I wanted a chance to shoot something more project-based. A specific entity that was not a static object, and the team is an excellent subject. There is more to it than my love of cycling, or the sports appeal that many of my subjects provide. In addition to these aspects, the basis or mission of the team is what is so appealing to me.

Here is a video created by Richmond Pro Cycling as their 2010 season ramps up.

I am familiar with bike racing as I have been a competitive racer (mountain bike) for years. I have been around a lot of racing and have an appreciation for what it takes to compete at the level these guys do. In addition to being a strong cycling team, the members are also social mentors. Meaning that their primary mission is to work on community outreach just as much as it is to work on winning bike races.

This team is not about recruiting and chewing up raw talent. This team is about cultivating athlete-mentors who can make a difference in their communities. And yes, kick ass in bike races.

These guys take time from their busy schedules to help those in the community. They develop lesson plans to help further the development of the individuals being addressed. The approach is well-organized and makes excellent use of their time and efforts.

2009 was a great season for the team, the beneficiaries, and supporters. Seeing what is being implemented this year, 2010 proves to be even more exciting for these guys.

Stay tuned…

As with the recent ‘Tank Shoot’, the run in did not provide enough speed to gain the desired heights. So extra measures were employed. Bungee measures to be exact.

A heavy, braided bungee is used to pull the riders into the quarter ramp. The bungee is anchored to a tree or other immovable object, and it takes 3 or four grown men to stretch the bungee to it’s required length. Once stretched, the rider hangs on for the ride and makes the hit.

Don’t even ask where this shoot took place.

After a bit of snow shoveling and head scratching, the session was on. Just a couple test runs, and the guys were nailing some nice jumps, jibs, and stalls.

There area  couple other ideas that I have swirling around, and some other guys are offering ideas to capture before the season is up. Stay tuned for more…

My wintertime playground at Snowshoe, WV offers many opportunities for me to expand my sports portfolio. Lots of riders were out this weekend and after a terrain park cook out, everyone was ready to ride for the camera. I am so stoked to see the Kodak courage and what it brings to the riders.

For me, spending more time behind the camera than riding is easy to do when things are running along nicely. As riders show up and throw their best moves, I keep shooting. It is these rare times that I would prefer to not ride. Yes. It is a long day sometimes.

Being a follower of Chase’s blog, I have seen the progression of his online social presence explode as of late with the help of his iPhone – among other things. He recently published a book, the first book of all iPhone photographs, and has since co-created an iPhone app that is designed to add visual effects to photographs taken with the iPhone and publish them to social networking sites. One of those sites is of his creation, thebestcamera.com.

I have to commend him for the vision, energy, and effort he has put forth in further opening an already open and welcoming photographic community.

Sooo, since wedding season is over, focus is on the business side of things with advertising, booking wedding dates, taxes, etc. Luckily, I have had some great opportunities to shoot over the winter.

With the recent (very) cold weather, the idea of whipping out my iPhone and snapping shots is even more appealing than before. No schlepping gear or fiddling with lenses, buttons, and settings. Ah, such freedom. Much like the freedom of riding a single-speed mountain bike – as soon as things warm up that is. In general, the concept of shooting with such a camera really pushes one to focus on the composition and see things a little differently.

So today, I went out with my friend, co-worker, and fellow (incredible) photographer Bryan Elkus for a quick sunset shoot.

Bryan had his 50mm and I had my iPhone. The sunset was shaping up to be another spectacular (I don’t think I can ever get tired of photographing them) sunset on Hatteras Island. We braved the frigid air just long enough to grab a few snaps. I have included some of the photographs that were captured with the iPhone and processed using The Best Camera app.

The great thing about photographing with the iPhone is The Best Camera App for the iPhone. Visual effects are created and accessed in such a way that you don’t have to spend much time post-processing photographs to get great results. The ability to mix and stack filters and effects makes for lots of creative possibilities. Besides all of the photography ‘geekin’ out’ this practice helps to keep photography fun.

Well enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoy the photographs I have created with my iPhone  and The Best Camera app for the iPhone. Stay tuned. More to come.

Getting in so much riding in this short time frame, my legs are spent. So I gladly hauled my gear onto the slopes to get my friends Nick and Ryan to session a feature I have been wanting to shoot. The heavy falling snow always makes for interesting photography, so I wanted to use the lights and pick up the falling snow for effect.

Additionally, the cloud cover was heavy and low. Once the lights came on the slopes a unique ambient light was created. Being deep in the trees, we felt like it was almost daylight. Once the shoot started moving and the riders became more comfortable with the feature, I was able to grab a few shots that I was happy with. Using low light and slow shutter speeds can create some fun photographs and helps to lend to the action.

Sports, or action photography is flooded with great photographers creating incredible photography. Thinking of something that will make a shot unique is always the most important aspect of a shoot like this. Setting up lights and snapping away is the easy part. Once a photographer starts to bend the rules a little, a unique perspective can start to form and sometimes something special can occur. I enjoy looking at other photographer’s shots and trying to see how they set up the shot and what might have been going through their mind when bringing their creative ideas to life.

