A.E.LANDES PHOTOGRAPHY

Ahh, another year, another ‘101. At least this year they had drier conditions to race in, as I am sure not many racers missed the fog and soggy rocks. Like clockwork, the leaders came bombing in a little before 9 AM, and the steady stream of riders crossing Three Bridges and the Stupid Rock Garden lasted past 10. Shooting conditions were ideal, as I was able to use the bright spots in the trees to create the speed streaks. And it was great seeing the familiar faces out there riding.

Here is a quick gallery from the 2010 Wilderness 101 Mountain Bike Race.

And if you have a lot of time, here is the Complete Gallery and Print Order Site for the ‘101.

As always, if you don’t see yourself here, just send me an email and I will see if I can find you. Thanks!

Blistering heat? Choking dust? Hill climbing for eight hours? Sounds about right for the Marysville MASS Mountain Bike Race. Jeez, I did one lap for fun and went through all of my water and just about keeled over. Throw in a nighttime time trial and a short-track race on Sunday, and that’s a killer weekend. I got lots of goodies (photographically speaking) throughout the weekend, including shots from the Slowest Downhill Challenge and the Huffy Toss. Kudos to Mike Kuhn and team for another great race (remember the Trans-Sylvania Epic? Same promoter!).

Here is a gallery of the Marysville MASS Mountain Bike Race highlights.

And see the Complete Gallery and Print/Download Ordering here.

The Trans-Sylvania Epic is most assuredly one of the highlights of my year. One week of stage race mountain biking in State College with plenty of rocks and roots to eat… *yum*. Lots of photos, lots of stories, and lots of sleep after exhausting days. And it’s only Tuesday. Here are the photos from Day 1 though Day 4, with hot stages and rainy downpours.

Check out the gallery here: Trans-Sylvania Epic 2010: Day 1-4.

And for all of you with a lot of time (and wanting to order prints and downloads), here is the Complete Trans-Sylvania Collection.

Most people started off with smiles and laughing, but after thirteen silly hours of mountain bike racing, there weren’t too many happy faces to be seen. Actually, there were some, but those people were hanging out by some of the massive bonfires and drinking beer at the end. It was another great time for mountain bikers in Leesburg, VA, and the setting offered a wide variety of lighting and backgrounds (a photographer’s playground). I was trying some more non-traditional shots, involving flashes and wide-angles and long-exposures, so hopefully if you raced, you will see yourself posed in the most flattering position: rubber side down and bib shorts up.

Here is the cream of the crop: Plum Cyclery Baker’s Dozen 2010.

And here is the complete collection of images, with the ability to purchase/download images: Baker’s Dozen 2010 Complete Collection. If you don’t see yourself, send me a shout and I will see if I can find your number.

When most people are enjoying their hot chocolate and fire inside, there are those who forgo conventional wisdom and play outside in the snow and dirt in Spandex. This was Plum Grove Cyclery’s Snotcycle 2010 out in Leesburg, VA (and no, I didn’t pick the name). The race went on as it snowed harder and harder, and by the time I was done photographing, my hands were no better than if they were made of wood. I threw on the flash for some snow-sparkling effects, and had a great time with Greg (another guy wanting to stand outside in the cold with a camera) along the way.

Here is a quick look at the Plum Grove Cyclery: Snotcycle 2010 Gallery.

To order prints and view more photos, click on the Snotcycle 2010 Print Website. (If you don’t see any pictures of you, just contact me with your rider number and bike/jersey).

Well, well… What do we have here? 101 miles of mountain biking through some of the best/rockiest trails PA has to offer? I guess the next best thing to actually riding in the race is photographing it. It was a really damp and humid morning, with plenty of fog and sweaty rocks for the riders to roll over. I got a bit too excited by them coming through a mud puddle (I really needed to set up some off-camera flash to get the shots I wanted), but I think that the back-lit riders coming across the ominous Three Bridges section are some of my favorite mountain biking images yet.

Here is a quick gallery of the Wilderness 101 Mountain Bike Race.

If you want to see a more extensive collection of images or order prints, go here: Wilderness 101 Mountain Bike Race Print Order Site.

PS - Don’t see any pictures of you? Let me know, and I will see if I have any to post.

Wow… I am so sorry I missed out photographing most of PSU Cycling Road Season! If anything, I managed to get to the best event, which was the Easterns Championship Frat-Row Crit, in downtown State College, PA. Lots of thrills and spills over the bumpy wet pavement on Turn Four, and yet combined with the road ride the day before, PSU trounced the competition to win the weekend.

Here is a selection from PSU Cycling: Easterns 2009 Gallery.

Here are some shots from one of the more exciting events from this season - Tussey’s Log Jam/Big Air Competition. I just got one of Canon’s new cameras, so I have been wanting to really put it through the stress test of high-contrast, fast action subjects. Plus I love snowboarding. And watching people who are fifty-times better than I ever will be. I took some designer liberties and jacked the saturation and said good-bye to conventional colors, so I hope you enjoy the galleries!

Click here for a sampling of the Tussey Log Jam/Big Air Competition 2009.

To view the whole gallery (or to download/purchase prints), go here: Tussey Log Jam/Big Air Gallery.

I felt the need to fight off impending sleep to get these posted for all you cycling-freaks who were at Penn State Cycling Club’s Mountain Bike Race this weekend. If you think cycling is just a bunch of spandex-clad juicers with too much time to just ride bikes, I beg to differ. There is never enough time to just ride. I got hooked this past year with mountain biking, and so it brought me to a new level of appreciation of the sport.

All stereotypes aside, photographing road and mountain bike races have been some of the most intense events, just because of how much mental and physical energy is demanded of the racers, and the level of risk is just so high.

For now, here’s a preview of Sunday’s XC and Downhill events.

And for those of you with a lot of time on your hands or have a healthy mountain bike obsession, here’s the complete gallery.

These are some of select images from the ECCC’s 2008 Championship Road Race, held this year up in New Hampshire (It was only a ten hour drive!). It really was a stunning ride up there, as the scenery was about to change over from the cold winter to the green spring. The PSU’s racers did very well this year, coming in second overall in their division. It was a lot of fun and the intensity was really cranked up to 11, if you know what I mean. I also enjoy this picture of Matt studying hard for the finals quickly coming up.

Take a look at the PSU Cycling Club: Easterns Championship 2008 Gallery.