OYSTER POINT CRIT

MEN CAT 3

Slideshow

Gallery

OYSTER POINT CRITERIUM

by Hilton Cycling Club and Conte's

It's taken a bit longer than usual to get photos up. All the typical excuses, including some that are really valid.

This was the first race shot entirely in RAW format. File sizes 10-12 Megs each, which are converted to jpeg after processing. I didn't "cover" every race as completely as usual, for a number of reasons, not the least of which was I only had 8 Gigs of memory cards with me. They were all full when I left. I'm still not 100% sold on the RAW thing. Much more processing flexibility at the expense of time moving huge files around. After conversion to jpeg some of the shots still had a "grainy" appearance when magnified. Also had to retool the post production workflow around new software. Only time will tell .........

Soooooooo, 3 galleries are up now, with the CAT 4 and Pro 123 going up late tonight

MEN 30+

Just a few shots here as I arrived, just in time to see DBo hit the deck. Actually I was walking away, and only heard the "splat." The pavement didn't suffer any damage ........

Slideshow

Gallery

MEN 40+

Slideshow

Gallery

MEN 50/60 +

Slideshow

Gallery

From sunny FLA

JB

OYSTER POINT CRITERIUM at City Center




by Conte's, and Hilton Cycling Club







The sun eventually burnt through the morning rain clouds and dried the moist roads. The wide course was almost a mile in length, had 6 turns, and many a "cobbled" section. Not the old fashioned Paris-Roubaix kind of cobbles mind you. But they were still slippery when wet and bumpy enough to get your attention.

The sidewalk coffee shop and Sushi Bar provided a FANTASTIC setting for race fans.

Racing went on from early morning to late in the evening, with the Pro 123 speed demons going off last.







After 90 minutes at over 28 mph the Pro 123 race came down to a bike throw at dusk, with Michael Stoop (Siegler Imports) adding one more high profile win to his 2007 palmares'. Well done.





Photos are being processed with a target date of Thursday at breakfast.





Ride Safe





JB

NORFOLK CYCLING CLASSIC round 2


MEN 30+






All pics here from the far corner at the end of the wind tunnel while I attended to course marshalling duties.

Slideshow







Gallery





MEN CAT 3



Slideshow



Gallery










WOMEN/CAT 5/JUNIORS

Women/CAT5 by guest apprentice photog

Slideshow





Gallery

NORFOLK CYCLING CLASSIC



Men Pro 123



Slideshow



Gallery
















Men Cat 4

Slideshow

Gallery

NORFOLK CYCLING CLASSIC

by TriPower

only the strong survive

the wind was gusty, swirling, and brutal.

Photos are being processed, check back tomorrow morning.

JB

What's in a picture?

At first glance - not a lot. Focus wasn't bad, exposure average, framing sucked. This shot would've made the first cut into the waste bin under normal circumstances. It was at the end of the Pro Crit in Harrisonburg. Many of the excited fans/photogs were sliding into my line of sight so I was shooting while shuffling into the road at the end of the race. All the while holding the shutter down and trying to be steady with a 4 pound lense from 60 meters away.

I find it hard to really watch the races while shooting. Hard to follow who's in the lead, who's making the moves, what tactics are going on, all while you're peering through the tiny viewfinder ciphering f-stops and shutterspeeds, figuring depth of field and pondering backlight remedies. I guess that's why I enjoy going through the pics later. Like reliving the race again, this time while paying attention.

As the dust cleared from Kayle Legrande's national championship caliber sprint, there was plenty of mumbling and a buzz in the crowd. He was interviewed on stage in his tatooed glory, and certainly looked and acted like the guy who had won the race. Later word came of several protests about his choice (or lack thereof) of line. The protests were upheld and he was relegated to the back of the field. Lagrande's Team Manager, who looked suspiciously like Pierce Brosnan, was actually 9 time Tour DAY France finisher Frankie Andreau. Frankie (should I say Mr. Andreau? .......... nah) did what any good TM should do and filed a protest. The refs involved were fairly certain as to what they saw, but were looking for some photo evidence to stand behind. I played back my shots ...... lo and behold, I had the goods.

Into the Officials motorhome we went, to load the photos onto something more viewable. After fiddling around with some USB cables and a few computers, we brought them up. Frankie was called in, and after some obligatory hemming and hawing, said he was OK with the decision.

So when in doubt, keep shooting. Even bad pictures tell the truth.

Slideshow here enable captions

Gallery here

More ToV photos will go up by the weekend.

Norfolk Classic this Sunday.

JB