Mountain Biking - Sea Otter DH Pics

The Semi-Pro/Pro DH was this morning. Folks were flying, and some of the women would have kicked the guys' @sses. I took most of the pics at the steep section after the bigger drop on the course. The top part was pretty muddy - they even put a ladder across one section so folks could get across it without completely losing speed.

These are a mix of practice/race, pro/semi-pro, men/women.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1923/dscn05997ms.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9398/dscn06248go.jpg

http://img348.imageshack.us/img348/133/dscn06169si.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9013/dscn06332wf.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4081/dscn06522sr.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7858/dscn06419ik.jpg

http://img348.imageshack.us/img348/9032/dscn06324em.jpg

Some more

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7044/dscn06044bv.jpg

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/9753/dscn05987nv.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6915/dscn06480av.jpg

http://img348.imageshack.us/img348/1001/dscn06359ew.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4661/dscn06432kf.jpg

Didn't get any of the 4X or XC - sorry.

faster shutter speed?

faster shutter speed?
I wasn't messing with the manual shutter speed, but it was overcast and it kept switching, some pics clearer than others. I'm not professing perfection - Hank, did you come down and take any pics?

Thanks for the picts, mtb-chop. Let's me know what I missed (and why I need to kick myself). I love grassy off-cambers and stuff. That's it . . . I'm making the Otter for sure next year. Looks like it's a real peddler's course - am I right about that?

Sweet pics, thanks for sharing.

yummy, the racing kits this year are terrible :(

Looks like it's a real peddler's course - am I right about that?

I'd say it's much more of a peddler's course than a 'point it down and go' course.

That steep section (after the gap jump you see in a few of the pics) is at the top of a pretty good saddle. A lot of speed is built up heading down it, but far from enough to carry you up the other side - some folks (more the semi-pros and some women who didn't carry speed all that well) were working pretty hard to get out of it.

The whole Sea Otter experience is amazing - I can honestly say that I have never seen that many bikes in one place in my life. Over 10,000 competitors and 50,000 spectators over the four days. Heading through the paddock area with all the manufacturers/teams was pretty cool and I got a couple questions answered from the folks at Race Face and Specialized, though I never did see the Sun folks that I really wanted to see. Shimano and Manitou had wrenching help available (I think SRAM did too) for non-team competitors who needed assistance, and tons of places were showing off the latest and greatest stuff - TONS of real-world bike porn all over the place.

Whether it's DH, XC, 4X, DS, or Road, there's something for everyone of all ages that rides a bike at the Sea Otter.

I found this one too - it's the beginning of the Pro Women XC; the XC races start/finish on the Laguna Seca racetrack and are on the track for about a mile before hitting the trails.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/205/dscn06833he.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/205/dscn06833he.jpg

Ah, what a waste of such sweet pavement...

http://www.paradigmhosting.net/images/cork.jpg

Re: your photos

In low/flat light you could benefit from forcing the flash, although the flashes on most point and shoot cameras have a pretty short range, so you need to be close.

When you're trying to capure relatively fast moving subjects in poorly lit situations, you can pan with the rider. This isolates the rider from the background and lends a sense of motion because the background will be motion blurred thanks to your panning.

You can also bump up the ISO higher than 100 (your setting)which will yield higher shutter speeds when shooting in auto mode, as you were.

the XC races start/finish on the Laguna Seca racetrack and are on the track for about a mile before hitting the trails.That would be a kick in itself - - rolling on the same pavement that folks from Yvonne Duhamel to Steve Baker and 'King' Kenny Roberts burned over.

BTW, looked up the results and my friend Kevin Bradford-Parish (who rides for the same shop I do), in his first year as an XC Pro got 55th in the Super XC stage race and 39th in the Time Trial. Way to go Kev.

The XC races took the course backwards, climbed the corkscrew (in the pic Hank posted) and exited the track at the top.


Re: your photos

In low/flat light you could benefit from forcing the flash, although the flashes on most point and shoot cameras have a pretty short range, so you need to be close.

When you're trying to capure relatively fast moving subjects in poorly lit situations, you can pan with the rider. This isolates the rider from the background and lends a sense of motion because the background will be motion blurred thanks to your panning.

You can also bump up the ISO higher than 100 (your setting)which will yield higher shutter speeds when shooting in auto mode, as you were.

Hank, thank you for the tips. My phography expertise doesn't extend past the 'point and shoot' method used.

I also used my same little Nikon to take some video - quality decidedly poor, but better than nothing. I would have posted them sooner, but just uploaded them now.

Click here to watch DSCN0655 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0655)
Click here to watch DSCN0675-84 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0675-84)
Click here to watch DSCN0656-87 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0656-87)
Click here to watch DSCN0670-54 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0670-54)
Click here to watch DSCN0658 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0658)
Click here to watch DSCN0659-75 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0659-75)
Click here to watch DSCN0676 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0676)
Click here to watch DSCN0679-99 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0679-99)
Click here to watch DSCN0681 (http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0681)

That would be a kick in itself - - rolling on the same pavement that folks from Yvonne Duhamel to Steve Baker and 'King' Kenny Roberts burned over.

Having done it in both a car and on a bicycle, it's much, much more fun in a car.

very nice pics