Bristol Bikefest 2010

This month saw the 2010 Bristol Bikefest (http://bike-fest.com/). This is a two day event in the UK MTB calendar that gives mountain bikers of all abilities the chance to race around some of the excellent singletrack around Ashton Court just outside the city.

Although I’ve raced in the 12 hours singlespeed solo in previous years, this year at the last moment a friend had to drop out of a team place, so I stepped in to race as part of a four man team on the Saturday. After a few laps of the short but brutal course I was quite happy not to be facing another ten hours alone on a fully rigid mountain bike. Racing as one of four was still demanding, but much more sociable than going it alone.

As I’ve always been a rather better photographer than racer, I’m more than happy with our team result of 98th (closer to the bottom of our category than the top), but it was good to see some friends from the Welsh mountain bike scene taking some of the top honours, such as endurance specialist Dave Buchanan (http://www.davebuchanan.co.uk/) taking 3rd in the 12 hour solo event, despite riding with a nasty chest infection, and Mark and Andrew from the Bike Mechanic team (http://www.thebikemechanic.co.uk/) taking top spot in the singlespeed pairs. Sunday’s race equally saw a good fight from the Welsh contingent, with Jo and Kate taking top spot in the female pairs. Rich and Dom from the Bikeshed Wales (http://www.bikeshedwales.com/) team sadly lost out on a podium place following a protracted puncture problem.

As usual for the Bikefest I spent Sunday wandering around taking a few photos, although not as many as previous years. I like the challenge of creating innovative images at an event like this, although it can be hard to break the mould.



On that note I spotted that the event photographers this year were not only using a tripod mounted camera with remote release (as in previous years) but they had actually invested in a light beam trigger, ensuring identical shots of every single rider to pass their position... I’m sure it’s very efficient for their purposes, but seems to have more in common with photocopying than photography!



A few more photos of the event (along with a lot of other mountain biking pictures) are available here (http://mcope.photoshelter.com/gallery/MTB-inc-Bikefest-2010/G0000Lhnoa1rgxIE) in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for personal use downloads, or commercial use on a rights managed basis - and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. You can see more of my work or contact me through my adventure sports photography website mattcope.co.uk

Scilly kayaking in the sea Isles

Around 30 miles off the tip of Lands End, the Scilly Isles are a strange cross between the outer Hebrides, and the English home counties. The islands have a rugged look to them, huddled together against the forces of the Atlantic, but when you get closer you see cricket pitches, delicate wild flowers and pubs serving St Austell’s excellent ales.



Before travelling to the islands by ferry we arranged hire of a double sea kayak through the guys at Kayak Scilly. Our plan was to spend the first and last day or so on St Mary’s (the most populated island, and home to the ferry from the mainland) and to spend the rest of the week paddling from island to island, camping as we went.



Everything went to plan with a pleasant few hours aboard the Scillonian III from Penzance seeing us landed on the dockside at St Mary’s (don’t ask what happened to the Scillonian I and II – this is shipwreck country). After picking up the boat (a nice modern Perception double) and some other bits of kit, we headed out up the coast of St Mary’s to Bar Point. From this northerly patch of coast it was just a short crossing to St Martin’s, the first of the ‘off islands’ in the archipelago.



From St Martin’s we headed out to the ‘Eastern Islands’, a string of rocks and islets now completely uninhabited by man. As the islands are now devoid of human activity they are a haven for seabirds (as are many of the rocks around Scilly) but also for Atlantic Fur Seals which popped up in force to investigate our kayak, and who followed us around for an hour or so while we explored the islands.



Next on our itinerary was paddling around the northern side of Tresco, to the campsite on Bryher (Tresco is the only inhabited island without a campsite, and wild camping is not allowed anywhere on the Scillys). Once we had dropped the kit off on Bryher, we paddled off for an explore of the Norrad Rocks, and also to Tresco itself which boasts a very impressive sub-tropical garden, including all sorts of exotic plants and sculptures.



The next leg of our explorations took us down to St Agnes. This is the longest open water crossing required when paddling round the islands, and is the most exposed to the tide and weather. So much so that we ended up staying an extra day on St Agnes until the sea was calm enough to make the return journey. As it happens, St Agnes is home to a farm that makes its own excellent ice cream, and the Turk’s Head pub, so it’s not too much of a hardship to be marooned there for a short while.



With the final leg completed, and an excellent meal at the Boat Shed we returned to Penzance the same way we had come. One day I quite fancy paddling there from Lands End (you can just see it on a clear day) but I think that will have to wait until I’m a bit fitter.



A full gallery of photos is available here in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for use on a rights managed basis, and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. Check out mattcope.co.uk for contact details and more information about the type of adventure photography I specialise in.

Upcoming events..

Got a busy few weeks coming up. A friend's wedding next weekend (leaving the camera at home for this one), then It's off to the Scilly Isles sea kayaking for a week. The weather is looking good, so we should get some good shots..

After that it's back to mountain biking for a while. Dave Buchanan is repeating his Welsh offroad end to end, but this time doubling it up to go there and back! Madness for sure, but gives more me more time to document the challenge.. Should be doing a few promo shots for Dave over the next couple of weeks as well..




A few weeks after all that, it's off to the Dolomites for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to shooting some crazy via Ferrara, should be stunning!

