Recent Shots

House on Anarchist Summit

Johnston Canyon

Mighty Rider- Cross Provincials

Kevin Calhoun on route to the win at the Provincial Cross Championships

A Tour of the Okanagen Springs Warehouse...so full of beer...beautiful

Cross Checked!

Over the barriers - Starcrossed 2008

Always stayed away from cyclocross. I used to race so much during the spring summer months, that I just wanted to rest once the fall cross season rolled around. This year I am inspired! I have'nt been racing at all this year so I decided to get my fill with cyclocross this fall.

Ryan Trebon at Starcrossed 2008

I have always looked at Cross with a sense of curiosity and bewilderment. I overheard a fellow racer call it the crack cocaine of bike racing. Makes sense. The races are short and sweet...a quick hit so to speak. The pros racing, at the most, 60 minutes. They are mildly anarchistic for racers frantically make their way through narrow courses that wind like labyrinths through a public park or a farmer's field. You race on a modified road bike, designed with mud clearance in mind. They combine facets of road biking, mountain biking and steeplechase. They are mostly off road, and with the fall Scottish weather, the sport surface is soggy, muddy, dirty and challenging. How much fun is that!

Jeremy Powers at Starcrossed 2008

Even more fun is taking pictures of cyclrocoss antics. The challenge, drama, excitement, speed, pain and accomplishment. Trying to capture all via camera is a fun task in itself.

Tom Skinner at Team Wedgewood Cross 2008 - Vancouver B.C.

Here are some links to some of my new found gurus of capturing cross. My favorite is PDXCross. These guys from Portland go to all the local races, hop on their bikes, race in their chosen categories, then when finished their races they don the cameras and shoot the other categories. They get home and post the images in a slide show for all their brethern to see! They really portray the magic of cross, and what it means to the regular blokes like me who want to burn some calories, enjoy the mud and have fun with their buds. Next is the Cyclocross group on Flickr, here. Shots from all over the world. Lastly, a true cross foto fan named Joe Sales. Great photographer. You always see him out at the Vancouver area races and sometimes at the Seattle area races. He always has a smile on his face, he is an avid strobist with a fantastic eye for the details and essence of cross. Enjoy!

Inspired by the Olympics

Sure the athleticism of the games gets you out the door running to burn off the Pale Ale from the night before, but I find images of the games inspiring me photographically. The best selections I have seen thus far capture the details, emotion, pain, embarrassment, joy, and psych of this spectacular event. Check what I think are the coolest collections here, and here.
L8r.

Pack your Camera Bags

Love beautiful landscapes and wish I could travel more to them. Here is some inspiration via a quote from Rachel Carson;

It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.

And some info. and images on unique and incredible places, gathered on a blog I like to read called The Year in Pictures by James Danzinger.

XC Bike racing in Squamish!

Sean Michelle in the Plunge

Squamish Gearjammer rolled through town last week. I was sad to have not ridden it for I am a tad slow right now…but I decided to take advantage of being slow and went to the race to take pictures instead. I wanted to try some time exposures again, to try to blur the riders but freeze them as the shutter close with a rear sync blast of light from two tandemed SB-800s. Here are some of the shots. Worked pretty well. I ned to work on getting better aim with the flashes and fine tune the amount of light, but I am pretty happy with the results given my experimenting in a dark forest. Enjoy.

Chris Clarke - speed of light (SB-800s i mean)

Always Smiling, Lauren Rosser threading thru the Trees

Galileo Coffee - Pictures on Display

My friends Cara and Lance, owners of Galileo Coffee (best coffee in North America by the way…great muffins too!) have graciously allowed me to show my photographs in the café. Next time you are rolling through Britannia Beach stop in, grab a cappuccino and take a look. Love to hear what you think!

Shot in Mountain Life Magazine

Psyched to get a shot in this months Mountain Life Magazine. Was a picture from a 2006 visit to Skookumchuk Narrows on the Sunshine Coast. There was about 10 paddlers on the wave that day and the tide was coming in high, forming the wave up big. Was a great oppurtunity to get lots of pictures. It is a great place to shoot as you can get up close to the paddlers and the light is always pretty good.