Using the Sun on a Sunday.

I went out and tried some new stuff today.

The clouds were out and the sun was really bright, so why not work with both.

The two photos above I shot at Dennis the Menace park in Monterey, which is a neat place and probably been shot one too many times, but the challenge is finding new ways to make cool photos in overshot places. I found making some nice silhouettes was the key on this old train and kids crossing the bridge.

Later on, I went to the Obon Festival in Seaside at the Buddhist Temple and played more with the clouds and the sun. I shot the Taiko drummers during a performance.

And the paper lanterns.

And a girl dressed in garb. I wanted to play with high-speed flash sync and shooting into the sun, which can be difficult, but turned out cool.

My editor pointed out some paper cranes to shoot...

And I used shutter speeds during a Jujutsu demo.

Rodeo blogs coming this week...

~ nic

2009 US Red Bull Moto GP - Sunday

2009 U.S. Moto GP winner Dani Pedrosa leads the pack down the corkscrew on the first lap.

Pedrosa exits turn 3.

The 2009 U.S. Red Bull Moto Grand Prix weekend has finished. It's now only second to bike racing as my favorite sport to photograph.

The entire weekend was great. Shooting bikes moving at speeds upwards of 200 mph is very difficult and creating different shots than all the other photogs is hard as well.

Fiat Yamaha teammates Valentino Rossi (foreground) and Jorge Lorenzo pass turn 3.

On Sunday morning, prior to the main race, I got to shoot in the Fiat Yahama garage where Valentino Rossi was prepping with his team. I made some very nice feature shots of him.

Below is my workspace in the media center where I spent lots of time editing photos and posting slideshows to the web. Oh, and drinking all the Red Bull I could handle.

Below is the press conference room, shot with Sunday's three winners.

My buddies Orville Meyers of the Monterey Herald and Scott MacDonald of the Salinas Californian hang out in the photo area at the corkscrew on Sunday before the race.

Race winner Dani Pedrosa enters the corkscrew.

Valentino Rossi leads Casey Stoner (center) and Jorge Lorenzo into turn 10.

Rossi leads Lorenzo around turn 3.

Lorenzo passes his team's sign at turn 3.

Next up, the California Rodeo...

Posted by:

Nic Coury / Staff Photographer

2009 US Red Bull Moto GP - Day 3

Valentino Rossi takes on Turn 4.

Rossi waves to fans after the qualifying runs.

Nicky Hayden zooms up the hill after turn 5.

Hayden leads the pack of GP racers around turn 5.

Read more at the Weekly's website.

Follow the Weekly's Twitter feed.

Posted by:

Nic Coury/Staff Photographer

2009 US Red Bull Moto GP - Day 3

Saturday of the 2009 U.S. Moto GP gives Rossi's teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, the fastest times, which might with "The Doctor" a run during Sunday's Grand Prix.

A few images from the morning practice session.

Jorge Lorenzo turns around the Andretti hairpin.

Valentino Rossi takes the second turn during practice.

Rossi accelerates into the straightaway after the third turn.

A photographer shoots racers roaring through the third turn at Laguna Seca.

The Doctor races around turn three, under his sponsor's sign.

Follow the Weekly on Twitter.

Visit the Weekly on the web.

Posted by:

Nic Coury/Staff Photographer

2009 US Red Bull Moto GP - Day 2

I headed out to the race track at about 11 am today for the pure reason to get back out in the photo pits and prepare for Sunday's race.

Nicky Hayden soars through the Rainey Curve.

I wanted to find the good angles that I felt comfortable shooting from and could move around easily in order to make a bunch of a different pictures.

I forgot how fast the bikes move and how it's much different that other sports in terms of the tracking them on the course.

Most of the day, I was shooting at ISO 200, between f/4 and f/5.6, 1/1600th second and 1/5000 sec. Both cameras performed flawless-y, especially with the great focus-tracking from Nikon's newer cameras.

Following my buddy and Reuter's photog, David Royal, we hit the infamous corkscrew for some practice lap action to shoot the lead racers: Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

A line of riders enter the corkscrew.

Valentino Rossi holds on to a turn on the corkscrew.

Casey Stoner exits the corkscrew.

Nicky Hayden rides the corkscrew during track practice on Friday.

Casey Stoner during Friday practice.

A young fan hold a Valentino Rossi t-shirt for an awaiting autograph.

Also, check out MontereyCountyWeekly.com for more coverage.

Follow the Weekly on Twitter.

Posted by:

Nic Coury/Staff Photographer

2009 US Red Bull Moto GP

Fan favorite Valentino Rossi signs autographs following a press conference on Thursday evening.

Once again the US Red Bull Moto GP zips through the infamous track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

As the Weekly photog, I'll be there all weekend covering the great race action. I'll be posting blogs, updating via Twitter and slideshows.

This blog will be dedicated to the behind-the-scenes stuff and the race from my perspective.

My gear is below:

Cameras:

Nikon D700 w/ grip.

Nikon D2H

Lenses:

Nikon 20-35 f/2.8

Nikon 28-70 f/2.8

Nikon 70-200 f/2.8

Nikon 400 f/2.8

Nikon 1.4 TC

Other:

Nikon SB-800 flash with off-shoe cord

Think Tank Speed Demon with various lens pouches.

Visit the Weekly's website for full coverage articles and slideshows:

www.montereycountyweekly.com

Visit the Weekly's Twitter feed for up-to-date action:

twitter.com/mcweekly

More to come...

Posted By:

Nic Coury/Staff Photographer

Beer gear. (Geer.)

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Cutest kids contest decided early.

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Can u find drunk 50 something in the branches?

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Check that. Better fro here.

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Best fro.

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Best stash in the vicinity.

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Yes she is getting married at beer fest. I do too.

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Come to play...wear the uniform.

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Beer Festival 09. Welcome.

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The latest Alternative Cafe show cometh. 7pm man~na (fri).

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Thank you for sending the pix right away!

best,

jeanne mcculloch

--- On Fri, 5/15/09, 8312368899@vzwpix.com <8312368899@vzwpix.com> wrote:

> From: 8312368899@vzwpix.com <8312368899@vzwpix.com>
> Subject:
> To: ksmith99.mcweekly@blogger.com, jeannemcculloch@yahoo.com
> Date: Friday, May 15, 2009, 10:05 PM
> Another atypical aquatic.
>
> This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging
> service from Verizon Wireless!
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> your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.
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FWD:

Compost master Anton Tymoshenko helping complete coonscious equation

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Time elapse...

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