I agree with the "too many photographers" statement.

A guy that started riding and racing with my team about 10 years ago talked to me at length about his career. He hated what he was doing (working with spreadsheets, entry level, felt dead end to him). I gave him tips on trying to make each day a different and motivating day, but that ultimately, he'd have to change his career. I told him he ought to pursue what he loves doing. He somehow decided he loved photography (never mentioned it to me in our talks). He took a number of excellent pictures, including a LOT of money shots - the cover of the Giro catalog where Lance is dripping sweat and you can see his necklace (I think a bunch of helmet boxes had it too), a very often used picture of Hamilton with the collarbone bandage on a climb, cover of a magazine or two in the UK (he's US based), etc etc etc. He did this all without a journalist pass thing, i.e. he stood on the side of the road with all the other screaming fans and took his pics.

He got out of it because there wasn't enough money. And he was getting pics in some very good places. He does studio work now.

There are a bunch of photographers in my area that take pics and post them but they readily admit that they do not make money off the pictures. They may get work for something else (wedding etc) but the bike pics are not lucrative. They're all cyclists first, photographers second, at least when it comes to cycling photography.

A company named Inner Mountain Sports took pics of racers way back when, they'd send a proof in the mail, but I could barely afford to eat, forget about paying a meal's worth of money for a picture.

Finally, the best shot of me racing EVER (the race was super significant to me, last race of the Bethel Spring Series, I was essentially tied with two other guys going into the last race, and I had to beat this one guy that I pretty much never beat in a field sprint) was taken by a racer's wife on her cell phone.



I blew it up to post it and didn't know blogger doesn't mind big pictures and all that but that is a picture. That one I'd pay for.

cdr