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Children and bubbles

I've been taking quite a few iPhone photos recently. While the quailty of the files is pretty shocking, the ability to apply processing effects in the phone more than makes up for it.. The shot of the Gower below was an iPhone snap, and so is this shot of my niece blowing huge bubbles..



..and this one of the kids 'in' the bubbles..



It may be a crappy phone camera, but it's fun!

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Ash clouds and weddings

It's been a busy few weeks. First our planned climbing trip to Spain got scuppered by the ash, leading to a week split between the Gower (pictured) and north Devon. Then it was back to north Devon a week later to shoot the fabulous wedding of our friends Ollie and Clare, joined by loads of friends from university days, it was a great bash!





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Noodles for one

The glamour of business travel -an overheating Blackberry and noodles for one...


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Location:Bloomsbury St,Camden Town,United Kingdom

Brecon Ice

Brecon Ice
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Got out at the weekend to take advantage of the cold conditions. Bagged a few pitches of ice at RAC corner and on the other side of the A470 behind the Storey Arms. Sadly it's all melting now (popped out again this morning) but it was fun while it lasted!

Happy Christmas

Amy
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

I know this blog has been a bit quiet lately, but now that I have a short break from a hectic work schedule, I'll be putting up a few posts. Til then, have a happy Christmas!
Cheers
M

Sploooosh!

Neil
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Been a hectic few weeks, hence the lack of posts. Just got back from a great weekend at the Real Ale Wobble - mountain biking and beer, a match made in heaven.

Sadly the weather was too bad for any kind of serious photography. This shot was about the only (half) usable frame I got all day. Everything got soaked... It was great.

Off to the Quantocks

Quantocks sunset
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Looking forwards to a long weekend in the Quantocks. I've signed up for a course with Seb Rogers, one of the UK's leading mountain bike photographers. The weather is looking good, so hopefully I should pick up a few good tips...and the riding over there isn't bad either.

Work, training and imminent race day..

Avatar
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

So my perfectly planned training regime ran into conflict with my slightly erratic work schedule. Too many last minute trains to London, meaning that I missed half of my peak training week, and I don't feel fully ready for the Triathlon this Sunday. That said, I am light than I have been for a year or so, and fairly confident I bang the swim out in roughtly my estimated time (8mins for 400m). The ride leg should be fine, and I've been coming in at just under 8 minute miles for the run.. Putting it all together will be a challenge, and I'm worried that I'll have trouble with my breathing in the pool under race conditions, but with a following wind I should put in a respectable time.

The question is, what event next?

Bontrager TwentyFour Twelve

Bontrager TwentyFour Twelve
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

A good weekend down in Plymouth, with an unusually dry couple of days for a British 24hr bike race. Got a few nice shots while playing around with heavy rim lighting, though the window of opportunity for shots like this is very short with the sun dropping fast. What I wouldn't give for a camera that syncs at 1/1000th... Some of our local Welsh riders did very well, with good results in the pairs and the solo events.

Otherwise recently I've been training hard for an upcoming triathlon (hence the lack of blog posts), and fighting the urge to pre-order a D300s... It looks like the perfect camera for my needs, but I just can't get past my aversion to buying any product that hasn't been on the market for at least a few months for the bugs to come to the surface.. I'm going to try and hold out until later in the year, but I fully expect to be shooting one before Christmas.

Mountain Mayhem 2009

Mayhem 6
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Another year, another Mayhem. This year was different to usual because we only had a few hours rain. The course was fun, but unfortunately a diversion was put in place around the most technical section. Due to actually being all responsible and marshaling, I didn't get to shoot as many photos as I'd like, but still enjoyed the weekend.

Toilets

b
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

A slight change of pace for me, swapping high speed cyclists for the more sedentary atmosphere of a bathroom. Very elegant and perfectly finished, the room was rather a challenge to shoot, not least due to the fact that I was reflected in the chrome from almost every angle.

Great fun though, and nice to not have to carry my kit for miles through the mud for a change.

Llantrisant

Llantrisant
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Great evening riding and shooting at Llantrisant, but sadly Flickr is playing up, so having a few problems getting the photos online.

It's grim up north...Cardiff

It's grim up north...Cardiff
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Had a great time yesterday. Managed to convince a bunch of friends to come out and do a short local ride just to grab some photos. Got a few nice shots, but learnt a lot about a few things I've been wanting to do for a while. Need to get out again soon to put those into practice.

Great fun all round.

A not so local Hero...

The Herald
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Not sure the Glasgow Herald can really claim Dave as a local hero, seeing as how he moved down to sassenach land years ago... Still does a good impression of the accent though ;-)

Interesting choice of shot for this one. I didn't think think the night shots would reproduce well, but this one works well in the layout.

Not riding, just shooting

Tearsheet
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Been a bit of a slow month for riding, but been nice to see a few riding shots in print. Dave's epic challenge has made it into two papers so far, with possiblity of a few magazine pieces to come.

Ahhh, not as bad as expected

Quarry ahead
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Why do I always forget that riding to work is actually really good fun? I lie in bed in the morning convincing myself that it will be unpleasant, that driving will be easier, that I'm too busy, too tired, too lazy... IT's daft. The ride in is far and away the best part of my day..

Full moon

Moon
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Ah dear. Lots of work and not enough time to play. I seem to spend more time sat inside looking out than I'd like these days. Still, another six months and things should take a turn for the better. If they don't, it will be time to shake things up a bit.