"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - ToC: a few parting shots from stage #3........

my wife just asked me why i haven't left for solvang yet. i told her that i'm tireder than tom danielson after the trek up sierra grade.

she said: "you've got more excuses than bobby julich."

the weather looks like it's clearing so i'm shoving off with my dog and my camera. here are a few parting shots from yesterday.

ed rader

http://www.fototime.com/D380E321E6C8598/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/A9C4BACD19FFAE1/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/1CE9B604C6D55E5/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/CBB6A0406E898E9/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/1B3D0A430FC9DF1/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/77CDADEA279F7B0/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/84F1E71DD8F5505/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/D8C74F0F845CEDA/orig.jpg

Great photos, Ed.

-Ed

Excellent pics erader. What camera/lens are you using? I love that pic of George.

Keep them coming.

Excellent pics erader. What camera/lens are you using? I love that pic of George.

Keep them coming.


thanx! i really do appreciate it. i've posted pics on a couple of lens forums and they were pretty much met with indifference and/or veiled criticism.

so the enthusiasm of this forum is really appreciated.

i used a canon 5d and 70-200L f4 IS lens for all pictures.

ed rader

that dude in the stanford gear looks a little to close to the action

Stacey is too cool for school Ed.

btw - is that film in that guys bibs, or is he just happy to see Credit Agricole? ;)

http://www.fototime.com/CBB6A0406E898E9/orig.jpg

that dude in the stanford gear looks a little to close to the action

i was talking to him for about an hour before the race arrived but i crossed the road because too many people were getting in front of me.

one guy crossed right after me and stood in front of me. he turned around and asked me if i thought this side of the road was better for viewing.

i said i thought it was great and the only person in front of me was him. so he went back to the other side with his buddies :eek: .

okya i'm really outta here now :) .

ed rader

http://www.fototime.com/FC296F39AF67248/orig.jpg

thanx! i really do appreciate it. i've posted pics on a couple of lens forums and they were pretty much met with indifference and/or veiled criticism.

so the enthusiasm of this forum is really appreciated.

i used a canon 5d and 70-200L f4 IS lens for all pictures.

ed rader

you were casting pearls to swine, just like on scwf ;)

Awesome photos. Where exactly were you taking the pics from?


My boyfriend and I rode from downtown Pleasanton, up calaveras and then to the top of Sierra where we hung out for an hour or two waiting for the riders to come through. It turned into total mayhem when Levi came up Sierra!!! It was like a freakin' tunnel with people in the road and barely enough room for the riders until the last minute when people would jump back and let them through...I took a bunch of pics and hope to have them back today. I hope they turned out even half as good as yours!!

Levi looked so incredibly focused and driven - makes sense though given the yellow jersey. What surprised me a bit on stage 3 (and also at the prologue) was how relaxed Basso seemed to be. I had prime viewing spots and got to see Basso up close on both days and was amazed how he seemed to be just going along effortlessly.

[QUOTE=botto]Stacey is too cool for school Ed.

btw - is that film in that guys bibs, or is he just happy to see Credit Agricole? ;) [QUOTE]

he said it was a battery pack for his flash gun but i was still suspicious :eek: .

ed rader

My boyfriend and I rode from downtown Pleasanton, up calaveras and then to the top of Sierra where we hung out for an hour or two waiting for the riders to come through.

I didn't know that Botto was in California?

I didn't know that Botto was in California?


oh please.

Awesome photos. Where exactly were you taking the pics from?


My boyfriend and I rode from downtown Pleasanton, up calaveras and then to the top of Sierra where we hung out for an hour or two waiting for the riders to come through. It turned into total mayhem when Levi came up Sierra!!! It was like a freakin' tunnel with people in the road and barely enough room for the riders until the last minute when people would jump back and let them through...I took a bunch of pics and hope to have them back today. I hope they turned out even half as good as yours!!

Levi looked so incredibly focused and driven - makes sense though given the yellow jersey. What surprised me a bit on stage 3 (and also at the prologue) was how relaxed Basso seemed to be. I had prime viewing spots and got to see Basso up close on both days and was amazed how he seemed to be just going along effortlessly.

i was probably a mile down the road from you. i picked the spot last year because it's right after a steep climb and there aren't as many spectators.

ed rader

Excellent shots with stunning color.

Thanks for sharing :)

Perhaps a few could be cropped tighter (like the one with the 2 CA riders) and you'd lose some of the distracting background

Beautiful Ed. I'm eager to see more. You'll get a boatload at Solvang no doubt.

Hi Ed,

Really nice shots. Hopefully I can get some decent shots in Long Beach this weekend.

Beautiful photos. Thanks.

Excellent shots with stunning color.

Thanks for sharing :)

Perhaps a few could be cropped tighter (like the one with the 2 CA riders) and you'd lose some of the distracting background

thanx i'll keep that in mind. i have a tendency to crop a bit too tight at times probably because of the photojournalism background but sometimes i slip :eek: .

ed rader

I have never found backgrounds/backdrops to really "disturb" me all that much for the most part (unless, for example, all it is is a washed out sky)....unless of course the person taking the pics has no clue what they are doing (which isn't an issue in this case) and the subject only takes up about 15% of the overall photo. It really depends though....on the subject and surroundings. Sort of a case-by-case decision :).


IMHO, in the case with the 2 CA riders, I think it gives the shot more life and realism by including the immediate surroundings, rather than just having two guys on a bike and nothing much else to look at. That's just me though.....and I do understand where JohnSFO is coming from, as I've heard it from others as well when critiquing photos.

Either way, good work.

+1-its not a portrait and the background helps to illustrate some of the chaos to me.

Then again, I just look and say, "damn, those are sweet" and typically use a disposable camera as I have a tendency to lose things. Obviously, I'm no photog.

Very cool, think we could get some titles though? I only know a hand full of these guys by looking at them, no idea who the rest of them are :P Guess I'm still a cycling noob