Another Superweek has come and gone and I don't have a lot to show for it, as far as photos go. This will be the first time in three years I haven't made a concerted effort to get media access to the Gastown Grand Prix and looking back at it, I'm OK with that. No pressure to get the shot and no pressure to get images up right away.
Instead of running around the course with a full-sized DSLR and a giant F2.8 telephoto zoom elbowing my way through the crowd to get to the front, I was able to hang out with a couple of buddies on a corner with my OM-D and a 90mm equivalent and my Ricoh GR with its 28mm equivalent, leisurely enjoying a burrito. Part me missed being in the thick of things, but I think a bigger part of me was also glad to be able to actually sit back and enjoy the race as a spectator. Next year, I may go back to lurking in team alley looking for the candid shots that were always my favourite part of seeing other photographers' race coverage, but I don't think I'll be going back to playing action sports photographer any time soon.
I did manage to grab a few keepers from the Gastown GP and Giro di Burnaby though, so it wasn't all a loss.
Half-baked.
I try and make my way up Mount Baker to Artist Point at least once every season. Given this year's snowfall, I'd been eagerly awaiting the upper road to be opened to the public, but travel during the last two weekends has kept me away, so I missed opening weekend on June 23.
There's a constantly updating shot list I keep in my head and after seeing this image from Kristoff Ramon earlier this season, I knew I wanted to head up to do my own take on it.
Giro '16 - Stage 6. Credit: Kristoff Ramon.
The forecast for today was supposed to be sunny, but that was definitely not the case. As we left Vancouver, we were greeted by an intermittent drizzle that turned into a steady drizzle as we neared the border. By the time we got to Sumas, it had turned into a steady light rain. My friend turned to me from the passenger seat and asked if I wanted to keep driving. Plan B was to start the ride at North Fork Brewery, but as the rain continued, we moved on to Plan C and starting from the base of the climb at the Glacier Ranger Station.
Our luck with weather on this trip never seems to work out completely, but we were thankful that the rain dialled itself back to drizzle and even stopped for a while as we ascended. The top of the mountain was completely socked in though, so all we saw up top was 50 shades of grey. The mist and the temperature at the top meant that nobody wanted to stand around for long, let alone set up for any of my photos, so we quickly turned around and started the descent. Visibility wasn't terrible and despite the damp air and roads, the way down wasn't as treacherous as I thought it'd be.
Oh well. There's always next year.
