I’m finally done sorting and uploading photos from the 2012 Port Angeles Pro GRT, NW Cup and MTB Grand Prix last weekend. This race was round
#2 of the NW Cup, 6-race series and the kick off for the national series. The fact that this race, once again, is the weekend following the Sea Otter Classic, it draws a huge field of racers, including many top racers from the world cup circuit.
The crew at NDUB productions post a video preview of each course which for me helps me pre-plan where photo ops are. This course incorporated a lot of newly re-claimed, once forgotten, trails for this race, making the race courses fresh and new for the racers as well as providing new exciting photo ops.
#618 Shane Hendrix
#205 Jacob Carmichael
#235 Adam Wright
Sunday morning was really foggy, making shooting.. hmmm….. tricky. I'm not sure who this was, but he was stoked and throwin' the horns!!
I converted some shots to black/white to be a little creative with the ghostly soft look of the shots in the fog… I think I would rather shoot in the rain than the fog or dust. I have a pretty good system down for holding a ghetto golf umbralla, and being able to shoot from my little makeshift rain-hut.
#156 Michelle Benson
#591 Forrest Riesco
The weather held and actually improved for the pro finals. This was the most people I have seen at a Dry Hill race. It was crazy trying to move around to shoot different angles. After a while of trying to maneuver around I settled into a hole behind the large burm at the bottom of ”CHUNDERDOME”. A small tree saved my life after a racer missed the corner and plowed down the tree I was kneeling against. Great racing, great action and the loudest crowd I have seen at a NWCup ever.
#33 Neko Mulally
#12 Tyler Allison
#48 Shawn Neer. This tree claimed many racers this weekend including World Cup racer Brendan Fairclough.
NW Cup
#2 Race winner ---
#80 Steve Smith
Earlier this year, I finally bought a new (used, but new to me) camera. I’m still getting used to the improved features. Its like going from driving a truck to a sports car. It should be faster… but all the controls are a bit different and it takes longer to go through all the photos. But, for the most part, its great. The improved light performance has freed me being chained to the strobes and my keep-vs-crap is greatly improved. So, if I didnt get the shot…. I cant really blame it on the gear. Looking forward to the rest of the NWCup series. Only a couple weeks away from #3, once again at Dry Hill…. maybe it will be sunny this time…
Good times.. —G
Check out all my photos from the race here.
http://grubworks.smugmug.com/2012MountainBiking/NW-CUP-DH-Race-Series-2 (I posted over 1000 photos….you should be in there somewhere..)