Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/02/22

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Subject: [Leica] I'd like advice on shooting a fleeting moment of a bike race
From: abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge)
Date: Thu Feb 22 22:22:59 2007
References: <4cfa589b0702191454r3cfe8181mece91444c9d94053@mail.gmail.com> <45DE8642.9030601@nathanfoto.com>

Well yes, a bit late, but I always appreciate the point of view and
the images for sure.

I'll have to wait until next year for a re-try, although we have our
street race on the 4th of July that's always fun to shoot.
Unfortunately it's a very flat course.

As it is I'll do my photograph FROM my bike for the time being.

Adam

On 2/22/07, Nathan Wajsman <nathan@nathanfoto.com> wrote:
> Hi Adam,
>
> I know that I am a day late and a dollar short here, but I will throw in
> my 2 Eurocents anyway. As you know, I am no pro, but when I lived in
> Switzerland, I did have the opportunity to photograph a bike race, the
> Zurich Metzgete (part of the World Cup circuit) in 2002. It was
> particularly easy to find good spots because the route was a 60-70 km
> circular route that was repeated 3 times and passed within a few km of
> my home. So, using my motorcycle for easy parking, I was able to first
> see the racers at the top of a long climb, then at the bottom of a long
> descent, and finally at the finish in Zurich. Of those 3 spots, I found
> the top of the long climb by far the best, for a couple of reasons:
> first, the racers were not going that fast (you do not go that fast at
> the end of a 17 km climb in 30+C weather!); and second, they were not
> tucked in as would be otherwise be the case, so I had a better view of
> their faces and the exertion and emotion. I posted a couple of examples
> in my PAW for that week:
> http://www.nathanfoto.com/paw/2002/2002_34.jpg
> http://www.nathanfoto.com/paw/2002/2002_34alt1.jpg
> (this was back in the days when I used Leica M and Kodachrome...)
>
> Nathan
>
> Adam Bridge wrote:
> > The Tour of California blitzes through Davis tomorrow about 1 PM and I
> > have a spot all picked out. I'll have only a few seconds for the shot
> > but I thought the pros who have done this sort of thing before might
> > have ideas on how to properly set up.
> >
> > I'm going to shoot looking up an overpass from it's base. I figure the
> > cyclists will have heads mostly down at this point, perhaps looking
> > around for position but it's a good place for good aerodynamics so I'm
> > thinking they'll be pretty well tucked in.
> >
> > I'm shooting with the 560 on the 1Ds MKII since I have to be almost a
> > block away although I'm taking a couple other lenses just in case and
> > then the M to grab a few shots as they zip past, probably with the CV
> > 15 or 28.
> >
> > Still, if there are things I could do to help increase my chances for
> > a good shot, or maybe eliminate common failures, those of you who have
> > made $$$'s doing this might offer a few suggestions for this rookie??
> >
> > Thank you!
> >
> > Adam
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
>
> --
> Nathan Wajsman
> Almere, The Netherlands
>
> Opportunistic Image Acquisition
>
> General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com and http://www.greatpix.eu
> Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Seville photography: http://www.fotosevilla.com
>
> Stock photography: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman
> http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=507
> Prints for sale: http://www.photodeluge.com
>
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>
>
> SUPPORT FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BUY DANISH PRODUCTS!
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>

In reply to: Message from abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge) ([Leica] I'd like advice on shooting a fleeting moment of a bike race)
Message from nathan at nathanfoto.com (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] I'd like advice on shooting a fleeting moment of a bike race)