Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Last week we had a deluge of cyclist descend on our fair area. Over the week 3 sets of races took place. The largest of the 3 was the USA Cycling Jr./Under 23/Elite National Road Championships, which ran in conjunction with the Para-cycling National Road Championships. My partner and I spent the week shooting the action and the emotion of the races.
Racers from the age of 10 and up raced on a variety of courses around town. The younger juniors and para-athletes competed early in the week in a road race around the golf community of Tetherow, a criterium around North West Crossing and an individual time trial on Skyliner Road. The older athletes competed on a similar, but slightly longer, time trial course, a fast and furious 4 corner criterium course in downtown Bend, and the ever grueling road race course around Awbrey Butte.
The older racers were definitely exciting to watch, however I personally got a lot of personal inspiration from the younger and para athletes. Even though in some of the younger age groups there was marked disparity in ability, it was great to see the drive that these kids possessed to try their best and not give up regardless. The para-athletes, some with missing or deformed limbs and others who were blind, showed everyone what it’s about to enjoy the sheer thrill of competition and the determination to let nothing stand in their way. One para-athlete, Bend’s own Rachael Scdoris, is no stranger to high level competitions. Rachael, who is legally blind, has competed in the Iditarod Sleddog race in Alaska several time.
While the older athletes represent the immediate future of the sport, the younger ones represent the enduring nature of the sport. The para-athletes will continue to make an impression on me for many years to come, as they represent the drive and determination in the face of adversity that everyone needs to hold on to and strive to emulate.
Here are some of my highlights from the races. The entire set of race photos can be seen in the galleries at Cascade Event Photography.
Enjoy and stay inspired!
Tags: Bend, bike race, bike racing, Events, motion, National Championships, road racing, sports, USACycling
Posted in Bike racing, Non-Friday shoots, sports | No Comments »
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
A while back, on a trip to Seattle, I had the opportunity to attend a meet up with a group of local photographers for a photo stroll. The group met at the Georgetown Power Plant Museum, an old power-generating facility by the King County Airport/Boeing Field. The museum was having its annual bar-b-que, where they not only opened the plant for guided and unguided tours, but also had old cars & fire engines, model trains and demonstrations of smaller engines (steam, gas, hot air, etc.) for the public.
In the spirit of my past Friday strolls, I decided beforehand to concentrate on a simple element for this stroll, I chose circles and curves. In all my composition you’ll see one or both of those 2 element featured. Having never been to the plant before I was not disappointed with the abundance of these 2 elements.
Hope you enjoy this view into the past as much as I did. I am looking forward to more visits to unique places in the Pacific NW.
Here is a slide-show of some select pictures from this stroll.
As always your comments are welcome.
Enjoy!
Tags: Circles, Seattle, shapes, surfaces
Posted in Circles, Curves, Elements, Non-Friday shoots | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Last night a summer ritual commenced here in Bend, criterium (or crit) races at Summit High School (put on by Central Oregon Racing). For those not familiar with bicycle racing, a criterium is a race run on a fairly flat, short circuit (typically not longer than 1 mile). Racers do a set number of laps or race for a set time. There are intermediate sprints (a.k.a. primes (prn. preems)), which add to the excitement as racers try to win swag or money (depending on the race). These races are great for American spectators as they tend to be fast, dangerous and fairly short (and often filled with crashes)–kind of the NASCAR of bike racing. The racers are separated by age or ability (or both). The C.O. series has 3 categories: Women & Jrs (under 18), B (category 3/4/5 racers any age), A (category 1/2/3 racers any age).
This weeks race is the prelude to a big week of cycling in Bend, which will see racers from all over Oregon and the US come to compete in the USACycling National Road championships (Tues-Sun), the NW Crossing Hullabaloo crit (Friday) and Pickett’s Charge Mtn 
bike race (Sunday). Turn out was somewhat light as some racers are getting ready for National or for the venerable Elkhorn bicycle stage race in Baker City, OR this weekend. Here are some highlights from last nights race and a gallery of all the photos shot. Stay tuned next week to Cascade Event Photography (my event photography company) for more pictures from all the racing.
Enjoy!
Tags: bike race, CO crit series, crit
Posted in Bike racing, Non-Friday shoots, sports | No Comments »
