@barracuda
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A few shots from this year’s ‘Bike the Bricks’ criterium in McKinney, Tx that were taken with the 135mm f2.8. As the sun was getting lower and I was shooting on a shaded part of the course I needed the larger aperture than my 55-250 would provide me to keep the shutter speeds high and the ISO at 400.
1/2500 sec:
1/1600 sec:
rav, almost used my water pump shot, but couldn’t recall if any non-farktography edits had been made (I know I played with some the saturation), glad I opted not to after seeing yours.
Actually looks like I got all new shots this week myself, actually my second shot was taken this afternoon, the others within the last 3 weeks. Had a few from the archive in the B-sides (including the above mentioned water pump)
Yea, much like NASCAR for cyclists, I avoided using the comparison, but it is a fitting one. General road bikes, there is a UCI rule book that some (most) races adhere to as far as the bikes go. There’s a minimum weight, no aero bars, minimum height to the BB, etc. By and large, most road bikes you can buy at a local bike shop will be well within UCI spec, it’s more in Time Trial bikes where the limits of what the governing body allows starts to really get pushed. The ‘Pro’ level race wasn’t till after sunset and there was no chance, even at 1600ISO and the 50 f.14 wide open that I was going to get any usable shots of that race as they were easily pushing 30+ mph in and out of the turns at times. I tried anyways, but deleted the whole lot of them after a quick look.
For my first time shooting a race, let alone anything really ‘moving’, I was fairly pleased with the results. I think the Nikon 135mm is still front focusing compared to what I see through the viewfinder at some distances. For some shots that worked out to my advantage, not so much in others. Should have picked out locations with more light, but was with some other cyclists friends and was there first and foremost to watch, cheer and enjoy the good company (and a beer or two) after a long week. Unfortunately I tweaked my knee on my trip last week, aggravated it further last Sunday on a ride that was far faster than I’d expected, so I’m sitting out today’s ride that I usually ride in hopes to heal up the knee for Monday’s Memorial Day ride & picnic.
The rest are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/102637182371352471338/BikeTheBricks2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCKWo0tv65sPjtQE#
A few results from the first pass through the photos I took last night at the annual criterium bike race in McKinney: Bike the Bricks 2012:
Good friend Charles deep in the Hurt Locker during the Cat 3/4 race. He also rode the 4/5 race and was unable to bridge when the group he was in split from the main pack.
Taken with the 135mm Nikon Lens on the XSi
For those non-cyclsts, criterium racing is a multi-lap race on a short closed course. Length and course distance vary greatly, last night’s racing was held in old downtown McKinney, about a .8mi loop including 6 turns. The course’s final two legs were made even more difficult last night by the stiff south wind on the second to last stretch immediately followed by a sharp right hand turn into the uphill to the finish line. Most of the races last night went for about 40minutes + 5 laps. I’m more than content watching and now photographing the races, yet feel compelled to throw msyelf into that mix.
