I made my way downtown this afternoon so I could stake out my claim on some turf to photograph the 2nd stage of the Amgen Tour of California Bicycle Race. It is the longest bicycle race in America. I am lucky enough to have friends in the parking business so the closed lot full signs did not stop me. After parking I made my way out front and found a decent space where I could see the riders as the first crossed the tower bridge.
Now here is where my experiences at the Sacramento Train Museum Photowalk came into play. One thing I learned on the photowalk was not to give in to supposed “professionals”. I overheard many of the amateur photographers discussing this attidude in relation to their right to be somewhere just as much as the next guy or gal. So, I found my space, checked with the event authorities to make sure it was ok – and I refused to budge. I did not move when the guys with the super dupper long and expensive lenses showed up. I did not move when an hour later the other amateurs showed up and I really really refused to move when the point and shoot crowd in business suits came running from office buildings and tried to shove in front of me. Nope you all would be proud. I stayed my ground.
I was fortunate enough to meet some very nice semi and professional photographers along the roadway while I waited. One nice man took the time to share his experiences and gave me a few tips about my camera. Together we held our ground!
It amazed me how many stupid ( that is being kind ) people after the police had cleared the streets actually ran out into them and then had attitudes when the police would holler out at them. Then there were the drivers who just could not grasp the fact that the roadway was closed. The big orange barriers surrounded by police on motorcycles, bicycles, horseback, and bicycles, had still left them clueless as they would try to drive around the barriers to make their turn onto the closed road. It was amusing if nothing else. Two and a half hours after arrival the cyclists crested the horizon of the tower bridge road.
We all started snapping off shots.
And about 30 seconds later – we were done. The bicycles were out of sight again!
The End of my first attempt at shooting moving objects LOL
This post has been nominated for The Sacramento Bee’s roundup of
regional blogs, which appears Sunday in Forum. As part of an
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John Hughes
[You can delete this comment after responding — or not]
Assuming we use this post in Sunday’s Blog Watch article, can we get a full-size copy of the No. 2 and No. 3 photos — riders in pack and closeup — to use to illustrate the post? JPG format.
Contact me at jhughes at sacbee dot com.
Thanks,
John Hughes
I have come to the realization that I have missed a great day of road race watching, even if it was for only 30 seconds! In addition I could have used some of those tips from other photographers as well.
After finding your article on SacBee I noticed it said when the article was published and I was able to get the section and save a hard copy. It is too bad that the pictures where not published but I am sure it was for good reason.
Kudos for standing your ground, some people can be so pushy, especially those who consider themselves professionals. I guess they can learn a lesson about promptness for a certain female who goes by the moniker Kmilyun.