Mike's Other Pixtures #13

I think my favorite spot at the Zoo .... is the great apes area.

The potential is always there for a good pixture .... I mean, they are after all, the great apes.

The reality is that some visits are good and some are not .... in fact, I often come away with no pixtures at all. 

But this was a good day .... the newest member of the Orangutan family was putting on a great show.

Check out the rope he is holding in his hands .... all three of his hands.

Proof positive .... that this is one flexible little guy.

Mike's Other Pixtures #12

It's easy to look at bike racing, with it's small slender men in bright colored lycra  .... and be fooled into thinking it's not a sport of tough guys.

This is a pixture of Chris Horner .... one of the American veterans of the sport.

In the 2011 Tour de France, he was involved in a spectacular crash .... after which he climbed up out of the weeds and got back on his bike. 

Then he rode another 20+ miles to finish that stage.

At the end of the day, we watched as the support guys from his team walked him to the ambulance .... and got him strapped onto the gurney.

As that happened we could hear Chris asking over and over again .... "did I finish"?

This is not a particularly unique story, in a sport that considers the ability to withstand pain .... a talent.

Mike's Other Pixtures #11

Poor Tristan .... the weight of the world on his shoulders and the sorrow on his face.

But in the next frame .... a hint of a smile was on it's way.

And in the frame after that .... a full on 100w smile.

Life, or at least the emotions that go with it, are quick .... when you are a kid.

Mike's Other Pixtures #10

On my last visit to the Zoo, I was strolling through the Elephant Passage.

One of the vendors told me there was a lot of action at the Gibbon exhibit .... and I should hustle over there.

It's actually part of the new Elephant exhibit just before you exit.

When I got there .... a big crowd had formed.

But it seemed to me the action was on the people side and it was the Gibbons who were getting  the good show .... not giving it.

Kind of interesting, photographing this Gibbon. 

In any animal pixture .... you want the the eyes in sharp focus. 
But when they are set inside black circles of fur, that's hard to see .... even when you  get it right.

Mike's Other Pixtures #9

We had a great day, at the Pro Cycling Challenge.

Learning from last year's experience, we got there early and laid claim to a spot right on the fence .... across from the "sign-in stage".

After the riders have signed in, they line up for the start right in front of us .... presenting some great opportunities for full frame face shots.

Especially when you have a 300mm lense to work with.

I was very pleased with the pixture I got of Vincenzo Nibali .... one of the up and coming stars of the sport (ranked #4 in the world on the day of this race).

I was a little mystified by all of the light I had captured on his face.

Thinking at first that it was reflection off the white fence that lines the course here at the start.

But if you look closely at the reflection in his sunglasses .... you can see the photographer that was laying on the ground to shoot his picture.

In an amazing coincidence .... I shot my pixture at the exact same moment that he triggered his flash.