The Kathmandu Adventure series is a multi-sports race that takes place in some of the most picturesque spots around Sydney and beyond. This year I was there to cover the event in the Blue Mountains National Park near Sydney as it took place in the Glenbrook section of the park. The event included rogaining, mountain biking, kayaking and trail running.
Had a bit of a fun play around yesterday shooting trail running at Manly Dam, a small dam nearby here. I wasn’t there on any official capacity more just to practice my trail running photography. It’s nice being able to shoot for myself sometimes. and not having to worry if I am getting all the necessary shots or shots of all the competitors. It let’s me try out a few ideas that have been running around my head and things that I normally don’t get to do if I am working a job.
The Sydney Trail Series is a great short to medium distance runs through some wonderful bush and scenery around Sydney. Gil and I shot the Kamay race for them previously which was held along the stunning coastline of Kamay National Park. Well worth checking out if you are into running. You can visit the Sydney Trail Series website here
Jetblack’s 12hr mountain bike race recently went down at the James Estate Winery. Situated in N.S.W.’s beautiful wine region of the Hunter Valley the winery has constructed a series of trails that runs through the vineyards and single trails into the bush at the back of the land. As you might have guessed Gil and I were up there as OuterImage to cover all the happenings and goings on over the weekend. Also there was Jason English in order to defend his title which he did successfully making it his 5th 12hr in a row.
The James Estate Winery is near the small town of Denman in the Upper Hunter Valley. Graeme Scott, the winery’s manager, has worked hard to open up and maintain the trails around the vineyard and the land bordering the Wollemi National park. For Events such as this he also opens up one of his paddocks and turns it into a campground. Many people took advantage of the camping while others set up base in the nearby towns.
This year’s race drew in almost 400 competitors raced and around 200 spectators. Many were familiar faces for Gil and I from the Shimano GP series but there was also plenty of new faces as well which was great to see. The race was run on the same track as this year”s Shimano GP. Originally planned for a 9am start race organisers decided to delay until 10 to give everyone a chance to warm up a bit after the cold night before the race started. The start area was amidst the tents of the campground with stalls for tasting wine and local produce. At 10am the race got underway.
Gil and I wandered the track over the day. Gil took the vineyard this time while I set off to the single trail in the back. It was great conditions as far as the weather was concerned, at least where I was, cool but not to the point of being cold at least until later. Gil mentioned something about a cold gusty wind where he was up on the hill but in the sun and protected by the trees things were lovely. As the race moved on into the evening and darkness fell so did the temperature. Those watching and those waiting for their next lap moved closer to the bonfires burning around the basecamp and we all rugged up tighter. Gil climbed the hill behind the Vineyard and got a wonderful view across the area and the lights of the centre and competitors circling it. I stayed around the base and shot the competitors as they came in through the camp again. After the race people gathered around the bonfires near the start area for presentation.
Gil has created a wonderful slideshow with some of the weekend’s highlights that you can see below. And below that you will find few of our favourite shots from the day.
Enjoy
A new track is now officially on the mountain bike racing circuit, Kempsey. The State round of the Gravity Enduro was held up there a couple of weekends ago.
For those who haven’t heard before Gravity Enduro is a mix of downhill and enduro racing. Competitors will ride a technical downhill section but then have to pedal through an enduro section style of track. The bikes being ridden are also a mix of enduro and downhill styles.
This was the first time that the race had been run at the purposely built track and by all reports the track went down well among the competitors. With Gil away visiting family, I travelled up there by myself and set up camp at the nearby Hat Head National Park. This is a beautiful spot where i have camped before. There is a great spot to watch whales nearby and kangaroos in and around the campsite. I made the most of the trip and tried to capture a few landscapes there as well.
There were only a small number of competitors who made the trek up and with 2 tracks running it was difficult to get a shot of everyone. One thing that made the track really special from the photographer’s point of view was in the afternoon there was some seriously beautiful backlighting streaming in through the trees.
After a short break Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Shimano Gp is back. Last weekend saw the round 3 happening at Ourimbah State Forest on the central coast. Rain the day before kept the dust down but did not leave the track overly muddy.
A fine day as always at the wonderful Ourimbah track. The best thing from a photographer’s perspective about the Ourimbah track is the variation of locations to shoot at, from rainforest in the lower sections to eucalypt forests in the higher areas of the tracks. This year Gil and I focused our attention on the higher sections. There was areas up here that I had never even had the chance to visit during the years shooting here. Some of the trees in the top area are just stunning in the right light. Being not as thickly forested as the rainforest areas means it is also less strenuous on our flashes and some of the shots can be shot using the available light coming in through the trees.
If you are in the area and haven’t yet had the chance to enjoy these wonderful tracks I certainly recommend giving them a go.
Every year for a couple weeks at the end of April Sydney switches on the lights for the Vivid Festival. Various buildings around Circular Quay are lit up in a variety of fashions. There is also sculptures and artworks around the foreshore who’s principle design is based around light. It is a beautiful way to see the city, all lit up like this and it is very photogenic. It is rare to see so many photographers out and about at the same time in Sydney but everyone with a camera makes the trip down to the waterfront over the 2 weeks.
This year I somehow managed to avoid taking any photos of the Opera house though this is one of the main features of the festival. Not sure how I managed that but didn’t realised until I returned home after shooting. Oh well, there’s always next year.
