Tag Archives: usa

Creekside Trail, Central California

Creekside Trail, Central California

Creekside Trail, Central California. Calero Hills, California. February 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A creekside trail through forest of oak and laurel trees at Calero County Park, California.

After a long – but welcome! – bout of rainy weather here in Central California, last weekend I managed to get out for a hike in my favorite local oak/grassland park. It was a cloudy day with very diffused light, but I decided to do a bit of photography with my new camera – but instead of taking my usual complement of lenses I carried only three primes, at 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. This photograph was made with the 35mm lens and an interesting aspect of the scene for for me was the incredibly rich detail of new growth, old leaves on the forest floor, and the many small branches of trees and brush. (I’m afraid that much of that detail isn’t visible in this small jpg, but there isn’t much to be done about that.)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: calero, hills, park, santa clara, county, public, path, trail, creek, brook, water, reflection, oak, laurel, tree, forest, grove, leaf, trunk, branch, hike, winter, california, usa, nature, landscape, green, new, plants, growth, damp, stock, foliage, vegetation, root

Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Floyd Landis, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

(See more of my 2009 Tour of California photos.)

Ouch Team rider Floyd Landis warms up on the course for the prologue stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California bicycle race in Sacramento, California.

This photograph was made during the warm up period an hour or so before the start of the prologue time trial of the Tour of California in Sacramento, California. I picked a corner with good angles and good light and had a chance to shoot many of the competitors as they came though this second of two closely-spaced turns. Floyd Landis is a bit of a controversial figure in professional cycling – he is either a “bad boy” or a victim, depending upon your point of view. Landis won, in what seemed like heroic fashion, the Tour of France a few years ago – only to be disqualified after doping charges which he fought vociferously and publicly. In the end he lost his yellow jersey in the tour and was suspended from cycling for a period… and he also had orthopedic surgery on his damaged hip. Now he is back, and it will be very interesting to see what he can accomplish.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: floyd, landis, team, ouch, red, black, white, prologue, time trial, warm up, course, amgen, 2009, tour, of, california, pro, professional, bicycle, bike, race, road, stage, lean, crouch, turn, course, sacramento, usa, sports, stock

Fabian Cancellara, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Fabian Cancellara, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Fabian Cancellara, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stage winner Fabian Cancellara of Team Saxo Bank in the first turn of the prologue time trial stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, Sacramento, California.

Cancellara is seen here coming through the first turn and looking up the long straightaway heading back toward the starting area in the prologue time trial stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. He ended up winning this stage.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: fabian, cancellara, team, saxo bank, bell, specialized, red, black, white, prologue, time trial, stage, race, turn, lean, bank, helmet, amgen, 2009, tour, of, california, sacramento, usa, professional, pro, bicycle, bike, road, stage, sports, capitol, state, athlete, stock

Team Quick Step Specialized Time Trial Bicycles

Team Quick Step Specialized Time Trial Bicycles

Team Quick Step Specialized Time Trial Bicycles – 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of red, white, and black Team Quickstep Specialized bicycles lined up at the team vehicle before the prologue time trial stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of Callifornia bicycle race.

The time trial bikes for Team Quick Step were lined up outside the team vehicle in the staging area for the prologue time trial – another example of the sort of opportunities you have to shoot “bike stuff” before and after the race at an event like this.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: bike, bicycle, wheel, tire, spoke, frame, fork, gear, chain, ring, brake, quick step, pulsar, specialized, components, rim, carbon, time trial, prologue, stage, hub, team, 2009, amgen, tour, of, california, professional, pro, race, road, stage, sacramento, usa, stock, red, black, white