Photo Op: Tour de Georgia April 19-24, 2005

[patch29]

The Tour de Georgia (http://www.tourdegeorgia.com/2005/index.asp) is scheduled for April 19-24, 2005. They have recently released the tour route.

I was able to go last year and photograph Lance. Hopefully this year I can have more time to scout out a better spot and follow the tour to a few more locations.

The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team has the Tour de Georgia on their schedule. I cannot find out with any certainty if Lance will be there this year or not. :dunno I only saw him for a very short time last year anyway, once he is mixed in the pack, it is hard to find him.

[patch29]

Bump, It is about a month away. :D

[wxwax]

A sudden eruption of weddings means I'm unlikely to make it this time. :cry It's sure to be Lance's last ride here.

[DoctorIt]

I'd love to go, but that will be a key month in the house construction. I'll be looking for your shots though!

[David_S85]

The Tour de Georgia (http://www.tourdegeorgia.com/2005/index.asp) is scheduled for April 19-24, 2005. They have recently released the tour route.

I was able to go last year and photograph Lance. Hopefully this year I can have more time to scout out a better spot and follow the tour to a few more locations.

The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team has the Tour de Georgia on their schedule. I cannot find out with any certainty if Lance will be there this year or not. :dunno I only saw him for a very short time last year anyway, once he is mixed in the pack, it is hard to find him.

Excellent opportunity there. Don't expect to see Lance there, as he is priming himself for peaking in July for the TDF. But you might just get lucky if he does show. Wish I could go down and watch the TDG myself, but I'll be selling those two-wheeled beasties more than riding or shooting them. Late April is the about busiest season for people like me. I'll just have to settle for what I can read from the May issue of VeloNews.

Now, about shooting bicycle races... have you studied the work of Graham Watson? He's regarded as the best race photog in the biz, bar none.

[wxwax]

He's scheduled to participate.

[DoctorIt]

\
Now, about shooting bicycle races... have you studied the work of Graham Watson? He's regarded as the best race photog in the biz, bar none.Yeah, he's alright...




:hide

[wxwax]

Excellent opportunity there. Don't expect to see Lance there, as he is priming himself for peaking in July for the TDF. But you might just get lucky if he does show. Wish I could go down and watch the TDG myself, but I'll be selling those two-wheeled beasties more than riding or shooting them. Late April is the about busiest season for people like me. I'll just have to settle for what I can read from the May issue of VeloNews.

Now, about shooting bicycle races... have you studied the work of Graham Watson? He's regarded as the best race photog in the biz, bar none.
Hmmm, thanks, I hadn't heard of him. :thumb

Cool piccie. (http://www.velonews.com/images/int/5954.7503.f.jpg)

[DoctorIt]

Hmmm, thanks, I hadn't heard of him. :thumb

Cool piccie. (http://www.velonews.com/images/int/5954.7503.f.jpg)Really?!
:jawdrop



I guess maybe it's a cyclist thing. When you're a young rider, you dream about racing in a big race almost as much as you dream of being captured on film by Graham Watson. His images over the past 10-20 years are all amazing. Just from the TDF alone, it's amazing how each year he can find something new and coin the entire race in one image.

If you asked my generation of cyclists for a list of great names in cycling, it'd probably go something like: Armstrong, Indurain, Pantani, etc... Watson, and Liggett.

[DoctorIt]

Oh, and while we're on the topic, I might as well throw in our local (based in northeast, but hits all the big US races) version of Graham Watson:

Jonathan McElvery (http://www.jsmcelvery.com/). Website isn't spectacular - you could say JS is old skool, staunch film shooter too. This guy is a great shot, and funny to boot. Last halloween he shot in a costume, complete with a big wig! He's the name you see under many big photos in the US based races and magazines.

my favorite part:

All film, all the time.
I'd rather film-out than digi-way.

[wxwax]

Really?!
:jawdrop



I guess maybe it's a cyclist thing. When you're a young rider, you dream about racing in a big race almost as much as you dream of being captured on film by Graham Watson. His images over the past 10-20 years are all amazing. Just from the TDF alone, it's amazing how each year he can find something new and coin the entire race in one image.

If you asked my generation of cyclists for a list of great names in cycling, it'd probably go something like: Armstrong, Indurain, Pantani, etc... Watson, and Liggett.

I'm just poorly educated, what can I say? :D

He has this unusual glow to many of his shots, sort of a saturated out of focus thing going. It's very interesting.

[David_S85]

I'm just poorly educated, what can I say?
He has this unusual glow to many of his shots, sort of a saturated out of focus thing going. It's very interesting.
Hehehe. :D That unfocused thing may be that Graham is not too uncommonly (and this will excite many DGrinners's I'm sure) found shooting from the back of a custom press motorcycle allowed to ride within the race routes near the riders. In Europe, people recognize Graham as often as they do the top pro riders.

Graham is also good enough to not really need IS lenses, although don't quote me on that, since I don't really know what his equipment currently consists of (not that it matters when one is at his caliber). His early work seems to be just as good. Something about 3 or 4 decades (or more) of shooting literally millions of frames can do wonders for one's shooting style, I guess.

And Graham has more posters and magazine cover shots than I'll probably ever shoot single frames in my own lifetime.

Graham stopped in Chicago last fall for an invitational book signing event the local cycling advocacy group put together. I didn't attend, but would have if money was no object. Together with the ticket price ($100), plus purchasing the latest coffee table book (~$70.00) for him to sign, plus transportation or city parking (~$30) I would not had enough money to eat that week. Too bad, since it was probably the only time I'd ever get to see the guy in person.

[wholenewlight]

Not not the Tour de Georgia. . .

but my results from the Wachovia Challenge last year.

http://cs-pics.smugmug.com/photos/4754310-L.jpg


more similar shots from this race in my gallery. (http://cs-pics.smugmug.com/gallery/131104)

Love cycling photography and Graham Watson (http://www.grahamwatson.com/) is my hero!

[wxwax]

John that's really nice work! great stuff.

[wholenewlight]

John that's really nice work! great stuff.
Big thanks for the kudos.