If you’ve been to any big race you’re sure to have seen them, racing around, exhausted and never stopping for a break, no not the racers, we are talking about the photographers! In the hunt for that elusive shot, or to capture the feel of an event nobody works harder than the media teams. If you have ever wondered what they are carrying, the ENDURO team of photographers and Videographers will be sharing what’s in their bag, and some useful advice for those who want to get more into MTB media.
Next up in our camera bag series is UK Editor Trev Worsey, a regular on the racing circuits both at home in Scotland where he covers the Scottish Enduro Series and on the EWS circuit where he joins the media carnival.
Most of the shoots I do are in the wilds of Scotland, but my favourite assignments are races! There’s nothing like having 400 shredders all fully pinned to get exciting shots. I also love ‘the media carnival’. When covering an event like an EWS you have to keep constantly moving, racing from the media shuttle up the stages, getting in position, getting a handful of shots and running back to head to the next stage to keep ahead of the riders, it’s exhausting, and I often think the race is tougher for the photographer’s than the riders. I like to keep my gear as light as possible. The full setup comes in at 11 kg which is not too bad, I would like to lose the flashes as I rarely use them, but they are a good tool sometimes in really bad conditions.
Camera gear
I shoot on a battered Canon 5d MkIII, it has been drowned a few times and stopped working completely twice, but has always got the shots and amazingly come back to life after drying out. I love its ability to almost shoot in the dark and the very quick focus. I do carry a waterproof bag, but whenever I try and use it, it fogs up and drives me crazy, so I really should get rid of it. When it comes to lenses, most of the shots I have sold have been caught on the classic 70-200 mm f2.8 IS2 lens, which I run with the IS switched off for faster focus (so I should have bought the cheaper one, haha). I have recently fallen in love with the Sigma 35mm f1.4 as it shoots amazing wide angle portraits and gets intense action but it needs careful handling due to the insane DOF and it’s not waterproof. I also carry a Canon 100 mm Macro f2.8 for bike components or closeups of wildlife, a Canon 15 mm Fisheye f2.8 for getting into the action on the podiums (it’s still filled with champagne from the Scottish EWS round), and a Canon 17 mm – 40 mm f4.0 for beautiful landscapes and atmospheric forest shots, I would love the f2.8 for faster speed but I always use it stopped down anyway and it’s always been super sharp.
Scottish Essentials
The bag also contains a few Scottish classics, including a midge net (small biting insects that hunt humans) for my head for when they are biting really bad, a tick remover, a lightweight down jacket for really cold days and a few cam-straps for attaching flashes to trees. I carry a sweet custom folding SRAM Guide knife that I was given at a press camp, I like to think it’s for fending off bears but in reality, I use it to cut my sandwiches. The most important thing in the bag is the race timings of the event I am shooting, these help me keep on top of who is where and at what time. I also carry a dictaphone and an Eye-Fi SD card for the 5D that allows me to upload photos to the internet directly from my camera with an iPhone for instantaneous race reporting.
Tips for covering events
Enduro is certainly the hardest of the cycling disciplines to cover, the courses are huge and it’s really hard to stay ahead of the riders. The best advice I can give is to do as much preparation as you can and if possible, ride the course during practice, it will help you find that perfect corner or help eliminate any stages that are not worth shooting. During the race really focus on the race timings, have them printed out and highlight any riders you want to get shots of, if you start getting behind, skip a stage to get ahead again. If your shot is not working don’t be afraid to move on and never camp in one spot for too long, you will miss all the action. If you are just starting out, be polite to other photographers working on the day and learn how they work; if you find someone at your chosen spot don’t get in their way. Also, check out other photographers work on Instagram and in the magazines, I learnt a lot from our main photographer Christoph Bayer he takes awesome pictures; it’s important to find your own style but appreciate the work of others.
Here are a collection of Trev’s favourite shots.
You can find more of Trev’s work on his Instagram.
Read more articles from this series here:
What’s in the camera bag of our photographer Christoph Bayer
What’s in the camera bag of our photographer Ross Bell
What’s in the camera bag of our photographer Noah Haxel
Words and photos: Trev Worsey
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