Sea Otter Classic: Day One

Yesterday was our first official day at the Sea Otter Classic. As I said in my previous blog we got here at 10am and quickly set up our tent at our campsite. At first I was a little disgruntled at the high winds at the event as it made it very cold outside. Then I found out we had to walk kind of far to get to the expo and the media center. However, my discontentment turned to joy after we picked up our packet for the recreational bike tour (more on that later). After getting our bib numbers for Saturday’s ride we were given a free goody bag. I’m still not exactly sure what’s in it but who cares, it’s free! My joy was taken to a whole new level when we walked up to the media center. I LOVE the media center. As I mentioned in my last blog we were privileged enough to work with Amateur Endurance for this event which helped us get media passes. Media passes are awesome! Once in the media center you are allowed free WiFi, free sandwiches and drinks, another goody bag, free parking close to the race track and free red vines. Is there anything better than free red vines? I want to live here. Anyway, of course the best thing about media passes are the access you get to the races. Bryan and I got to photograph right on the race track. This is huge deal for us since Laguna Seca is a historic raceway. Bryan was especially excited because he has raced on Laguna Seca before in numerous video games and has finally got to see it in real life.

The first thing we did after visiting the media center was go down to the expo. There are hundreds of vendors at Sea Otter and we got to see a lot of what they had to offer before the crowds arrived for the weekend. We also saw some big air stunts by the GT Bicycles team. We decided to go check out the Men’s Criterium Category 1/2 which is a road race on the track. We actually got to walk down to the garage area where the pits are. We were in awe at the whole thing. While Bryan used our telephoto lens to capture the cyclists as they came out of the final corner I walked to the hairpin turn just before that. I actually got to walk on the track, I don’t know why that makes me feel cool but it does. We ended up getting some awesome shots which we have posted below. Of course we were totally exhausted after everything. I was excited to get back to my tent for a good night’s sleep. I probably got a total of 3 hours between the hours of 8pm and 6am but it’s okay because I’m ready for another jam packed, exciting day at Sea Otter.

Check out Bryan’s event coverage at Amateur Endurance. You can also see photos from Day 1 in the GALLERY.

Sea Otter Classic: We Have Arrived!

I am currently blogging to you on location from the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey. We arrived around 10 AM and have already been to our camp site and set up our tent. You heard that right we are camping here at the race track. Actually our campsite overlooks the race track. We are excited to let you know that we are working with Amateur Endurance for this event. We will be here for the next four days to cover a few of the races, the expo and everything in between. We expect to get really great shots because we were lucky enough to get media passes for all four days, a great perk to working with AE, that means access to spots that spectators don’t get. Keep checking back here for updates and also Amateur Endurance will be posting our race reports and general event coverage.

 

Kayaking in Back Bay

This Easter Sunday Bryan and I participated in a kayak tour around Back Bay in Newport. I had found out about this guided kayak tour through the Irvine Ranch Wildlands website. We met our group and our tour guides Peter and Holly at the Newport Aquatic Center at 10am. Peter and Holly both volunteer for the Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends and are avid kayakers. They explained to us the history of Back Bay or Upper Newport Bay which existed because residents in the area took actions to save it from being developed by a high profile real estate company. The bay is home to many animals including an array of birds which Peter and Holly told us all about. We took about an hour to paddle halfway down the bay. It was very easy to paddle on the way out because we were going with the tide however, on the way back it was more difficult. Bryan used his mad paddling skills to get us back to shore pretty quickly. I helped with the paddling but I could never get my technique right and I really didn’t have that much arm strength to begin with. It was a beautiful clear day outside and perfect weather to kayak in. Our group consisted of two other couples along with Peter and Holly. The only thing I wasn’t anticipating was getting wet. Although we didn’t tip over, as I anticipated, the paddling motion allowed for water to splash into our kayak. I was pretty much soaked from the waist down when I got to shore. I am glad that I chose to bring my little SD550 camera along to capture some photos. Back Bay is really a beautiful place and I was lucky enough to get Holly to take a photo of us. This was our first time kayaking so as you might expect our arms are very sore but it was definitely worth the whole experience. 

 

 

 

Picture of the Week 4-8-2009

This past weekend Bryan and I had a class field trip originally set to be in Limestone Canyon. Those plans ended up falling through so professor LaNoue took us instead to nearby Silverado Canyon. Silverado Canyon is a popular place for hiking and mountain biking. LaNoue originally wanted us to go on a more level trail which Silverado is not. We only walked up for a little while before we decided to turn around. As far as scenery goes Silverado Canyon is bleak, there aren’t many wildflowers but you do get nice views of the canyon when you go up further on the trail. This week’s photo is one that Bryan took as we were going down the trail. A couple mountain bikers road by us on the way down which I have to say is pretty crazy since the trail has a lot of loose rocks. We ended up having a nice time photographing and got some exercise too.

Photo Info: Taken with our 5D Mark II at ISO 200, F8 and 1/800 of a second.

Picture of the Week 4-1-2009

This week’s photo is a shot that Bryan took during our photo hike through Chino Hills State Park. Well actually I hiked and he rode his mountain bike. It has been about 4 months since the fire burned 90% of the park. The only evidence of the fire are a few charred trees but the wildflowers have really grown like crazy and made for beautiful landscape shots. I like the photo that Bryan chose of burned tree in front of a wall of yellow wildflowers. What a great place to photograph.

To see more pictures of Chino Hills State Park, check out our GALLERY.

Photo Info: Shot with our 5D Mark II. ISO 160, F9, at 1/250 of a second.

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