The Riders

The images in The Riders were taken at the Tour Down Under, a major international cycling race, in January 2008. I would hesitate to call the images 'sports photography' however - they are far too non-documentary for that description. Instead they explore the interaction of light, time and motion and the way film records it. For that purpose a criterium race is a great venue - there are few other sports where the athletes will pass at high speed within inches of a spectator's camera.

The images were shot on a vintage Pentax K1000 camera using Kodak Infrared EIR film. The distinctive colours and grain are characteristic of the film. The motion blur was captured in-camera by using slow shutter speeds (ranging between 1/15th and 1/2 second) and camera panning. A 28mm wide angle lens further adds to the distortion. Digital manipulation was limited to minor levels correction, removing dust and image sharpening post scanning.

I should probably disclose that I'm a life-long cyclist.