Photo Report from 2012 Centurion at Blue Mountain
This weekend I was up in the beautiful Blue Mountains, Ontario at Blue Mountain Resort to cover the 2012 Centurion. This is my second year photographing this event and it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites. The incredible scenery in the area, combined with the sheer number of cyclists, all clad in their colourful kits, make this a shooter’s dream. I drive these roads often on my way to shoots and find the imagery so striking that I habitually find myself wanting to pull over to record it. I’m always in a rush, on my way to a shoot and never permit myself this creative treat. This event allows me to capture the sport I love in some of the most picturesque scenery around.
The light during last year’s event was some of the best I have been blessed with in some time. The forecast for this year’s race was all over the map leading up to the event. What was initially anticipated as two bluebird days turned to rain on Saturday for the C25 race and mostly sunny for the C50/C100. Temperatures also dropped to a chilly 3° overnight on Saturday, making for a brisk start to the C50 and C100 races on Sunday morning.
I got up at o’dark:30 to get out on the course to capture the lead group of the C25 race. When I peeked out of my comfy hotel suite in the village, it was dark and raining. Not really a photographer’s, or racer’s, choice conditions. I contemplated not even heading out, knowing that the likelihood of making a nice exposure would be next to impossible. As I looked further out into the sky, I saw some interesting light and the odd patch of blue. I became optimistic and I thought there was a small possibility it could open up. If it didn’t, the mixed conditions could make for an epic shot. As the old adage says: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
The courses changed this year and, in doing so, added a few more challenges to an already difficult event to cover. My favourite section of the C25, where I got some bangers last year, was removed. I drove the course when I arrived on Friday night and didn’t see anything that I found comparable on the new course. To add to this, the course this year did not double back on itself. While this made it simpler to drive along the route, it meant that I only had one break to get a shot of the lead group. It also meant I had to contend with more cars in my shots, not really something I was after in my compositions. Last year I was able to snap riders coming in and back out of the same section, greatly increasing my options.
The sky never broke until the end of the race and by then the riders had noticeably thinned out. I tried to make my way back to the front of the race but traffic was not my friend. It’s not that I have an issue shooting individuals; it’s just that this event’s signature is its overwhelming number of participants and that is what I was looking for. The sky was epic however and I decided to focus my efforts on recording the conditions in which the racers had to compete.
On Sunday morning, I header out bright and early to get to my ‘spot’ and shoot the C50 and C100 riders as they rolled through. My strategy was to find a place where the entire field would still be together so that I could illustrate just how huge it was. Throughout the race I tried to leapfrog the pack and find some nice locations to frame them in. I was disappointed to see that one of the epic climbs was removed from the course. This was one of my favourite areas to shoot last year and I didn’t find anything that quite replaced it. I changed my style and focal lengths a bit this year and was quite happy with the results. I opted to use a 2x teleconverter with my Nikkor 200mm f/2.0 lens. This lens is such a killer piece of glass. With the 2x’ tele’ on, that got me out to 400mm at f/4. I stopped it down further to f8, so two stops from wide open with the converter. One of the big new features added to the D4 was autofocus functionality up to f/8. This was one of the first times I tested it with a 2x and it worked like a charm. I’ve had great success with the 1.4 ‘tele’ as well. One wants to use teleconverters sparingly as they rob you of light and only work with the top-end, fast glass. This 200mm f/2 was still tack sharp and let in more than enough light. I had this combo on my D4 and used a Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 on my D3. Here are a few keepers from the C50 and C100.
Big thanks to Tim and Krista from Centurion as well as all the amazing crew at Blue Mountain. See you all next year!
Be sure to check out www.ridingfeelsgood.com for all your cycling news.
Some epic ones, here Marc! After I yelled at you, i was thinking how that early sun and light was going to be a treat to shoot in! Bummed that you missed my good and bad sides;-)
Thanks E.O. The light was pretty killer indeed! Was great to hear the the shout out from the pack as you zoomed by. Pretty impossible to snipe a rider in that pack. Would have loved to get one of you. Hope you had an awesome ride!
These pictures are amazing. So creative and beautiful. The cloud shots are awe-inspiring – as is the picture of the disabled athlete. Great work Marc!
Thank you for the kind words KLB!
C25 race – as i travelled down conc 6 in the rain, staying steady with a prone cyclist, pouring rain slick and cool – i knew also the lighting was epic. as we turned on to Poplar side road it rain harder – the black clouds and Osler Bluff in the distance made a the most dramatic picture
i let the prone cyclist get ahead of me (we played back and forth for several miles)
i wished i had a camera for the view was spectacular – the rain made the newly paved road shine as the sun poked its head out revealing the reflection of his bike behind him on the pavement – it was a moment! Made my ride super bright so I pulled up and said “i only wish you could have seen what I saw, killer picture of you” he laughed and and said he weighs 25lbs more now all soaked, i said good, i can maybe beat you now!
annie
That’s very cool Annie. Thanks for the rider’s perspective of the C25.
