The cycling world championships came to Scotland, I decided to try and take advantage of this opportunity to try and take some photographs that I might not be able to again.
First up was a day in the velodrome. Unfortunately wasn't allowed to take in my camera, so had to get creative and test the limits of iPhone photography.
But the real fun was at the elite cross county, felt like I got a real opportunity to flex my muscles and see what I could do. Reckon I got some shots that could give the pros a run for their money. There were a few reasons why I had such a enjoyable time. Firstly, it was an 8 lap race with a lap taking just over 10 minutes, so there was a real sense of having to plan ahead and chose positions carefully for each lap and a great sense of achievement when the plan came off. Secondly, the more journalistic aspect of trying to take photos that tell the story of the occasion, which can only come with pre knowledge of the sport. And finally, some of the shots were pretty visually spectacular. Took well over 3,000 photos (the dangers of burst mode), but had a great time going through them all.
I want to take some time to just talk through and highlight some of the best photos of the day.
Whilst this first image is far from the most visually spectacular, I think it might be my favourite from the day because of the story and symbolism within in. The Swiss rider in the foreground is prerace favourite, reigning and 10 time world champion Nino Schurter, currently leading the race. The rider behind is the home favourite and upcoming road cycling hotshot Tim Pidcock, who would be the eventual race winner. So to me this image perfectly encaptures the sense of "He's coming to get you" and the changing of the guard.
Second image, is probably the most visually striking and is the hero shot of the day. it captures Tom, now comfortably in the lead and only a couple of laps from being world champion, dropping down the big rock feature on the course, cheering crowd in the background. Was actually a tricky photo to get, this was obviously a fairly popular spectator shot so took a couple of laps before I could get in a good position. Background was quite messy, so I'm actually kneeling down to get this so that the riders were nicely isolated against the trees.
Finally, a few images from the Women's race earlier in the day. These score highly for visual impact, but unfortunately have a bit less of a story (the best rider sped off into a big lead). But still, I'm glad I got a chance to photograph the big gap jump, which was probably the headline feature of the course. And some other pictures showing off the visual drama of the sport.
So, overall feel like this was all a very rewarding experience. Learnt some new skills and got a lot of keepers that can slot into my portfolio. Very enjoyable couple of days, congrats Scotland for putting on a good show.