Camera Labs

Not seen any cyclists but the 3 photographers I posted q picture of at the finish of stage 1 are having dinner opposite:) No photos this time though.....

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Feels like it was a long day today, exhausted. Can't imagine what those cyclists feel like after cycling for 4 days!

Got some shots I was happy with today. Tomorrow I may try a little tilt-shift video, though I need to update my bios on the 5D if I want to control it manually (I think).

I have added a gallery of today's stage here. A few shots below.

A demain:)


Thomas Voeckler (second place in this pic just at the last bend) won this stage.

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Some more from today. Exhausted!

Hill-climb faces:)









Loads of photos

here if you want to see more.

God knows how the riders feel, I am dead on my feet trying to follow them! Still, having so much fun and learning so much.

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DP, I like the website series, looks like you captured what happens on a race, group shots and tight framing to show the natural stress and pain on the riders, tight framing are my favorites here.

I did notice one posted here was cropped from a shot on the website and I think in this case the cropped version is better, guess it's better to shot a bit wide than miss a shot. Good job, it makes me more keen to shoot our marathon again in June this year, around 4,000 runners.


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

hey 4xxxx, thanks for the feedback. Yes, a lot of them are cropped for sure. I am cheating a bit today and re-posting the gallery with tighter crops. I was too tired last night to do it:)

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I really enjoyed stage 6 today. It was a time trial so I had time to play:)

Photographed much tighter too and had the company, for most of the day, of a cool photographer from a French cycling mag. He gave me some good tips too:)












Loads more photos can be foundhere

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damn they lean so far over ! I tried to do that but ended up falling going to fast around a roundabout a couple of weeks back, now i take my time abit more . Any tips you could pass on from the Pro ?

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EOS 400D+BG-E3 Grip --- EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 --- EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM --- EF-S 50mm f/1.8 --- Zeikos 0.40x fisheye adapter

My Flickr

I noticed you used the lens close to wide open although it appeared sunny, was this to freeze the riders and did you use the CANON 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.

Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

@Tom - no idea how they manage to stay on. If I get the chance I will ask:)

@4xxxx - it was very cloudy yesterday, hardly any sunshine. I shot in TV mode to ensure I froze the action, mostly between 1250 and 1600. I also shot at 100 to take some panning shots (with the kind instruction of the French bike mag photographer).

Yes, I used the 70-200 f2.8 IS II. The bike mag photog was using a 300 f2.8 fixed. No IS on it as it was an old one (Nikon). Beautiful bokeh on it. It makes me want to get one if I decided to shoot our de France:) It is big, but not too big. I will check out the Canon one to see what it is like.

It seems that this year, instead of it being a race to the sun, it is actually the inverse!

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A very wet, cold and windy stage 7 just finished. Some photos below.

It must have been really tough for these guys today. It is really cold and very wet!

Some more photos can be found here

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OK, you will be happy to know this is the last stage post, so no more from me on Paris-Nice! Good job this is not Tour de France, I think there are something like 21 stages.


Not a great photography day. I decided not to photograph the start/finish as I had planned, as quite honestly I did not fancy standing in the rain for 4 hours to secure my finish spot.

I have to say I have really enjoyed my photography holiday, especially as photographing road cycling is so tough. I think I have learned a lot and plan to have a think about all the things I did wrong and get it right for a few stages of the Tour de France.

Today I chose to photograph the race close to the highest point; though I did not choose well, as the cool backdrops I wanted to get were never in shot!

Anyway, still another enjoyable day and back to Paris tomorrow to spend the rest of my holiday adding some much needed gigapixel photos to my website.

Some more photos can be found here

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http://www.parismetrotrash.com

DP, start and finish for photos can be quite boring especially after the winner crosses the line. The high spot where you shot on this stage in my opinion is the best place to be for a phototog to capture the strain and pain of the riders. I enjoyed this series.


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

impressive shots,
I love the one with the red car in the background.

@4xxxx - I agree and I do not regret not photographing the start/finish. I regretted not finding a better spot to photograph them at the top of the hill.

As I drove to the location I wanted to photograph them, I noticed a spot and thought i would be great. As I was on a bendy narrow road, I continued on up to turn around. I turned around by the 'best hill climbers' sign, which is where I wish I had photographed them. I sometimes get focused on one thing, which in this case was the earlier spot I had decided to photograph at.

Being decisive has a few pros, though in this case it meant I did not photograph at the best spot. A lesson learned and the next race (in Belgium the weekend after next) I will ensure I make more of an effort and consider multiple places tp stop.

@lowliferider - thanks,I will check to see if I have any with the car in shot more.

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Hi D, some really really great shots there. Exciting stuff. I envy you being there to see these races. Hope to see more of them.
Sue

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canon 400D
18-55 lens
tamron70-300 lens
sigma 18-200 os lens

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