I was a little nervous as I just bought my road bike two weeks ago and voila, out for a C25 ride! The pictures are just beautiful and as always I so love Blue’s landscape, land and water!!
That’s the spirit!
Hey Marc – amazing photos! Justin Moore is in the second one – how can I get a copy for him?
Hi Colleen. Please email me at landry(at)fasttimesinc.com and I will send you instructions. Thanks.
Very impressive photos. Do you mind if I post your blog on the Collingwood Cycling Club’s website? Kind Regards, PJ
Hi Patrick. Thanks. You may repost a link to the blog. Thanks for sharing! Cheers.
Tack sharp is right, Marc! Some of the best photos I’ve seen of Collingwood EVER. I can’t find myself in any of the photos yet I keep looking at them over and over again. The group felt large to be in It, but to see it through your eye is a revelation. Truly beautiful shots. Thanks so much for these.
Thanks Evan. Really nice to hear that! I love doing this almost as much as riding and it gives me great pleasure to make riders like you stoked. Honestly, the groups were so huge. I have bursts of 30 plus frames of just one group going by. Was mind blowing.
These shots are absolutely amazing! Will you be posting anymore?
Hi Jonathan. Thanks for the kind words. This was a commercial shoot so I wasn’t really shooting the event like I would when I post individual images to my online store. I do have several requests though so it’s possible I do at a later time. I’ll contact you if that is the case.
That would be fantastic! Even if they are unedited, it’d still be a treat. A lot of us cyclists go our entire careers unphotographed and ride solo/small groups on the weekends and never get noticed. So to potentially see ourselves photographed by a professional is like a dream come true.
I hear ya Jonathan. No one shot races when I was coming up (MTB). I only have one out of focus picture of myself. I don’t want to get your hopes up but will certainly contact you if I put anything up in my online store. Thanks!
Great stuff, love the wide-angle shots. Glad to see the OCTTO-Cervélo team was active at the front. The Doc was way way at the back and missed the action!
Thanks Doc! Thanks also for sharing the link on twitter! Cheers.
Absolutely fantastic photos. Happy to find myself featured in one, cresting a hill, at the front of the pack, where I worked all day. Very pleased. Will shoot you an email, and hope that Krista/Graham/Tim will let you send me a larger res, watermarked version!
cheers,
robb
Thanks Robb! Email with instructions sent. Cheers!
Great stuff as always! I love how the sky and scenery came out in those!
Looks like there was a huge turn out for the weekend (photo 9) really, really huge turn out…
Thanks Dean! The light was really nice. Could have even used an ND filter a few times to make it even more epic. They just don’t mount easily on the massive front element of the 14-24mm. Did you get anything good at Crank The Shield?
I didn’t make it out. Ended up working late on saturday and ran around looking for school supplies on sunday. Oh well, I’m done with work now, so I’ll have more time to do fun things! Hopefully going to go spectate/shoot the Minidrome next weekend!
Beautiful pictures. Made me feel lame about sucking out this year. Great showcase for this area.
Thanks Stephen. There is always next year right.
Wonderful photos. I’ve been spending my weekends in Collingwood for all of my 23 years and I agree that these are some of the best shots of Collingwood I’ve seen. Beautiful composition!
Thank you Laura. I love Collingwwod and the region so it’s nice to hear that I have captured it for locals like you to enjoy.
These are amazing pictures. The RBC GranFondo series could use this type of photography service. I just did the Whistler Fondo, and the pics are not close to these
Thanks Jeff. Agreed, I’m sure the Whistler race would have yielded some breathtaking images.
Really really great pictures. Your pictures really do bring out the feelings of that race.
Thanks!
Thanks Simon! That is always my ultimate goal!
Not just a race, an experience. Yours pictures are tremendous and reflect that entire experience. As much as I love competing and digging for that extra ounce of energy I found myself many times during the race looking in awe at the beauty of the area and your images caught just how spectacular it was.
Thanks from Ken.
Thanks Ken! I’m sure you saw some incredible scenery along your route. It’s one of the things I like best about cycling.
These are fabulous shots. Would you mind if I used a couple of them for my race report blog? I would credit you of course as well as include a link to your blog site. I won’t be offended if you’d rather not.
Hi Richard. I don’t mind helping you with an image or 2. Please email me and let me know which images you’re interested in. Maybe in exchange you’d be interested in writing a few stories for http://www.ridingfeelsgood.com . Cheers,
A wonderful event. Perfect weather. So proud of our son Clay.
Thanks Frank and Gail. Sounds like your son Clay had a great day on the bike.
Marc
Awesome photos .Thanks so much for sharing.
It just so happened it was my best competitive experience ever. And as luck would have it , you got a great one of me. Thanks so much.
How can I get a high res copy? Gotta print it and put it on my ” wall of fame “.
Lou
WOW these photos are amazing. I participated and enjoyed the experience and the riding very much, and these photos really capture it all. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Cheryl! Happy to hear you like the photos.