all the fields, it would take a good 7 to 8 hours coverage.  However, I will definitely shoot this Saturday race in Prospect Park.     

Before photography, cycling and racing are my passion...is in the blood.

I would like to thank the fellow NYC racers to continue to purchase my race photos.  It has always been an exciting day for me to shoot the bike races.  I do wish to continue to cover the NYC local races as much as possible.  What's the point of enduring an hour to 2 of suffering in the race without anyone documenting it?  Why must your suffering to go unnoticed?  I guess this is what is called the romance of cycling and racing.  Spending 3 to 5 hours in the saddle suffering in silence.  The only redeeming grace is either from your own victory and glory of winning the race.  Or just to have made it to the finish line in one piece.  Those hours in the saddle you have many things going on in your mind.  You begin to ask the big, philosophical questions about life in general.  This is what attracted me to cycling and racing in the first place.  Suffering, pain, agony, victory, glory, and redemption all played out in a cycling race.  Now, I want to document these experiences in the local NYC racing scene.  When I was racing back then, no one was documenting my suffering.