One of the things that got me into back into photography a few years ago was the desire to take pictures of me and my friends mountain biking around Surrey Hills or Wales. I even went on a course to learn a bit more about it. At that time I had a slightly knackered D70 which then turned into a D300 and then onto a D700 which is my current camera. All the time the cameras were getting bigger and more expensive. So I ended up with a full frame camera, 28mm prime and SB-600 flash with remote triggers in my bag along with water, tools, jacket, food etc. Not that much fun and I didn’t enjoy riding as much with it – heavy and worrying about damaging the kit. However I do still enjoy taking riding photos and the ability to have a little off camera fill flash certainly helps.
As I’ve just got the Fuji X100 I thought I’d have a quick try of the remote flash. The eBay trigger fits on easily and I tried it out with an old SB-24 I have. I tried it at 1/200s then 1/250s (my D70 could sync this fast) and then thought I’d go for 1/500s to see what happened? Perfect flash sync at 1/500s which is brilliant. Will make it much easier out on the trails. Shot this quick picture of my F810. Lovely and sharp and also very impressed with the lens so far.
So now the only problem is that the flash is bigger than the camera! Might try and get a smaller Chinese no name flash unit to take with me. All it needs is manual controls and a PC sync port & it’ll be golden. That and a few ball bungees to hold the flash on the nearest tree and I’m set.
Although the 35mm lens isn’t the widest as favoured for a lot of MTB shots I think I can probably make it work. It’s not that far off the 28mm I’ve been using recently.
I’ve been meaning to write a few words about this for a while now but other things have been preventing me, work, work and more work really.
Graham, Matt and I recently went away for a few days to reacquaint ourselves with our bicycles and each other. The idea being that we would ride some “dusty trails” as the subject of Graham’s email. I was pretty sceptical seeing as the summer had been fairly poor, however a plan was formed. Early start on the Thursday for a ride at Cannock Chase, then head over to do Llangelda on the Friday and finishing with a natural trail over at Long Mynd on the Sat with a drive back to London that evening to spend Sunday with our respective partners.
Our first port of call, Cannock Chase, was surprisingly good. I’ve heard it mentioned many times over the years on the various internet forums I used to frequent. It’s a firm favourite of many people living in the middle bit of the country apparently. It turns out that choosing a week day to ride there was a very smart decision as it was still busy even on a Thursday. We were all pretty impressed with what they’d managed to achieve there with two small hills and a lot of effort in terms of trail building. You never felt you were climbing then descending like Whites at Afan but it flowed a lot more. Just one constant trail which felt great. There were parts which were like an enormous BMX track mixed in with the tress. And surprise, surprise it was dusty! I was having so much fun that forgot to take any pictures of us riding. Still here’s Matt & Graham posing on a rest stop.
We ended up staying in a very reasonable little bunkhouse which was a short walk over the fields to a fairly lively little town. Here’s Matt & Graham on their way through the fields. This photo could have been perfect if they’d just held hands for a brief moment.
We also met a few friends on the way who came running towards us when we approached their little enclosure. A good night in the pub as well as a feed in the local curry house and back through the fields for a good sleep.
Next day we hit up Coed Llandegla for a trip around the Black Run which always satisfies. Again, amazingly dry and flowing. Hardly a soul about on the trails even though the car park was busy. I think we’d all warmed up from the day before and things were a bit faster. Some serious grins at the bottom of some of the runs. Again, I as having so much fun I didn’t take my camera out but Graham did get this shot of me on the berm at the start of the first fun bit. Proper lean on it and all!
At the end of the trail there is a small skills and drops area as well as a fun little pump track. Here’s Matt showing how it’s done. Looks easy from the video but it’s hard work not pedalling and just pumping through it, especially when you’ve just ridden 25k off road.
Rather than spend another night at the curry house we had an improvised BBQ and fire outside the bunkhouse. Being the aspiring middle class tossers we are we managed to find an array of posh BBQ treats rather than basic burgers. Just look at that feast.
We also had an additional guest join us for the evening, Jenga, the campsite dog. And what a sweetie. She wasn’t after the food but just a stick or two to be thrown and all of us were happy to oblige. Back into town again to the same pub which was even livelier on the Friday. We also went past a round bowls pitch being used which I’ve never seen before. They play across the pitch which all looked very odd but plenty of people getting involved.
Next day was a natural trail from an old issue of MBR which Matt had researched. I’ve long been a fan of the trail centre since I’ve had access to a car and longer travel suspension forks. You’re almost always guaranteed a decent ride whatever the weather and there’s often a cafe at the end. However it was great to make a return to some of the natural stuff. I definitely regretted the removal of my inner ring on the front. Fine for trail centres but a bit grindy for the open moorland around Long Mynd we were riding. Lots of exposed and fairly barren landscape with a few fairly decent climbs.
