Brighty Scores with a District

Yesterday I got a call from Trek asking if I could do a fast turnaround shoot of former pro footballer and now BBC footie pundit Mark Bright taking delivery of his new District. I weighed up the options i.e sunshine and riding v working and money then jumped in the car and pinned it up the M1.  As with all things photographic there is a faff factor, whether that comes from the snapper's end or the subject' end or anywhere in between. This time it was the warrenty dept doing whatever they were doing as I stood outside watching the glorious winter light disappearing behind one of Milton Keyne's aluminium warehouses. (Costco, if you must know). So, I had about half an hour to bag Mark with his bike before dark. I chose a one light set up for speed and used a piece of the sun that was coming in onto the alu background. But enough photo-speak. The carbon District looked every bit the stealth bike and Brighty went home made up with his new steed. But not before a little clowning for the camera. We got some 'proper' pix though, of course. Job done and in the bag. Next!

When the shit goes down, you better be ready

I shot these images at 4am this morning. At 3am the rain wasn't that bad. Driving to the start of the 210k Salzkammergut marathon race-a sort of classic mtb event in the region- the weather worsened. Thunder, lightning - what more do you need? Shooting my rider in the dark in a field of 600 all wearing wet weather gear was virtually impossible. At least for me. The course turned into a raging torrent. I fully expected my man to come floating down the spate like a drowned sheep. When the racers broke above the tree line the temperature plummeted to 1 degree. The only respite was a corridor hewn into a rock face that provided shelter. But for ten minutes max. Riders soon capitulated to the freak conditions and began retiring, finding shelter and warmth wherever they could. My rider stopped when a marshall told him his lips were blue. But he still had a 60km ride to the finish point. A truly epic event, but one that the organisers were forced to bring to a premature end before someone died. Seriously. Yesterday it was 30 degrees and I got suburnt. They say tomorrow will be fine too. Whatever next hey?