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.