WNYOA Round 5 / Greek Peak

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Round 5 is in the books.  Mother nature was NOT kind to us for the majority of the week leading up to the event itself.  Only on actual race day did she finally relinquish the wet and miserable grip that she had been stubbornly clinging to and let mr. sun come out.  This was, unfortunately too little, too late.  Conditions were wet.  Not terribly wet - trust me - WNYOA has seen, and raced in, far worse - BUT had we had just one or two straight days of dry weather ....  {sigh}  "Woulda, coulda, shoulda ... "  But as many in the race family say, "... it's a hare scramble, deal with it".

And so we did.  :)

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This is just a quickie post to get out some random "faces in the crowd" candid type stuff that I like to do from time to time.  The shot of Bobby J. with trash in his hand is one that he actually asked me to take.

<EHEM>  People - NOT COOL.  You want to keep having good venues to race at?  Quit leaving your shit trash all over the place!! </EHEM>

I deployed mr. remote for both the big bikes AND even the quads.  Yeah -- thats a major trust thing right there ...  lol!  I wound up shooting a LOT of images -- gonna take a while to go through all of them and weed out the bad ones, make first round picks, and then whittle that down to keepers that will wind up getting posted up to the galleries.

Anyway ...  enjoy!

-=- jd -=-

WNYOA 2014 Round #3

Round 3 is now in the books and it turned out to be a great day for racing and the racing itself was great too! I've got a couple of neat little panorama style shots that I wanted to share with everyone from the start / staging area of both the Big Bikes and Big Quads races, and since I'm now into the Big Bikes and Quads photo's I figured that I would just throw a couple more images into this post and then call it a day.  All of the mornings races (Pee Wee's) are already loaded up at the galleries.  You can check them out here.  ( along with the other races as they go up )

This was the start line area for the Big Bikes about 30-45 minutes prior to the actual start of the race. There were still a number of racers who hadn't even come out to staging yet.  There was some good racing to be had and, as you can see, spectacular weather to enjoy it in!

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I moved in to see if I could get one from a closer perspective but because I'm not very tall I just wind up aiming the camera in the right general direction with it held aloft over my head.  Look at this one large - it has some problems as the pano didn't stitch together all that well.  I "corrected" some of the really bad ones (people missing heads or having hollow bodies...  lol ! ) but there are still at least two pretty bad ones in there that I left - see if you can spot them (and others... :)  )

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So it was race time and the premier event of the day was on the line.  the AA/Pro class field is especially stacked this year with really good riders and it has proven so far to be a good one to watch.  I deployed "mister remote" for the first time ( a remotely triggered camera ) and it was able to grab a few interesting shots from its vantage point for the start of the bikes.  "The Bat" Ben Bouwens on his #23 Yamaha came out of the first turn like a shot and grabbed the holeshot.  "Old man" Scottie Rich was hot on his tail pipe with the rest of the field in furious pursuit.  Interestingly enough the defending WNYOA #1 plate of Grant Maryott came through my shooting position in what appeared to be near last place.  Two hours and several laps later it was role reversal.  Maryott demonstrated why he is riding the red #1 plate as he worked his way up through the field and not only caught the flying Bat but overtook him, and at the end of the day left him some 30 or 40 seconds in errors.  Anyone who knows the WNYOA series and has watched it over the years knows that Bouwens is tough - simply keeping up with him is one thing - but to chase him down AND pass him?  Dude ...  !  If everyone on the front line can stay healthy and minimize mechanicals we as spectators could be in for a really good year of AA Big Bike racing!

Bouwens grabbed the early lead and held it for quite a while. This was as captured by "mister remote" | Click the photo to view it larger

Bouwens grabbed the early lead and held it for quite a while. The Bat would have to settle for a 2nd place finish on the day though as a hard charging Maryott caught and passed him.  This was as captured from my shooting position with the other camera | Click the photo to view it larger

Maryott didn't get the greatest of starts for the day but ...  (see next photo). This was as captured by "mister remote" | Click the photo to view it larger

Maryott rode hard and determined which paid dividends at the end of the day. The #1 plate was number #1 coming through the checkered flag.  This was as captured from my shooting position with the other camera | Click the photo to view it larger

This was the start line area for the Big Quads about 30-45 minutes prior to the actual start of the race. There were still a number of racers who hadn't even come out to staging yet.  Yep -- good turnout!

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WNYOA 2014 Race Season Opener

04 May 2014
Mazourek Farms, Newfield NY

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In what is easily the most anticipated hare scrambles event of the year for Central Upstate NY off road racers, round 1 of the 2014 season got underway at Mazourek Farms which is located almost dead center between Ithaca and Horseheads off of route 13.  A typically huge turnout of racers of all ages and sizes showed up starting on Saturday afternoon when the gates opened up for camping.  A persistently wet and cool spring has refused to yield to more moderate temperatures and has resulted in muddy conditions for the last couple of MX races held in the area as well as season ending winter series races.  This weekend would prove to be no different - and would prove disastrous to at least one of the premier events of the day.

