Day 1
Project - Santa Vall. Duration - 7 days. Subject - Kevin Panhuyzen.
Monday afternoon arrival to Girona, Kevin's dad Peter picks me up from the city. We arrive to our base which I will call home for the next seven days. It's a beautiful, two-story house with several rooms, cosy living room, and a nice garden with the views of the mountains.
I unload my rucksack, clean up the camera equipment and we get to work. First task, create the visuals of the beast that will carry Kevin throughout the Santa Vall gravel race. What a sleek machinery. Family dog Wuissy is there, observing it all.
Day 2
Pretty good night's sleep, I feel well rested. Today, Kevin has several hour training up in the nearby mountains. While demolishing our breakfast, Kevin shares his route. There's a family car that will be used to chase Kevin down. Contrary to the racing, where tracking is purely impossible, here we'll have Kevin's exact location.
Kevin stocks up with the supplement snacks provided by the Mnstry and shoots up to the mountains. Myself, Wuissy and Peter hop in a van and all three of us start the chase. Camera's ready, weather is superb, what a day to be alive.
Day 3
Not too familiar with the coffee maker yet, both me and Kevin try to figure out how to work this machine. With fresh coffee, we shove down the oats and discuss the agenda for the upcoming day. Few more shots for the sponsors are needed and, later, Kevin will be having a traning for the other cycling discipline that is mountain biking.
Kevin warms up the muscles on the front patio - astounding view. Later, we load up the bike and head to nearby location for a shoot. Short drive, only 10 minutes away. Later in the afternoon, we drive up for a mountain biking training, preparations are needed for the Cape Epic. It also doesn't hurt to refresh technical abilities for the Santa Vall race that takes place in just a few days.
Day 4
Grim weather oustide. Not too bad, but it seems like vitamin D will be quite hard to absorb. Light rain commences. Luckily, there's no training today. The bike gets cleaned for the upcoming shoot with Ocuo. I won't be conducting it, a small brake for me and my camera. Perhaps a chance to observe how other photographer works.
A couple of sponsor meet-ups await for us too. What seemed a chill day, turned out to be quite an eventful one. Not the most perfect day knowing that there's a competition the next day, but that's the life of a professional athlete. We finally do a pre-race kit pick-up and head home for the final sleep before the Santa Vall.
Day 5
Big day. 129 kilometers to battle through the terrain that has recently received the amount of rain that no local has witnessed it in the past 30 years. The route I’ve studied for quite some time now on Google Street View is no longer just pixels on a screen - it’s real now. All of the photography stops are planned, it's time to execute the plan.
Kevin has sorted out a motorcycle, I'll be going around the field with it. Quite convenient and, if lucky, we may get a chance to ride next to Kevin. Great tactic for those close-up, slow shutter shots. But that's always a gamble, you never know what the situation is like with the road closures. We get to the starting point and 10 minutes before the start, me and Kevin's dad shoot up to the first location.
I missed the feeling of standing there on a track, waiting for the noise to come. And it creeps up on you slowly, you feel the adrenaline rush in. No mistakes can be made. The noise rumbles up, you hear the inspecting motorcycles slowly make their way up. The first one runs by, and then the following ones. I see the first helmet shine up from the bushes. Camera's on, settings prepared, finger on the shutter. BAM! First shot's captured. I sprint back to the motorcycle and we fly to the next stop.
Three hours of quite intense chase ups. We were fortunate to meet Kevin on one of the mains roads. We were able to drive with him. Shots from the moving vechicle are always crisp to have. Last stop captured, 30 kilometers left for Kevin. We drive to the finish line to meet him.
Day 6
The Santa Vall race is devided into two days: day 1 is 129 kilometers and day 2 is 80 kilometers. We start the day as usual - coffee. We get to the finish line and folow the same plan as yesterday. Photos from the start, multiple stops throughout the route and finishing up in the finish line. Today's track is different and contains less kilometers, we have to be even faster.
Day 7
Coming 21st in the overall rankings, Kevin and the whole team were very happy, especially knwoing the fact that early performance tends to be quite poor. Peak comes in later. I believe that's a solid sign for the upcoming season.
Day 7 marks my departure but there's still time for some city/coffee shots. I pack my bag and we leave the house. Girona greets us with a cloud-free weather. Roaming through the old town of Girona was spectacular. We say goodbye to each other with high hopes that our paths will cross again.
What a great week. Truly enjoyed the family-run concept of this project. Dad's a driver, mom helped with the feed zones and massages, and Wuissy - the dog - helped with the entertainment.
Some reminders for myself - once at the track, let go of the fear of missing the shot. More lower angle shots instead of 100% hit shots. More playful acts. To add, I should watch for the highlights when the subject is coming my way from a bright area. Reduce the aperture it to f2.8 or higher to avoid pink and red lines over the subject.
Next stop - The Hills, Italy.