Art & Photography
The camera has 1 eye, we have 2. We can’t be in 2 places at once though
! Before we arrived today at the London 2012 Olympics Time Trial Course, I had
already decided it was going to rain and or be overcast, much like it normally
is in Great Britain.
It certainly was the last time I raced in this part of the country, on 3
occasions it was low light from memory. Coming through Chobham the rain came
down for a short while then stopped, followed by a nice grey sky that produced
lovely dark areas under the tree canopy, typical in these parts of Surrey. Checking the course on the Google map prior to
the event gave me good reference points to aim for (we were almost on the
G214/10 - cyclists lingo for area race course key) but I still hadn’t
decided where we would park. So when arriving in Byfleet without hold ups of
any kind I was pleased. I looked around to see many folk making their way on
folding bikes. Hmm, I almost put our bikes in the car! Where to park? I looked around and could just see a little
lane off the main road, so drove in to see a tall hedge to park near. The lane
was a bit narrow, so I walked up the drive of the nearest house to alert the
owner of my presence, a lady answered the door in her curlers. I apologised for
the inconvenience and said I hope you don’t mind me parking outside in the
lane, we have come to watch the Olympic Time Trial; she said no of course not,
but its a bit narrow so give me a minute and I will move my car, you can park
on the drive. Who said generosity had gone in this county. After a quick chat with
smiles all round we left for a hike up the Byfleet Road with backpacks, leaving the
lady equally excited ready to watch the Olympics on TV. As we got to the corner
with Seven Hills Road
and Byfleet Road
I clocked where I was going to get those in the face and side on shots of
riders coming out of a 90deg left hand corner. We squeezed through the crowd to
get on the floor as the road was coming down hill towards me, perfect. Well,
almost, it was a bit dark. Tension mounted. The women’s event arrived in still,
low light conditions; the girls looked so, so smooth, that familiar rumble of
carbon fibre disc wheels took me back to my racing past. Loud cheers from the
massive crowds that lined the road greeted every rider as they went by. Quite
different from UK time trialling which is a more quiet affair; often too early
in the morning, a mixture of cooing wood pigeons followed by hearing the rasp
of your breath in the chilled morning air and the smell of embrocation
cream. I loved it; I miss it terribly at
times but less said about that at the moment.
As the day progressed through to the men’s event I kept thinking about
that corner I was taking shots of, so put a plan together. By now the light was
coming up, so I could stay where I was, or move. Where we were, I planned to do
some arty shots, panning for those nice blur saturated colour views. I set the camera
at 35mm with a nice slow shutter speed at F/16, got the white balance how I
wanted it, and crossed my fingers the light would gradually improve. I said to
my wife, right, all I want you to do is pan and press the shutter release. With
a caveat, keep it smooth and synchronized with the rider and not to worry about
taking too many shots, just take pictures. I made my way to the corner and headed towards
a flat bed truck. A crew with flo yellow jackets had charge of things in the
highway department. I pleaded, they
showed kindness, I got pictures I will never forget taking. A special thanks
guys, I really appreciated the opportunity & of course a special thanks to my wife for having steady hands.
Andy Sharpe
