Track Cycling

[TC]

a few photos from the qld State titles.



comments please.
Thanks

[Bindii]

Oh brilliant composition in all of these... and sharp as tacks also..

[Mal]

As Bindi said sharp as a tack. I like picture number two the best. Nice action shot.

[Killakoala]

Awesome. I really like that up-close and personal approach. It works really well here. Nice work

[TC]

thanks Killakoala, Mal & Bindii. I wasn't allowed inside the track as there was a paid photog there. I would like to try to shoot from the same level as the cyclists.

[rookie2]

Nice series TC... sharpness and colour are great.

What gear were you using and what environment were you shooting in? Just interested for future reference as we have the Tour Down Under coming up. I hope to get some time off to get along.

I hope you manage to get inside the track next time to capture even more of the blood sweat and tears these athletes shed...often at great risk!

Great stuff.

R2

[mickeyjuice]

sharpness, colour - lovely stuff.

[TC]

thanks R2 and mickeyjuice. I am using D300 with 80-200mmf2.8 sometimes 50mmf1.8. The track events were run from 4pm till 8pm. From 6.30pm thereabouts I started using SB600. After 7pm I struggled with high speed/high ISO.

more photos here, most welcome to leave comments.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tango62/

[mickeyjuice]

From 6.30pm thereabouts I started using SB600.

Wow, surprised they let you use a flash.

Back when I worked for Ch10, we shot Ryan Bayley and co out at the Speeddome here in Perth, and were't allowed to use a light! (Errr, we did though

[rookie2]

Thanks TC..useful info

[moz]

Wow, surprised they let you use a flash.

One of the advantages of being excluded is that they have much less control over you

I suspect that if you rock up to a practice session at the velodrome you'll have no trouble getting on the inside of the track. Once the riders and officials know you it's usually easy to get really good access to everything. The only really hard to re the wide angle ones where the camera is sitting on the track right in front of the rider - you need to stage those.

[Hudo]

Pic N#2 is my fav from these....

Hudo

[mickeyjuice]

Wow, surprised they let you use a flash.

One of the advantages of being excluded is that they have much less control over you

Yes, true As a sports journo, it constantly amazes me how difficult the sports that shoulf be doing everything they can to get exposure make it to work with them.

[norbs]

thanks Killakoala, Mal & Bindii. I wasn't allowed inside the track as there was a paid photog there. I would like to try to shoot from the same level as the cyclists.

 LOL

I went to the NAtionals last year at Dunc Grey. I knew one of the cyclists and he got me on the infield. I dont know alot about cycling, and was chatting away to a bloke withlegs like tree trunks. Turned out it was Shane Kelly. I asked one of the officials if I could go to the side of the track. "No worries" he replied. I walked up onto the track and got grabbed by an official photographer to told me to piss off as I wasn't accredited.

Velodrome cycling is awesome if you havent seen it before. I loved it. great shots TC.

[moz]

As a sports journo, it constantly amazes me how difficult the sports that shoulf be doing everything they can to get exposure make it to work with them.

Having been vaguely competitive at times I can say that there are sports where dummies need to be controlled (stop them putting a camera on the track in front of a cyclist, for example) but I've also seen many opportunities to promote the sports lost due to simple failures. It's a bit frustrating, and one reason why I started taking photos again is that I was used to having pro photogs but they weren't around (moving from judo to mountain biking and rock climbing in ~1993 meant media vanished).

One problem I have faced as an organiser/participant is simply find the sports journos - it's easy enough to get local papers, but freelancers and AAP/Reuters types are often tricky to track down. Convincing those that the photos will be saleable is also tricky, especially if they've never heard of the sport in question.

[DJT]

yep 2nd is a ripper.


most guys want massive biceps & chests, but I'd kill for a set of the thighs on some of those guys & girls, probably be tough getting pants to fit though hey

[TC]

thanks again all. I wouldn't use a flash on the inside of the track as it will definately upset the cyclists, then again the photog on the inside of the track did use a flash.