MTB

Feb

2017

Jetblack 24hr MTB

Last weekend saw the 2017 running of the Jetblack 24hr MTB race. This year the race was held at Awaba on the NSW Central Coast.

A crack in my radiator saw me running late to the event and missing the start which was a shame as there is always great shots to be had of the pack leaving the gate. In one way though, it was kind of a blessing as, for the first time, I was in the start area for the running of the kids race. I’m are normally out on track by this time and miss shooting it every time.

Once out on track the warm day saw thunderstorms building and it wasn’t long before they rolled on in. I stayed out through the rain well protected in my rain gear and dry under an umbrella but when the bolts of lightning started to get close I returned back to the car for a quick break and sit the rest of the storm out.

Night fell and I kept it close to the camp and start area. There is plenty to shoot in close vicinity. I found a nice little bridge and started dragging my shutter to get the nice long light trails and used a combination of flashes to capture the rider as they went past.

I snuck in a couple of hours sleep and set off again in the morning. After a short walk out I found myself in an area completely new to me. The rainforest here was nice and dark with a few patches of sunlight in which to trap the riders. I know there is still another section further out that I haven’t had the chance to visit yet but that will have to wait till the next time.

24hrs are tough races. They are physically and mentally exhausting for the riders but also to a degree for us. They do offer some fantastic opportunities to get shots that you wouldn’t normally be able to get during a usual days race, the night shots and the golden light of morning and sunsets (we missed this due to the heavy cloud cover this time). Because of all the variations 24hr races are among my favourite to cover.

If you have an event that you would like covered swing on over to Outer Image and touch base with us so we can work out how best to suit your needs

: The up and coming stars

: Starting out early

: Claudia Fiess knocking out laps in the rain

: Nightfall and the riding continues

: Jemma Burtonwood, the women’s elite winner of the Jetblack 24hr MTB

: Dragging out the shutter on the bridge

: Morning dawns grey

: Jetblack 24hr MTB

: Jetblack 24hr MTB

: Deep and dark rainforest

: Final turns

: Male Elite podium

: Female Elite podium

Dec

2016

B24, Base in Bright

Once again the Thule B24 has rolled around put on by Base in Bright down at the beautiful little Victorian town of Bright. Nestled in the Victorian Alps Bright is set up for the biker with trails running everywhere to suit all levels of skill.

The threat of rain kept the numbers lower than expected but considering the forecast the turnout was great and certainly not a the small race it was when it kicked off 4 years ago. The weekend started out at the Bright Brewery with a track stand contest and a few beers while metres away people were casting flies into the water to chase the trout.

Saturday lunch saw the race get underway. First out were the solo racers then followed 15 mins later by the esprit d’ corps category. I shot a bit along the river then headed out to the new section of track called Tombstone. By all reports this super-flowy section went down a treat and everyone who came down were all smiles. Basically though, all the track was new as the course had been reversed this year to accommodated taking in Tombstone.

Early Sunday morning around 1am, I had just about dozed off in the back of my car when the sky lit up and the heavens opened with a bang as a thunderstorm rolled in. I felt pity for those still slogging it through the night. Some pretty torrential rain fell over night but by morning it had eased back a bit. A constant rain fell through the sunday at times becoming heavy again. I was rather helpless as first my lenses started to mist and then I saw moisture forming inside the camera itself. Not much to do but keep shooting anyway.

By the end of the races those who were still out on track came back plastered with mud but still the smiles would not leave them. I have long wanted to shoot a few portraits after a muddy race like that and I got more than my fair share of mud-encrusted faces after the race finished up

Sam Moffitt took the win with his first 24hr victory and Courtney Henry took the win in the female solo category with her 3rd ever mtb race.

If you have an event that you would like covered swing on over to Outer Image and touch base with us so we can work out how best to suit your needs

: Fly fishing on the Ovens River in Bright

: Overlooking Bright

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: Inside the great marquee

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: Night on the pumptrack

: Cruising Angel Alley

: Early morning light

: Down by the river

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: Solo Female winner Courtney Henry

: All mud and smiles

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: Sam Moffitt, the Solo Male Winner

: The Thule B24 mountain bike race in the Victorian Alps around Bright

: Empty Trails of the next day

: Rain in the mountains

Dec

2016

Harrison Dobrowolski: Enduro MTB

I went up to the Blue Mountains and met up with Harrison Dobrowolski, one of the young guns on the Australian Enduro circuit. Harrison has been ripping it up on the tracks and walking away with the goods in the races. This last year he took out the Under 17’s Superflow Enduro series winning it outright. More recently, he stepped it up with his first foray into the Elite category for the Superflow Enduro Championships at Ourimbah and finished up on the podium again. Definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming years.

