AMGEN Tour of California Gallery Show
Images from all over California
Lance acknowledges his Victory
I had seen Lance race earlier this year in two legs of the Tour of California (Sacramento and Solvang respectively). Although it was great to see him riding
again, he didn’t seem like the dominant force he was back in the day.
Galleries from both of those races are in the Mesomorphic album here.
Watching Lance at that time was more entertaining than serious racing. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a lot faster than many of the other riders on those courses, but he wasn’t even close to matching Levi Leipheimer’s performance. To be serious, I thought he was more about promoting cancer awareness.
I figured it would be more of the same this time around.
I was sorely mistaken.
The Lance that showed on in Nevada City was a different man. He was noticeably stronger. And the man was a monster on his bike. For the first 25 laps he rode with Levi trading off first position almost every lap. But there was a point at about the 30th lap where he just changed. Anyone there paying only minor attention would have surely have seen it.
Lance pours it on
Suddenly, he was throwing his bike back and forth as if he were hell bent on a mission. An older gentleman that was standing beside me looked at me and said, “What just happened?” The next time he came around he was clearly separated from the paladin.
From that point each successive lap the distance only grew and I was blown away when about three laps later he was all by himself and the rest of the group was out of site.
At the end of the race while they were interviewing Lance the emcee asked, “What inspired you today Lance?” And he answered (this is from memory so forgive me if it isn’t perfectly accurate), “I don’t know. The crowd was just electric. And there was the smell of the barbeque and the beer and the smell of something else I can’t talk about here.”
The crowd laughed. Nevada City. What can you say?It was a great race.
See the Nevada City Classic gallery here.
Join the AJPN Photo Facebook page here.
I finally got around to posting a gallery of images taken at the 2009 AMGEN Tour of California Opening Prologue that took place in Sacramento, California on February 14th, 2009.
This was the first time I had an opportunity to shoot a time trial event like this. Accordingly, I decided to use my time to practice my ability panning. Another photographer was sitting beside me and I’m pretty sure he thought I was crazy, as he felt it more important to go for the clean, clear shot on each rider.
I’m not a great bike fan so for me that wasn’t as important as getting something more interesting and creative, as well as developing my ability using this technique.
I am content with some of the results and less so with others. You can make up your own mind. Visit the gallery here.
2nd Annual Toe Up Cup - photo 2004 ajpn
I like the word and feel it is a good representation for athleticism and dexterity. So that is what I named my gallery that will feature sports related images.
The first two galleries I added were the first and second annual Toe Up Cups. The Toe Up Cup is a kayak competition that is held in Coloma, California on the Trouble Maker Rapid of the American River.
Unfortunately, I have not been to the event since 2004 due to conflicts of schedule. I have also heard rumor that the event may be discontinued for 2009. Too bad, I was hoping to make a return this year.
More on the 1st Annual Toe Up Cup here.
More on the 2nd Annual Toe Up Cup here.
The other gallery I added was the 2004 Olympic Trials, which were held in Sacramento. I wasn’t able to get too many great shots at that event, due to the large crowds and the lack of access, but I posted what I could.
Marion Jones - photo ajpn
Visit the Mesomorphic Gallery here.
