Australia

Snowy Mountain Landscapes

Snowy Mountain Landscapes

Snowy Mountains  I needed to test a little piece of software so I thought I should put up a few landscape images from a recent trip to the Snowy Mountains for your enjoyment.

Posted by Richard in Places, Travel, 0 comments
Redbull Stumps

Redbull Stumps

Last Australia Day I was asked by Redbull to cover a new event they have started called Redbull Stumps. Redbull Stumps is basically a game of  the old Australian tradition of backyard or street cricket. Redbull invited a bunch of locals including the local cricket game around for a hit and brought the stumps, drinks and put on a bbq. They also invited their women’s cricket star Ellyse Perry around to meet the locals and have a bash.

Despite threatening skies the weather held off and great fun was had by all at this small event.

#RBStumps

Posted by Richard in Events, What's going on
Gravity Enduro Rnd 1: Killingworth

Gravity Enduro Rnd 1: Killingworth

And so it begins again, race season…

Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Rollercoaster series kicked off on a scorcher of a day. The expectant temperature was 35C but the temperature readings on some Garmin GPS units read up to 44C. Plus it was one of those days when the sun just seemed brutal and unforgiving. It certainly had me looking for shade whenever I set up for a new shot.

The course, at Killingworth near Newcastle, is new on the circuit but an old track remembered by those who had been riding for a bit. Rocky Trail had set the race to run over 3 tracks, the Fox trail, the BH trail and the Gloryfy trail. For the sake of trying to ensure we got photos of everyone Gil and I took a track each and spent the day on it. Unfortunately this meant that we had to miss out on the Gloryfy trail, but then we need to save something for next time.

Already looking forward to the next round at Del Rio

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
Jetblack 24hr

Jetblack 24hr

Last weekend was the Jetblack 24hr and Australian 24hr Solo Nationals, held at the wonderful Mt. Annan Botanical Gardens on the western side of Sydney. I was the official photographer with Gil and our company Outer Image Collective. For this race, we also called in the help of the talented Michael Vettas from Vettas Media to free our hands for a bit more chance to shoot editorials.

This year a new section of track was incorporated into the loop which by the end of the race had turned to dust, not so good for the riders or cameras but great for the atmosphere in the photos. The wonderful thing about shooting a 24 hr race is that you get to experience all types of light from the harsh midday sun to the black of night and the softness of sunrise and sunset.

The Jetblack 24-hour ends the Enduro season for me this year. It has been a great season and has taken me to some fantastic spots again this year. I am already looking forward to the kick-off next year with the AMB100 in Stromlo.

Below are a few highlights of my shots from the race.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
Thule B24 in Bright, Victoria

Thule B24 in Bright, Victoria

Once again Gil and I hit the road as OuterImage, this time making our way down to the Victorian Alps. It was time  for the Thule B24 enduro at Bright. It’s the second year it has been running and word is getting around about the 24hr race and it’s trails, numbers were up on last year and this year almost 300 competitors registered for the race.

Gil and I arrived on the Thursday evening and scouted the course on the Friday. Although mainly the same course as last year there was a couple of changes to add in more single-track. The track runs out along the river before heading up into the pine forests on the mountainside above Bright. It dips into the pines of Treehugger before the return downhill through a flowing section called Gorilla Warfare and back out to run along the river again. Over the nights we stayed at some great lookout points in the surrounding mountains and rose early to catch sunrise photos.

Race day saw temperatures up into the 30’s and a few people dropping out for a few hours until things cooled again heading into the evening. Many soldiered on though and continued knocking out the laps. As night fell so too did the temperature though not to the same biting chill like the previous year. Lights came on but Gil and I continued to shoot into the night. Eventually Gil and I called it a night.

As Sunday dawned we got back into the shooting in some beautiful mountain light. As the sun rose and the temperature climbed again I made my way deeper into cooling shade of the trees around the river. As the temperature rose even further I actually made my way into the river and cooled down a bit whilst standing knee deep and shooting from there. I wasn’t alone as the race neared completion more and more competitors who had made their final run came down to cool off.

A huge congratulations to all those who competed and a big thank you from Gil and I to all those who helped organise such a wonderful event. Already looking forward to the next one.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, Sports
Vivid Festival 2014

Vivid Festival 2014

Every year for a couple weeks at the end of April Sydney switches on the lights for the Vivid Festival. Various buildings around Circular Quay are lit up in a variety of fashions. There is also sculptures and artworks around the foreshore who’s principle design is based around light. It is a beautiful way to see the city, all lit up like this and it is very photogenic. It is rare to see so many photographers out and about at the same time in Sydney but everyone with a camera makes the trip down to the waterfront over the 2 weeks.

This year I somehow managed to avoid taking any photos of the Opera house though this is one of the main features of the festival. Not sure how I managed that but didn’t realised until I returned home after shooting. Oh well, there’s always next year.

 

Posted by Richard in Events, What's going on