Rockburn Cyclocross, 11.22.2009

Lovely fall day at Rockburn, everyone was home. Nate came in from Boulder for Thanksgiving break, and Care returned from a six-day spin through Pine Bluff, Paris and Hannover. I hadn't shot a bike race for a couple months. It was nice to reconnect with the scene, see friends, and watch the boys. Perhaps sad to say, my photographic interests and best pictures vector toward people and nature rather than cycling. At Rockburn, held in a small park near Baltimore, I worked a little to mix the three. In the shot below, the tangled tree is the focus. The blue rider came into it.



Below is elite race leader Wes Schempf. Nice (almost jungle looking) woods detail, Wes looking over his shoulder, black and white moire.

Shot the cyclocross race a little slower than a criterium or road race, because action is a little slower. Also, lower light in the woods made slower shutter speed helpful. Experimented a bit. About half shots were manual focused. This helped in woods; I could make sure an interesting tree or such was sharp, and shoot the rider when s/he came into focus.

Of course, family trumps. Here's a top-bottom of Avery (blue bike) and Nathan. And, as common, dogs.

Full album here. Thank you.