9 Tips for Shooting the Amgen Tour of California

Last Sunday, we had the incredible opportunity to shoot Stage 1 (Nevada City to Sacramento) of the Amgen Tour of California, as they were rolling through Auburn. What a sight to see. One word describes it all - FAST. It was definitely the most challenging event I have ever photographed! An estimated 30,000-40,000 people cheered them on up here in the Sierra Foothills, with an estimated 100,000 people cheering them on in Sacramento. The great thing about this event was it was so spread out, it never felt crowded. A friend of ours, Donna, asked us for tips on shooting the race. She will be shooting Stage 5 (Visalia to Bakersfield) on Thursday. We hope you find these tips helpful Donna and good luck! Scout out your location ahead of time. Unless you are planning to shoot the start and/or the finish, you will need to choose a location. Don't settle for just any location. Find a great background + a hill (downhill or uphill), or a sharp curve if possible. Your photos will have a lot more impact if you do this. We selected 3 locations that we thought would be good here in Auburn. Our first choice, The Confluence of the American River, is where we ended up. We allowed 3 1/2 hours, but we didn't know if that would get us there in time to claim a spot. It was and we got a perfect spot with a great background, a steep downhill and a sharp curve! As they approached us, they were traveling at 48 MPH. Arrive early. As I mentioned above, we arrived 3 1/2 hours early. That's a long time to wait, but it was totally cool in more ways than one. We had the river right below us. There was plenty of time to take our dog swimming, while cooling off myself. I also captured photos of people enjoying the river and anxiously waiting for the race, in addition to preparing for the shoot. Prioritize/Have a plan. Spend some time while you are waiting checking out different angles, lenses etc. At first, I thought I was going to need my 80-200 mm lens. But, after doing a few test runs on non race cyclists who were riding the course before the race, I decided on my 28-70mm. I'm glad I did. If you have the opportunity to practice on non racers beforehand, I highly recommend it. After all, you will have plenty of time if you arrive early. When the racers come, you have only one chance to get the shots, so have your composition figured out ahead of time. It all happens so fast, you actually miss it if you are behind the camera. Be Camera Ready. Have your camera and/or video ready. Make sure you have plenty of frames on your memory card. Don't ever shoot an event like this with just a few frames available. You won't have time to change your memory card. Also, make sure your batteries are charged and you have the lens you will be using mounted on your camera. Use auto focus & continuous shooting. For the best results, use auto focus and your continuous shooting option if you have one. I set mine to continuous slow speed and that worked just fine. As soon as the first group came, I focused on the first rider while keeping my finger depressed on the shutter button and shot a bunch of frames, as they came towards me. Then, I followed through as they passed by. I repeated this again with the next group. It had been quite awhile since I had shot sequences like this. It was also the first time with the Nikon D300. I'm impressed. I don't think I had one out-of-focus image. Tripod? I didn't use one. If I had to fiddle with my tripod, I would have probably missed them altogether. If you have a great pan head, you are comfortable using one and comfortable with shooting this type of event, then use a tripod. If not, forget it. The guy shooting next to me was planning on using his. I'm not sure if he did, however. I only saw one other person using one. Two cameras are better than one. If you are with someone, get them to shoot also. That way, if one of you fails to gets something good, you have a second chance. In our case, I shot with the still camera and Jeff captured the event with a video camera. Show motion, or stop action? Decide early on, whether you want to stop the action (shooting at high shutter speeds), or if you want to show motion (shooting at slow shutter speeds) to create a panning effect. It's not likely you will be able to shoot both ways, unless the racers are spread out at your location, or you are shooting with two cameras. Check out this article I wrote on "How to Create Great Pans." Dress comfortably. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing. You might be kneeling, or possibly even laying on the ground (like this guy) to get your shots. Also, bring plenty of water, food, a hat and sunscreen. Have I forgotten anything? I'd love to hear from other folks who have shot this (or similar) event. Please feel free to add your tips in the comment section below. Thank you for visiting! Comments & questions are always welcomed & appreciated! ~Sherri