Once we’d got all the climbing out of the way we managed to lose the trail slightly around an airfield at the top. Fortunately a friendly local rider got us back on track and we were treated to a spectacular tight single track descent. Narrow as hell and rocky, root and very twisty. Also with a drop to one side and a few section where the trail was washed out we were all pretty pleased with the end result. The climbing was forgotten at this point. A bit of a slog back to the car along a road (we may have missed the last bit) then back to London.
What a weekend! Thanks to Matt & Graham for organising.
About two years ago I went on the amazing Seb Rogers Photocourse with a cast of characters, some of whom I manage to keep in contact via the joys of Twitter. I don’t think I realised how much I learnt that weekend but now that I’m trying to make a part income from photography that I realise that almost all of what I saw that weekend was of use. Exposure, focus, RAW processing, histograms, basic camera technique etc etc. I’d read about all of this stuff on the web before but it didn’t really click until then. After putting it into practice afterwards things got a lot easier and allowed me to take a few more steps up the ladder. Plenty more steps to go but it really helped me on my way.
Anyway, the point of this is that the below photo is of Guy Parry who was on the course.
It also happens to be one of the most viewed photos on my Flickr stream, mainly due to being added to the Strobist group I’d imagine. This was a little plop into a stream that we both rode through it taking turns to light each other with a flash held by Seb (Voice Activated Lightstand). I’d always wondered what those photos turned out like and Guy uploaded a few today. Being the other side of the camera means that I don’t normally see decent pics of me riding. Nice to see a few decent ones at last. Thanks Guy!
Last weekend I headed out to ride some trails with Vaughan. After working, working and doing some more working recently getting out of London and using my bike was a joy. Day one of riding Machynlleth first I seemed to have forgotten how to ride a MTB. No real trail skills and those bars felt rather wide after the daily commute. Back up to the top for another trip down the final black section and things were starting to come together again. Usual beer and meal in strange Welsh town in the evening then up next day, breakfast at Little Chef and over to Llangelda to do the black. It felt like we were flying along compared to the previous day.
Loved it. Going again soon with Matt & Graham I think. Can’t wait.
Here’s a picture of me on my new bicycle. Takes a while to get used to but great for nipping around town. A little bit much to go all the way to Camden on it from Peckham but bearable. Slightly odd to get used to the smaller wheels after using 700c for riding around. Feels very twitchy at first. I think I may swap the bars for the lower ones for a bit more tucked in position.
As the recent owner of a Brompton bicycle – purchased on the cycle to work scheme for meetings and general pootling around town – I find this really impressive. Beautifully shot and edited too. Leaves a really nice feeling after watching. Makes me want to do Lands End to John O’groats. Looks like a fantastic experience.
…is something that I’ve strangely neglected as of late (apart from commuting). The chance to take a trip to Wales with Jenx, Matt and Jim was something I was keen not to miss, as much for the riding as the shits and giggles that usually follows. We went to the usual spot of Afan for a trip round Syline on the Sat. As usual it started of sunny but ended up wet and muddy as hell. Some funny moments of Matt riding through hub deep mud and also endo-ing into it certainly kept the smiles coming. The lack of views was a shame but thats what happens when you ride in Wales.
After getting cleaned and dry we headed up to a tiny little village near Brechfa and a superb little bunk house with a pub attached. Great fun and almost everyone in the bar was speaking Welsh. Good food and lots of Guinness followed. An early night was needed. Waking up to a room of wet kit, skinky feet and farts was less pleasant but it’s all part of the experience. After a leisurely start it was off to Brechfa for a quick route around the Raven I think. I was far too tired for it after Skyline the day before. Would be nice to go back with a bit more energy and after a less hectic week at work.
Glad to be back in the saddle though. Thanks Graham for organising and thanks for Matt and Jim for the additional shits and giggles.
That’s the sound of our new car. Amazing! Doesn’t leak, has air conditioning, these things that put the windows up and down automatically, a little bleeper on the key and you can even talk to each other without shouting. Crazy. Hoping to use it for some biking trips soon as well as seeing our respective folks in Bath & Cambridge.
Last month I collected my new Belk Tech Backpack. It’s a thing of beauty and tough as anything. A proper review coming shortly once I’ve taken some pics of the bag in daylight but for now here’s a few photos of the man who made it.
Awesome sewing machine and nice to own something completely custom and made by someone here in London.
