Photographing Bicycle Races

A couple of weekends ago, I photographed bicycle races for the time. The races were local, in downtown Albany (Oregon), with the streets barricaded. Photographing in a new situation like this is certainly a learning experience.
The races provided opportunities for a number of different types of shots. To me, low angle shots, rather than shooting from a standing position, make the action appear more dramatic (thanks for the tip, Dale!). Other things to consider were sun/light position, different angles, backgrounds, and matters of motion. Since the race course was set up as an irregular loop through town, there were plenty of different angles to try while having the riders well-lit. I found head-on shots to be some of my favorites.



Getting in tight on the corners was good for close-ups. You can see the muscles flexing and the looks of determination on the faces of the riders.

Capturing the look of the movement and speed is another challenge when shooting the races. Motion blur conveys that for me and panning can add an extra element.


Photographing the races was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again next year. There are more photos of the race on my Flickr Photostream - http://www.flickr.com/photos/robrrobinson/.