I met Harrison at his place in Katoomba and he showed me around one of his favourite trails in the mountains, No Friends near Mt Victoria. It’s a great flowy little trail with some really cool features. It would be quite a challenging trail in the wet as it runs down a small waterfall and along a steep slope under a prominent rock-band.

If you are an athlete looking to pump up your profile or portfolio, or you represent a company or brand looking to promote your athlete, get in contact and we can work out how to get the best images to support you..

: Only a trickle in the dry.

: Some great features on the No Friends trail

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski on the No Friends trail near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski on the No Friends trail near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski on the No Friends trail near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski on the No Friends trail near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

: Into the ferns near the bottom.

: Young gun Harrison Dobrowolski on the No Friends trail near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

Nov

2016

Aiden Varley: Downhill MTB

I had a bit of a shoot with downhill mountain biker Aiden Varley after the Thule B24 a couple of weeks ago. We cruised around the hills of Bright, checked out a few different spots and tried out a couple of different ideas that I had floating around in my head. Unfortunately Aiden’s downhill rig was out of action so we shot with more of a lean towards enduro. Also, after shooting for almost 24hrs out of the previous 36 I was more than a bit shattered and vacant-headed. It sort of made those ideas of mine a bit blurry. Never the less we still got a few shots.

We did a short shoot on the new Hero track which is looking amazing. Its has some great views around the top section before ducking down into the pine forests. Then we headed to a simple little trail called Sycamores which led through a beautiful little stand of, yes you guessed it, Sycamores. Next time we meet hopefully he will be back on his big DH rig and I shall be a bit more on-point and focussed.

If you are an athlete looking to boost your portfolio or a company or brand looking to promote your athlete get in contact and we can sort out how I and my imagery can best help you.

: Aiden Varley on the Hero trail at Bright

: Aiden Varley on the Hero trail at Bright

: Aiden Varley on the Hero trail at Bright

: Aiden Varley on the Hero trail at Bright

: Aiden Varley on the Hero trail at Bright

: Aidens in the mist

: Under the canopy of Sycamores

: Under the canopy of Sycamores

: Aiden Varley making a creek crossing in Bright

Mar

2016

AIPP State Awards 2016

A new rule this year for entering the Australian Professional Photography Awards meant that I must first enter the NSW State round in order to qualify for the national round.

I previously did not have much knowledge of printing which let me down somewhat in the last national round. Despite it being an important part of photography I never had much of a reason to print before. I would send my photos off to clients and such and see them when they came out printed in magazines or ads and the like. That for me was the printing process. Although my prints did ok last year they fell just short of scoring a silver that i would need to qualify for this year

In order to try and improve my scores I met with some industry bigwigs and had them review my print entries from last year. All pointed to certain points in my printing that I needed to keep an eye out for and improve such as black point and paper choice.

I spent a more time choosing pictures and preparing prints this time around. My printing process and knowledge was aided greatly by the wisdom of Angus Benham of Gusha pro in Brookvale. Angus’s help was invaluable in pointing me in the right direction and helping me with everything from choosing the best paper, running numerous test prints on different types of paper and overseeing the final production of the prints themselves.

I needed at least two 80s to qualify for the national round. I’m happy to announce that out of my 4 images I selected to enter I received an 82, 81, 80 and a 76.

Bring on the Nationals!!!

If you need to get the best prints possible from your images be sure and check out Gusha Pro here for your fine art printing needs

: FreerunnerDominic Di Tomasso plays on a wall at Kirribilli

: Jacob Druce makes a crossing of the White Ninja Highline.

: The first round of the 2016 Superflow Enduro series took place at Ourimbah on the Central Coast

: Riders coming through Nyes Creek in the Willo enduro

Nov

2013

King’s School MTB Classic

King’s School at Parramatta was the venue for last weekend’s mountain bike race that I was covering with OuterImage. It was on a short course of around 4km’s and a short race of 2 hours but this just meant that the pace was stepped up and laps were knocked out at high speed. The short course also meant there was a constant stream of people coming by once the field had spread out a bit, everyone from the head down and go hards to the just out for a few laps and a giggle with my kid type of people.

The temperature warmed up through the day and started to push up into the 30’s adding to another test of endurance for the riders. Shooting down in the shade of the trees things were a bit cooler. Being busy like that and the short time meant that it was all over before I knew it.

We tried a few different things this race including a series of black and whites and Gil setting-up some strobes to get a set of portraits from before and after the race.

To finish off the day Cadel Evans and Jack Haig, two of Australia’s cycling superstars, were present to give out the trophies and also to cut the ribbon officially opening the track.