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The early races for the kids got off without issue and more or less on schedule (running slightly behind - but again - first race of the year ....  ) and the little ones toughed it out and had some good racing.  The usual army of parents were out in force to help provide extra horsepower and traction where it was needed in the wet and muddy conditions.  The way that the pee wee's and mini's were running at this venue actually allowed for me to wander between both courses ( the pee wee's always run on a smaller, shorter course - some of the little ones are as young as 4 years old!  For real...  :)  ) so I tried to shoot a little of both.  Obviously I couldn't catch the start's of both ... 

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The race that everyone chomps at the bit for, this year in particular, is the AA/Pro class Big Bikes race.  The field is stacked with local talent for this upcoming race season and a high number of fan favorites and contenders were in fact present.

A huge (as in massive - 300+ bikes) bottleneck in one section of the course at about 4 or 5 miles in from what was reported, ultimately resulted in this event being red flagged and called.  There was a LOT of controversy over this and much hand wringing and finger pointing . . .  very unfortunate and not the way everyone wanted to see the season get started.  Mother nature dealt everyone a tough blow in the days leading up to the event and even the night before with a torrential down pour . . . 

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The event promoter and organization quickly huddled and apparently did some quick course changes as the other premier event of the day gathered in the start field - the Big Quads.  A HUGE crowd of fans and spectators were lining the start area and down through the first two or three turns - 3 and 4 deep in places.  Some people had even climbed up into trees looking for a good vantage point - but was this race going to happen or was it going to be called?  Ultimately it did happen and fortunately was able to run it's allotted time.  There was a very serious crash injury to a racer who had to be airlifted to an upstate hospital in Rochester - the latest news is that he is conscious and talking, and his doctors expect a full (albeit lengthy) recovery.

Round #1 is in the books and Round #2 (Victory Mountain) is happening on May 18 in Richford.  Hopefully mother nature will start to cut us some slack with the rain and let conditions dry up some....

Photography enthusiasts:  Some of these were taken with my trusty Nikon D700 and some with the new kid on the block, the wonderfully surprising little Fuji X-T1.  Can you tell which is which?  The Fuji is in no way, shape, or form a contender to the Nikon for full on sports shooting - the Nikon will run circles around it BUT - as I learn it, and as I figure out how to work around what it does and does not do well, I continue to be amazed at just what a wonderful little thing it is...   my older D300 is seriously being considered for retirement.

FPS or Draggin' The Shutter?

When I first got back into photography five or so years ago, I quickly re-discovered that I have a passion for shooting uncontrolled, unscripted, unposed subject.  Basically I shoot sports.  I was a photographer in the Navy back in the early to mid 1980's and basically hung up my camera's for about 20 years before I decided to get back into it.  I purchased my first digital body, a Nikon D80, around 2009 and was smacked in the face with the reality of the fact that I hadn't shot or kept up with the pace of technological change for such a long period of time.  I kind of had to "re-learn" how to shoot again!  Fortunately my background did come in handy as I did have a basic understanding of how light, shutter speeds, iso, etc ...  all play into being able to produce a nice result.  Anyway -- this whole digital thing was a wild discovery and .... wow!  Instant results on the back of the body via the onboard lcd screen and cheap!!!  ( no film, no processing fees, no waiting..  this is great!! :)  )

Nikon D300, 1/80th @f/14, iso 200, 24mm with a 24-85mm nikkor lens, hotshoe mounted sb-600 flash - rear curtain sync | click the photo to view it larger | click here to see the full 1800px export

So getting back to the second sentence - I discovered I have a "thing" for shooting sports.  Initially I was really pretty hung up on frame rate.  ( how may frames per second can a camera body shoot - ie; is it a machine gun? )  I had to have faster and faster frame rates ...  I did also discover more robust "pro level" bodies too.  Not only did they satiate my growing addiction for faster frame rates, but they also tend to be much more robustly built - made out of metal instead of plastic.  And weather sealed.  "Ahhh .. this is good - now I can stay out in the pouring rain at football games, or get roosted with mud and rocks at the motorcycle races ...  Me like.  :) "

Nikon D300, 1/80th @f/14, iso 200, 24mm with a 24-85mm nikkor lens, hotshoe mounted sb-600 flash - rear curtain sync | click the photo to view it larger | click here to see the full 1800px export

Time passes and like all things as we grow and learn, we mature.  I find that while I do still appreciate my 8 FPS bodies that I have - which by today's standard in pro class bodies is considered slow - I also have discovered in recent years that I rarely actually use that 8 FPS capability.  I rarely shoot in bursts of more than 3 or 4 frames in succession, and am more often than not just single tapping the shutter release.  ( shooting single frames as opposed to just mashing down on the trigger and letting 'er rip )  As I come to get a better handle on both light, the gear that I own - and a knowledge of the sports I like to shoot - I find that not only am I slowing down in the machine gunning department of pure frames per second bursts, but I'm also actually slowing down the actual speed at which the captures are made.

