Cycling

[mep42]

Does anyone have advice for shooting cycling other than the obvious. I hopefully will have a 24-70 2.8 by then if not it will be my 40d and 70-200 2.8

Any ideas on where to shoot from, there are 2 races, and it is a criterium, so it will be a road track about half a mile long I think and it will go from dusk to night.

Thanks
Mark

[Rimwalker]

With a criterium, because the course is so short and the riders do so many laps, you can walk the course multiple times and find the best spots. Bends, either from the inside or outside are always good, and think about high and low angles. Just be sure to make it back to the finish line for the end.

[ChasP505]

Rimwalker gives excellent advice, especially regarding the high and low angles. Additionally, shoot in bursts using AI Servo. At the finish, with your longest lens, position yourself so you can get the full front on width of the sprint and make sure you have a small enough aperture to get adequate depth of field. Nothing worse than shooting the finish of a crit when the winner is blurry and the third tier back is in focus.

[mep42]

I would be shooting with a Sigma 70-200, I just hope it doesn't start to jump around, like it does sometimes.

Mark

[R i c h]

I'm a big fan of shooting criteriums. I like to set up across from the first turn after the start/finish straight away (on the outside of the turn) and shoot using my 70-200 f/2.8L IS. You can get a lot of great shots of guys either battling for position, making moves on one another, or just pushing hard through the turn.

Brea "Old Course" Criterium
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3520492348_81c15442b7.jpg

Paramount Grand Prix
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3588028128_50da30086b.jpg

After getting a few shots after the start I tend to make my way to one of the turns that has a nice area to stand or crouch and shoot a bunch of close up panning shots (in a 40-75 minute race there will be a ton of opportunities to shoot shots of this nature. I use my 16-35 f/2.8L II here, but in many cases a longer focal length could come in handy.

Brea "Old Course" Criterium
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3520492652_2aecffa1e6.jpg

Paramount Grand Prix
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3587199531_1831dca443.jpg

Try to elevate yourself above one of the turns (in the last event there was a big sign for a business that I could stand on) and have some fun shooting from a different vantage point.

Paramount Grand Prix
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3588113018_3361fba0e5.jpg

One of the last things I like to do is position my self directly at the end of the final turn before the start/finish straight away on one of the last laps. Most of the time the riders will be battling a little here.

Paramount Grand Prix
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3587914078_1531dcc5ed.jpg

Lastly, finish line shots are great, but oddly enough, I'm never in position to capture any. I'll be shooting two local races this weekend and I'm definitely going to work on getting some finish line shots.

Pardon any weird color issues these photos might have. I have yet to calibrate my monitor and here at work these seem to have a strange color about them.

The full sets can be seen here if interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richwhitlinger/collections/72157619386757893/

[mep42]

Those look great to me, there are two races I want to do, the first is a 24 hour long ride for cancer, I will have a lot of time to practice which will be great! The second is the Presbyterian Criterium in Uptown Charlotte. There will be a women's and men's race the races will start around 6 or so and end at around 10 at night, is there anything that I should plan for differently for a night race other than the obvious?

[kevinmcdade]

Does anyone have advice for shooting cycling other than the obvious. I hopefully will have a 24-70 2.8 by then if not it will be my 40d and 70-200 2.8

Any ideas on where to shoot from, there are 2 races, and it is a criterium, so it will be a road track about half a mile long I think and it will go from dusk to night.

Thanks
Mark

The 24-70 is one of my most used lenses when I shoot crits. The good thing about crits, especially long ones, is you get several opportunities to shoot the racers in the various parts of the track. I usually use my 24-70, and 70-200 and on occassion, I'll use my 17-40 for a wider angle. I like to also use a flash in HSS or 2nd curtain.

Here are some example shot with my 24-70. Please excuse the watermark.

http://kevinmcdade.smugmug.com/photos/522936266_Pcqh2-M.jpg

http://kevinmcdade.smugmug.com/photos/544169904_KxoWV-M.jpg

http://kevinmcdade.smugmug.com/photos/545611704_2BceD-M.jpg

[Biffbradford]

A Pro race at night? Ooooo ... those guys are F-A-S-T so your assignment will be tough! Use a flash and look for hot spots in the street lighting. You should get some great stuff though.

[mep42]

My question is will race officials get mad with a flash going right into a riders eyes? I have been riding on road bikes for years and I think that might get a little distracting.

Mark

[mep42]

BTW 24-70 gets here tomorrow :D:D:D

[kevinmcdade]

My question is will race officials get mad with a flash going right into a riders eyes? I have been riding on road bikes for years and I think that might get a little distracting.

Mark

I shoot about 20 races per year. I've never heard one complaint about the flashes. Most racers that I talk to say they never even notice the flash. I shoot road and velodrome racing.

[Dan-o]

Never had a complained or even noticed it while racing.

[Biffbradford]

I think my flash may have caused a rider to drop his bottle hand up in today's road race ... but he won anyway. LOL Just try not to blind them as they're diving into a corner at top speed.

[primalcarl]

Anyone got any advice on landscape cycling shots and focus points? On a wide scenic shot with the peleton coming into the shot would you use ai servo and a specific focus point, or automatic focus points and ai servo?

[tomd]

Anyone got any advice on landscape cycling shots and focus points? On a wide scenic shot with the peleton coming into the shot would you use ai servo and a specific focus point, or automatic focus points and ai servo?

a photo like this (http://www.photosfan.com/images/tour-de-france-31.jpg)one?

[primalcarl]

Yeah, in that kind of Graham Watson style

[tomd]

Have you ever read Graham's FAQ section? He gives some interesting photo background, it may help.

I'll look for more insight in the meantime.