Sports event photography is one of my favourite jobs, and being a
keen cyclist myself I was looking forward to photographing the Stockton Cycling Festival 2012. Held on Stockton's Riverside in the centre of Stockton on Tees, and
supported by Stockton Council, British Cycling, Sky Ride, Velo 29 and Sustrans,
this annual three day event involves a mix of races, fun rides and events.
There was a lot to cover as a packed programme included the
Stockton Premier Calendar Race, a televised road race for elite riders; a
family Sky Ride over 4.5 miles; and an Events Village where people could see a
range of exciting activities including bicycle stunt teams, unicyclists, a fun
bike tryout’s, bike tracks and get free bike health checks.
With so much going on I had already planned out the best
vantage points so I was always in the right place at the right time. I like to get as close as I can to the
action so I anticipate the shot and get it almost before it happens. There’s a sports photography saying that if
you saw the action, you missed the shot!
High up on the bridge was an ideal spot to capture the
colourful sight of the Premier Calendar Race riders setting out on the road,
along with their police escort, TV cameras and support crews. The spectator-friendly
route took in 75 miles on a circuit North West of Stockton, with the final 25
miles on a closed road circuit on Stockton Riverside.
The first riders on the family Sky Ride leaving at the same
time meant a quick sprint in the other direction, to get a set of lovely shots
of parents riding alongside small children on very big bikes and all kitted out
with safety equipment. People on
unicycles and penny farthings, and even a little terrier in a basket on his
owner’s handlebars all added to the sense of fun and presented some fantastic
photo opportunities that summed up the spirit of the day.
Back on the complex novices and the more experienced were
testing out their skills and watching stunt riders putting regular bikes
through their paces, giving me some photographic challenges as they spun around
in the air. Spectators having a go
on some bizarre wobbly wheel bikes and unicycles resulted in photos full of fun
and laughter.
The children were deep in concentration as they developed
their co-ordination by cycling around a sloped wooden boardwalk, and using my
extra wide angle lens gave me a different dimension to shots of the curved
wooden structure.
I took three camera lenses and two bodies with me. I’ve
learned from 25 years of experience as a North East press, commercial and wedding photographer that a minimum set of high performance, versatile camera
equipment works well in any situation. Reportage event photography means being constantly on the move so
my equipment has to be portable, particularly for sports photography – I don’t
want to be moving between location points with a heavy kit bag.
I had one eye on the clock as I moved around photographing the
activities, so when the leaders in the Premier Calendar Race returned to the Riverside for the final five laps I was back in place to get a close up of Winner
Graham Briggs as he stormed through the finish, having covered 100 miles in
just under two hours.
The day ended with presentations, including the Mayor of Stockton
on Tees, Councillor Lynne Apedaile, congratulating the young girl who had
designed the winning festival logo, and was a great end to a fun-filled day,
which hopefully will have encouraged more people to get in the saddle and who know's ...they might be the next Bradley Wiggins or Victoria Pembleton.
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