Nikon D700, 1/25th @f/25, iso 200, 36mm with a 24-85mm nikkor lens, hotshoe mounted sb-600 flash, rear curtain sync | click the photo to view it larger | click here to see the full 1800px export

"Dragging the shutter" as it is commonly referred to in photo circles.  Basically it refers to using slow shutter speeds to achieve a particular look.  Slow shutter speeds are not uncommonly used mind you - but they are more typically used on stationary subjects.  Sports almost always dictates two basic principles - high FPS and even higher shutter speeds to freeze action.  Both of my bodies can shoot at speeds up to 1/8000th of a second shutter speed.  Thats very fast and it can make for some really spectacular imagery.  But it can also be very "static" too.  I've come to dig creating images that are not only reasonably well focused and exposed, but ones that also evoke a sense of movement or action.  It's actually kind of a challenge getting it (the camera) dialed in "just so" when trying to setup a scene - but then once you do get it dialed in and can make it repeatable ...  one can occasionally come up with some killer grabs!  :)

Nikon D700, 1/25th @f/25, iso 200, 29mm with a 24-85mm nikkor lens, hotshoe mounted sb-600 flash, rear curtain sync | click the photo to view it larger | click here to see the full 1800px export

So anyway -- I was up at Broome Tioga again today shooting a little of both hare scrambles (last race of the 2014 winter series up there) and some MX that they were doing on the MX track.  I was doing a little shutter dragging as presented in the photo's here.  These and the rest from today's batch will get posted up to the galleries over the next few days - keep checking back to see if I shot you.  :)

Season Ending Race @SDR = Good Racing!!

Square Deal Riders 2013-14 Winter Series came to a conclusion today with round #7 getting underway on schedule and with a good turnout of competitors.  A high percentage of the riders were the usual crowd but there was one notable addition - none other than Ben "Batman" Bouwens himself showed up - and he was there to race.

Click the photo's below to view them larger -- more to come that will be getting posted up to the galleries over the next day or so.   Enjoy!

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

Ben Bouwens showed up and won the expert class race.  Scottie Rich gave him a run for his money though and certainly didn't make it an easy one for The Bat.

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

Scottie Rich has been has been a dominant competitor at the years winter series.  Warm weather and good racing conditions lured out none other than The Bat - Ben Bouwens.  Those two put on a hell of a show and lap after lap they had a really good race going.  Bowens got him in the end.

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

"The Kid" Marcus Scutt was in the running early on battling it out with both Bouwens and Rich.  He tangled with lappers midway through and lost touch with the two front runners.

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

SDR Round #7 2013-14 Winter Series

Broome Tioga - Round #2 2013-14 Winter Series

....  so I had anticipated on going to the races and shooting them for the better part of the day today.  I did go and I did shoot.  For a while.  I just wasn't "feeling it".  Shooting just felt kind of repetitious . . . I don't know...   Weather wasn't bad.  It was a bit on the cool side but when the sun was out it was very tolerable - and the sun was out quite a bit.  I hung around for a couple of hours but took off around 12:30 - 1:00pm... I went home and grabbed my dogs, had them jump into the back of the car and off we went to go for a good run.  {shrug shoulders}

Anyway - some grabs from the (brief) period of time that I was up there ...  I'll have these and the rest of the keepers posted up to the galleries in a day or so.  I think I'm in my usual winter "funk" where I just don't feel like shooting, or doing much of anything for that matter.  Hmmmmmm . . . .  March can't get here soon enough - that's "the last corner" of the yearly lap around the calendar.  We come out of that corner and then ease onto the gas going into the home stretch - Springtime and then Summer!

SDR's 2013-14 Winter Series Begins

From Motorsport Racing

The 2013-14 winter mud & snow scrambles race series at the Square Deal Riders (Belden Hill as it is apparently more commonly known to old timers... ) kicked off today under generally decent weather temperature-wise.  It was an "ugly" day with heavily overcast skies, but not terribly cold.  The race had an overall small'ish turnout but there were still probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 or so competitors that showed up to get in some racing.  It is hunting season and we are just coming off of the Thanksgiving holiday...  these could be contributing factors to the turnout.

From Motorsport Racing

In any case - the racing was pretty good, and I was out there catching some of it with my "throw back" camera kit.  I don't know why but I decided to "go old school" and just brought a very simple kit with me today.  I used my older D300 body and a little fixed focal length 24mm lens.  I also decided that I was going to use my old lighting kit that consists of my old SB28's and Paul Buff Cybersyncs.  No "fancy schmancy" TTL SB-600's and pocket wizards today.  As it turned out - I shot the better part of the day not using the flashes at all.  ( I was lazy and didn't feel like setting up the flashes ....  )  I did eventually pull them out later in the day though as the already gloomy skies began to get even gloomier and light was beginning to taper off.  I'd already decided that I was going to be restricting myself to a max 1/320th of a second shutter speed (manual flashes - no high speed sync / TTL voodoo) so I also shot in shutter priority some today too.  Basically I spent the day playing...    I tossed quite a few shots -- 1/250th and below is really not quite fast enough (without any flash) to score a good number of keepers...  that old D300 just doesn't grab focus nearly as fast as the D700 does either.  But -- thats ok -- I still managed to pull of some keepers and they'll be going up to the galleries in a day or so.

Anyway - SDR Round 1 is down, next Saturday the 7th is Round 2 of Broome Tioga's winter series.

More later...