Tonight, I was trying to leave behind the more straight-forward methods for shooting a scene like this in hopes of grabbing a unique shot. The riders were fun and eager to keep the shoot going and this made my work much easier. I hope to return and shoot the same feature in different conditions to see what might transpire from another session.

Ugh. So many hobbies, so little time.

The official opening weekend for Snowshoe resort in Snowshoe, WV kicked off the 09/10 winter season this past weekend. Originally, opening day was scheduled for last week – the week of Thanksgiving. With plans to be out of town for Thanksgiving already nailed down, I had accepted the fact that I would miss opening weekend. However, with warm temperatures the snowfall and snowmaking to date was not enough to provide suitable conditions for the resort to open as originally scheduled. So opening day was delayed until this weekend. Bummer for the resort, but not so bad for Kim and I.

I left work in Hatteras around 5:30pm this past Friday headed to Richmond to switch cars and pick up Kim along with a season’s worth of snowboarding gear.  I pulled into the drive way, unloaded one car, finished packing the other and hit the road continuing my journey westward. Up to a foot of snow was expected to fall overnight so we wanted to get to the mountain before conditions got too bad. We pulled up to our condo at 2:00am. I think we finally crawled into bed around 3:00am. Not even one flake of snow had fallen.

After waking from an all too short night’s sleep, I was like a kid on Christmas morning jumping around ready to hit the snow. It didn’t help that 8 inches of snow had fallen sometime during the night and was still coming down in buckets. There was no containing my excitement. We were getting dumped on the first day of the season!!!

The drive up the mountain on the ‘back road’ was about as we expected. Two-wheeled drive cars were spinning and careening barely able to make it halfway up the mountain. We drove by some determined kids combining every effort to get themselves up the mountain. I was impressed; they looked as if they might actually make it. If not, they were at least going to enjoy the ride as long at it lasted.

Coming back to the resort after leaving in March was a great first day on the slopes. We saw so many friends that it was like we never left. Hearing about everyone’s summer and what their upcoming plans are is always a great. Everyone was so excited to be back on the snow. Getting the legs back into shape might be a bit of a challenge though. I know it will come, but wow, they felt like noodles. Working at the beach all summer I hardly rode my bikes. My legs are usually quite a bit stronger by this point in the year, so I was feeling the result of the work they were accomplishing.

Of course, I have been brewing up photography ideas about what I want to shoot this year. I was lucky to get some nice shots on the mountain last season, and I can’t wait to start shooting again this year. Actually I have already started shooting. Always keeping my camera gear with me I am ready at a moment’s notice. In fact, I am always pestering my friends, and even strangers to shoot. I actually met a kid tonight that was eager to perform for me at our condo complex on one of the picnic tables. He lives in the Outer Banks during the summer and spends his winters here, so we had a lot to chat about.

There is nothing better than wearing yourself out doing something you love. I was glad to see some of my skills remain, but I have a little work to do before I get back to last year’s level. Also, I have some goals I would like to accomplish, so I need to do some specific training to get my butt into the physical shape required.

By the time the day was over I was ready to hit the sack. Not before a required hot tub soaking though. Ah, hot tub, an incredible dinner with great friends and some relaxing beverages – is there anything better? Uh yeah… A solid night’s sleep. Goodnight.

This morning had been reserved for an early morning kiteboarding session on the ocean with a number of friends since the waves were predicted to be overhead and the wind around the 30mph mark. After waking and realizing the front that pushed through last night killed the wind, I took my time in getting to work by checking the surf (not planning to paddle out) at ‘Buxton Hotels’ at the North end of Buxton North Carolina.

Seeing how much the water encroached on the little bungalows was a little surprising. Having been my favorite surf spot this year, I spent a good amount of time there and noticed the beach smaller, but nothing like what I witnessed this morning. There were crews still working to get a handle on the situation, but it seemed quite useless. Prolonging the agony in my opinion.

I snapped a few quick photographs and ran along to work hoping the wind might come up later and I would get in a session at some point. Having lots to keep me busy at work today I lost track of the time and couldn’t get on the water at all. Oh well, there is always tomorrow, eh?

I did manage to photograph the flickering remnants of another beautiful sunset on Hatteras Island. Not a bad way to wrap up the day.

The event hosted competitors ranging in age from pre-teen kids to masters. The oldest competitor was aged 76 years young. Also, Special Olypmic athletes are represented at this event.

Being a competitive athlete for many of my adult years, I can appreciate the amount of effort these competitors put into reaching an event like this. It was apparent that many of these athletes are serious about their training practices and maintain a unique focus.

Most photographers in this area have their shot of the lighthouse and I have seen quite a few that are nice. I have shot the lighthouse on a couple of occasions, and find myself coming back to it from time to time. This morning I decided the light would make for nice photography.

This past weekend hosted a surf fishing contest, which ended yesterday, and a few fishermen were still in the area working for a big catch in the surf.