[Kombisaurus]

Well.. I haven't been outside to take any photography for two weeks now. I decided I wasn't going to shoot any more until I finished processing the backlog of images I've built up over the last couple of months... and even two weeks later I still haven't finished yet (Although I very nearly went to shoot the state athletics championships which are on at this weekend - I might still go tomorrow).

But the last thing I did shoot was an international cycling grand prix that was on in Perth two weekends ago. It featured riders from Australia, England, Malaysia, Scotland and the USA and was kind of a warm-up to the Commonwealth games (obviously not for the USA riders though).
Although not a large field, the quality of riders was extremely high. Five of the riders have olympic gold medals to their name and ten of them have been world champions at some time or another.
I was sick on the night and nearly didn't go. As a result I felt my photography was a bit down because I just couldn't think fast enough, but if nothing else the sheer volume of shots I ended up taking ensured enough keepers to make it worthwhile.

Below I've posted a few photos from the evening. I've included some of the traditional types of sports shots (back page of the newspaper type stuff) as well as a few where I've tried to add a bit of a creative dollop into the mix. Some work better than others and there are a couple in here which don't quite work but I'm posting anyway - if only so that others might see what doesn't work. Or perhaps you have some suggestions or ideas I could try next time to improve them?

Quite apart from the photography, its great to get so close to the action. Its pretty much impossible to appreciate the power and speed in these bikes and riders when you watch it on TV. And TV also doesn't capture the incredible sound and vibrations that you hear and feel when standing so close to the action. It feels more like a stampede than a race!


1. Overview of the track (women's Keirin heat in progress).


2. WA's Travis Meyer leads the pack in formation past the "SpeedDome" sign painted on the track.


3. A closer shot of Travis Meyer later in the same race (curse that rail!).


4. The riders come off the bank towards the finish line.


5. WA's Peter Dawson (Olympic Gold Medallist and 2002-2004 World Champion) watches an official ring the bell as he leads the race into the last lap.


6. USA Olympian Christian Stahl rides past the camera as the next race is preparing to start.


7. The Scottish team power past the camera in the Team Sprint.


8. WA's Ryan Bayley (Dual Olympic Gold Medallist) glances around at the start of the Kierin heats.


9. Adam Semple rides past the camera and I discover the EF-S 17-85 IS can be used as a sports lens as long as I can use a flash. This is exactly the type of shot that convinced me to buy a 28mm f/1.8 lens.


10. I tried some panning on Travis Meyer with no flash and a slow shutter speed (1/45th sec). While there isn't much sharp detail I still quite like this shot.


11. A much more "sensible" yet almost identical shot to the last, this time of Peter Dawson. The only difference between this shot and shot #10 was an ISO change from 800 to 1600, shutter speed change from 1/45th to 1/125th and using a flash in this shot. Both shots were taken in the same race, same part of the track (ie same ambient lighting), and same EF-S 17-85 IS lens which just shouldn't be capable of capturing fast motion like this indoors at f/5.6!