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My 1st Downhill race coverage

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
EDIT: New photos added in page 2

This past weekend I went to the Portuguese city of Covilhã to cover the Downtown event, a downhill race at bursting pace, through charming old streets. It was very much like the Downtown race in Lisbon, although the course was longer and a bit more technical. As always this type of race draws great attention from the public, and is a blast to watch.

I took hundreds of photos, but with this series I'm trying to depict a less conventional approach to this sport coverage. Tell me what you think about them! :)










 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
it's a cool point of view in this set of pictures. you definitely get a feel for the surroundings and the locals interest and curiousity in the event.

does the rider in the 2nd photo have a RedBull helmet or is it a homemade? Could it be Antonio Leiva (sp)?
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
AlmostHeaven said:
it's a cool point of view in this set of pictures. you definitely get a feel for the surroundings and the locals interest and curiousity in the event.

does the rider in the 2nd photo have a RedBull helmet or is it a homemade? Could it be Antonio Leiva (sp)?
Thanks!

Regarding the helmet, well this was a local race, and that I know of there was only one foreign rider present. The rider in the 2nd photo races for a portuguese team, so I'd say it's a homemade paintjob.
 

corey_rideDC

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
1,368
0
DCmetro
definitely... these pix are well thought out. do you have a background in photojournalism? if not, you should consider it. :thumb:
 

blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
corey_dcstreet said:
definitely... these pix are well thought out. do you have a background in photojournalism? if not, you should consider it. :thumb:
You really did a great job with these pictures. They could be in a bike mag or even National Geographic... :thumb:
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
Hey guys, thank you for the praise! I was satisfied with the way the photos turned out, but this response is great!

Anyway, I don't have experience as a photo journalist, unfortunatelly I shoot for a hobby, not for a living. There is very little demand for photogs in Portugal :/

I'm going to submit this photos to a local mag, with luck, they might want to print one or two.

I have other more "artsy" and somewhat conventional photos (not DH related though :( ) in this gallery, take a look if you want.

I leave you with another photo, this time taken at a skatepark 5 minutes from my place:


 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
nice!

i got a tip about this race some week ago and dled a video from the website but it wasnt very well executed, your pics do the place and the race a lot more justice, that reminds me of that i have to make up my mind about what course to use for my very own urban dh race next february as the uci just approved us for class1 (old e1) status.

what do you guys think i should priorize? scenic-ness, difficulty, space for spectators (we had literally thousands last year)???

strakar if you are interested and can get some print media to back you, id be glad to hear with my sponsors about helping you fly down here

btw thats not antonio in the pic.
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
Thank you for all the support, I really appreciate it!

Answering a few questions, the camera is a Canon EOS 350D, and the objective used in this pics was the Canon 17-85 IS.

The bridge is located in Lisbon, the skatepark although not great, is in an truly beautiful place, the view is great and well... it's near :D

Vitox, I'd love to go to Chile to cover the downtown! I've seen some footage of previous events and it seems that the races have great riders and a great atmosphere! I'll PM you tomorrow about it :)
 

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
17
NM
stiksandstones said:
There is not enough hucking in these pics to make it to decline.

i say send it to decline b/c they need more art less huck.

spoomer is doing all he can........................... :p
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
Today I got back to post on the monkey after a few months away, and decided to share a few more photos, this time from a BMX race coverage in Badajoz, Spain, last October. It was my first time covering a bmx race, a lot of locals, a lot of Portuguese riders too, and a handful of invited riders from all over Europe for a final exhibition race.

In this series I was going for a more artsy look, but I hope you like them :)












This last picture shows the Italian Manuel De Vecchi changing a flat tire in the 4th floor atrium of the hotel, just before the final race. And yeah, the guys were racing through the corridors :D :cool:
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
geez....look at that first pic. Even though at full speed, it looks like all BMXer's are riding similar, this photo shows how they all attack the same obstacle in very different ways!
Great shots.
 

MOTODH

Turbo Monkey
Mar 28, 2005
1,167
0
CT
very impressive, like everyone said they give you a great sense of surroundings:thumb: :thumb:
 

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
Strakar said:
The bridge is located in Lisbon, the skatepark although not great, is in an truly beautiful place, the view is great and well... it's near :D
Dude, what are you saying? That is one of Joe Rich's favorite parks ever. I've heard for years of how great that park and Marseille are. After seeing Etnies' Forward, I've been trying to figure out how to get over there and ride that park. I live in Alicante, Spain, just below Valencia. Are you going to the Maxxis Cup in Gouveia on the 19th of March? I'll see you there!
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
bizutch said:
Notice in this shot how the only guy wearing dickies and a t-shirt jerks everybody out of the gate. Fennell would be so proud!
That was Pablo Gutierrez, and he smoked all competition throughout the weekend... he ended up winning the final (well he was fully outfitted by then ;) )
 

Strakar

Monkey
Nov 17, 2001
148
0
Portugal
bikenweed said:
Dude, what are you saying? That is one of Joe Rich's favorite parks ever. I've heard for years of how great that park and Marseille are. After seeing Etnies' Forward, I've been trying to figure out how to get over there and ride that park.
No kidding... I live 2 minutes (on bike) from that skatepark. You got me thinking about the saying that if you take something for granted you don't really appreciate it; still it's not a big skatepark, I've seen other skateparks posted here that make this one look small, but it IS located in a great place. It's just near the Tagus river, in the "Estuario do Tejo" natural reserve. You can see the flamingos and all kind of wild life there... very peaceful, if you can imagine a skatepark to be like that. Not only that but it's located in the outskirts of the "new Lisbon", so you have a lot of great places with great architecture to fool around with street/urban riding.

bikenweed said:
I live in Alicante, Spain, just below Valencia. Are you going to the Maxxis Cup in Gouveia on the 19th of March? I'll see you there!
I've busted my knee a few months ago, and I've been unable to take any sports photos (crutches and all). I'm currently waiting for surgery, and I'm hoping to be able to drop the crutches in time for the Gouveia race. Hell, even if I'm not shooting I'll be there, supporting a buddy that will be racing (he goes with the name of Lokilopez here on RM), so you can count on seeing me there :cool: