I shot my final race of the 2022 season on this past Sunday. It was a two-race Sunday, back to back. Early morning race with the Prospect Park Classic and followed by the Prospect Park Fall duathlon. For the Prospect Park Classic, it was my first USAC mass start race in Prospect Park. I haven't shot much park races for the past 3 years since their promoters and race directors never hired me or paid me to shoot. I couldn't afford to shoot for FREE with my $10k gear. Some racers thought that I have retired from shooting races....far from it. It gets very busy for me for the past 3 years. This year, I shot close to 40 races. Maybe one or two park races for the Verrazano Team Racing. More on that later.
Yeah, there was a sense of familiarity, nostalgia shooting this past Sunday Prospect Park Classic. I wanted to recapture some of my iconic shots but with today's Nikon top of the line equipment, the beast, Nikon Z9, and the Nikon 70-200 f2.8s. In short, it was awesome shooting at ISO 6400+. Hardly noticed the noise in the shots and damn, the contrast and the color were just extraordinary shooting at f2.8. I won't expect anything less from my $10k+ equipment. It would be naive to think that some pros would show up shooting park races for FREE with their $10k equipment. That's what it takes to create and produce great shots shooting NYC park races! It only gets harder and more expensive. If the lighting condition is good, you can create great shots shooting with your entry level camera kit.
I really like this year regarding some of my assignments. There is a mixed range of subject matters from a 9W ride sponsored by Chocoramo, to working with the Major Taylor Iron Riders bike club and its racing team. And I went out shooting as a second shooter for First Place Photo, shooting the Glen Park Enduro MTB race in PA. And doing a promo shoot for NYtri.org to promote the Palisade triathlon, which it turns out to be a great success. In fact, next year, the Palisade triathlon would become their regular events.
I have my tentative schedule for next year. Maybe 1 or 2 race schedule conflicts. Unfortunately, no USAC mass start park races. About 35+ races...could be more or less. Some local USAC crits may come back in 2023...again, just rumors at this point....
Time for me to unwind now. Maybe exploring my Nikon Z9 more. I would probably work on updating my portfolio. Putting out another blog about some of my most epic shots and interesting shoots in 2022. Maybe speculating the fate of NYC racing scene. From what I was told, the NYC racing scene may experience additional pressures from the NYC park department as well as the overall sentiment regarding cycling and racing in NYC in general.
