Team Norcal Bike Sport - Red Peloton Criteriums A few photos from the mens Pro race.
Photo Info: Canon 1D Mark II, 70-200mm IS L series lens
Photo Info: Canon 1D Mark II, 70-200mm IS L series lens
Just another day for the pro-peloton at the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. "Big" George Hincapie rolling through downtown Santa Rosa, behind the leaders group. For the 2nd year in a row despite moving the race to May, rain poured down for the Santa Rosa stage. Key for this shot is watching for race referee vehicle and hearing the crowd and bells just in front of the racers as they passed by. AI Servo mode works well for tracking moving subjects either coming at you or moving away.
Another dreary damp day in NorCal, perfect for cyclocross. This was the third race in the Bike Monkey series this season. This image is the leader after the first lap in the Mens A category with field chasing in the background. 
Living in California lightning is not very common, maybe only once a year in the area where I live. This was only my second time capturing lightning with my camera. Ironically, both times were from hotels. The first time was in Las Vegas as lightning hit the top of the Stratosphere Hotel! This time I was awaken by thunder at midnight and dashed out to my balcony on the 6th floor of the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Marina hotel . Most of the lightning was striking beyond my view on the other side of the hotel. I set my camera to manual mode with the shutter at 3 seconds and aperture to f/5.6. The lens was set to manual focus at infinity. Then with the lens perched on the balcony railing of my 6th floor room and a wadded up towel as makeshift tripod, I began to fire off a shot every 3 seconds. Finally, after 145 photos my patience paid off with a lightning strike within my field of view! 
Just North of Crater Lake Oregon flows the Clearwater River. Even in the middle of Summer the river runs clear and cold. With abundant water in central Oregon mosquitos flourish! The moment I exited my truck, I was swarmed with blood thirsty mosquitos. I should have taken the hint by the lack of other people standing around enjoying the scenery. Nevertheless, I dashed from the truck to various positions around the falls and river taking photos. To get the feeling of moving water, I set the camera on aperture priority and picked f/22. This aperture setting coupled with the dark forest resulted in a nice slow shutter speed. A tripod is a must for the slow shutter speed to work by keeping anything not moving (tree and land) while allowing the water to blur in motion. 
The Bike Monkey Cyclocross series final ended on perfect day for cyclocross - rain, mud and cold! From a photography perspective, a cyclocross race in these conditions offers some exquisite photo opportunities if you know what to look for. 
Members of California Task Force 4, FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team, train using a technique with rudimentry tools, rope and lumber called the "A" Frame Gantry to move heavy objects. The team is made up of search and rescue specialists from several Bay Area Fire Departments and specialized civillians (Doctors, canine handlers and structural engineers). CATF 4 has been deployed for search and rescue at wide variety of national emergencies including the Northridge earthquake, World Trade Center 911 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina. 
For the last 20 years I have been riding my bike in Annadel State Park. To get there, I ride by Santa Rosa Creek and every year on warm days I have spotted one to three Western Pond Turtles hauled out in the same area, sunning themselves. The Western Pond turtle is an especially wary animal. At the slightest movement by a visitor to their world, they make an instant dash for cover underwater. I have tried many times to photography these turtles over the years and finally captured a pair hauled out, covered in late season algae. The original photograph was cropped quite a bit even though I was using "Big Bertha", my 500mm lens. I had to set up across the channel some 50 feet away for fear of disturbing the sunbathing pair of turtles. 
I have been working with the Rosati Family for the last 3 years providing photography for their website and promotional material. The Rosati's are a very gracious family with a rich history making an incredible cabernet from their ranch in Mendocino County. This "group" shot of four cabernet vintages was done with two softboxes, studio lights and camera in manual exposure mode. Photographing wine bottles is one of the most challenging subjects due to the reflective properties of glass. After much trial and error to get the reflections just right and exposure spot on, I got this shot of four very proud bottles of fine wine! The white background enables the graphic artists to "cut out" the bottles and place them onto a variety of backgrounds. 
The second year the Tour of California has traveled over Trinity Road leaving Sonoma County. This year the weather was wet and dreary, perfect for a bike race! The leaders in the main peleton climbed Trinity Rd at a moderate pace due to the weather conditions. The top of the climb at Cavedale Rd was packed with spectators on both sides of the road. I had to constantly duck in and out of the crowd to get any kind of decent shot. My adrenaline was pumping as the stage leaders passed just ahead of the big names in the race. Just before the final bend at the top of the climb I was able to get on my knees and lean WAY out into the roadway to capture Levi Leipheimer, Mario Cipollini, Jens Voight and Robert Gesink cruising to the top.