Photography

Short Snack #5 | Melbourne Bikes & Beaches πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί

I'm very fortunate.

Over the last few years I've been all over the world. Continents and cities I never thought I'd visit. Sometimes it's a great experience, & sometimes I can't wait to get out of whatever random place I've landed in. Either way, I feel beyond privileged to get the opportunity, good or bad to fly around seeing the world through my lens.

This was one of those good ones πŸ‡¦πŸ‡ΊπŸ‘.

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This latest job had me flying 17,000km around the globe to Australia to shoot the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Working with a new client I was putting my editing and shooting skills to the test to create several stand alone videos as well as a highlights of the day incorporating footage from 12 GoPro's mounted on the riders bikes.

Work flow was tough - and while there was tonnes of footage, that's not always the easiest thing to deal with - especially when you're trying to get your video live in four hours. Thankfully it all worked out, & I (plus the client & teams!) are happy with the results!

 

Then, because I'd flown 17,000km and it felt a shame to travel one whole day to only spend three in that country, I decided to stay another two days and explore Melbourne...and there happened to be another bike race to watch πŸ™ˆ #CantKeepMeAway

Enjoy Short Snack #5. Really tried to push the boat out on this one in the shoot, testing some new techniques to bring into the edit.

 
 

Melbourne is an awesome city. Seriously one of the best I've ever been to. Somehow it was chill while also keeping the feel of a bustling metropolis. It had everything you needed from a city, the transportation was incredible, and you were 20 minutes from the beach. I've never been to a city that was so sporty either. Multiple pro arenas, and every park was full of people playing soccer, doing yoga, softball, kicking a rugby ball around.

It made coming back to the never ending winter of the UK that little bit harder! It's a place I could move to tomorrow, and a place worth visiting if you get the opportunity πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί


Melbourne

 

I'm not a city person. Give me a field, a beach, anything - cities are all the same worldwide...well, that's what I thought until I went to Melbourne.

 
 

Macca's on the signs, arvo said on the radio, news stories ranging from shark sightings to spilt milk and all the puns you'd imagine. Australia has a unique attitude, & doesn't hide any of it.

 
 

A green city. Full of juxtapositions, people enjoying the sunshine and..a lot of weird things if you looked hard enough.

 
 

The place felt similar yet different. You still had the crazy pigeon lady, but also a true feeling of multiculturalness. I've never eaten better Chinese, and in a restaurant where no one spoke English.

 
 

The place was buzzing. It was active. You could stray from the path in park for the sport being played almost non-stop. Street music & small crowds formed on nearly every corner. I sat & watched a community of mismatched people wander up & away around a game of outdoor chess.

I left Melbourne thinking about how it had everything London had - with better weather, less people and a much more calm demeanour.

I could move there tomorrow.

 

Cadel Evens Road Race

My main event. Named after Australia's only TdF winner - the race start's in Evans' hometown of Geelong, races down the Great Ocean Road before returning to the finish. Sadly I was stuck around the start/finish & media centre - so never got to see the ocean road...but it's something else to do when I come back!

 

I'm used to doing races in the Northern Hemisphere...so this scenery & sun was quite a nice change of pace!

 
 

My main role was video...but I still managed to take & end up sharing a lot of my photography over the week...

 
 

One for the fans. It's not every day the Pro Tour comes to πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί...and the fans were rewarded & then some by the generosity of the riders. Big shout out to Esteban Chaves for keeping his trademark huge grin despite everywhere wearing a mask of his face all week

 

Winners & grin-ners. 

The Champagne Moment! 🍾🍾🍾

 

I'm usually filming for these...but with no formal requirement I thought I'd take a turn at snapping Ruth Wilder enjoying a much deserved moment in the sun

 

Herald Sun Tour

Can't beat a bike race through a major city CBD!

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Focus from DVP before eventually riding to the podium on the TT

 

Froome & Chavez were two of the nicest people all week. Taking selfies with fans, signing everything & generally being awesome people to fans who were just excited to see their cycling heroes on the other side of the world

 

Thank you for cycling slowly.


What did YOU think of Melbourne? And did I overdo the transitions in this video? If I was thinking of making a tutorial on how to do some of the cuts, would that imterest you or not? πŸ‘‡

@THEREALRHODRI

RHODRI@CONTENTISKING.CO


VIEW MORE SHORT SNACKS HERE

All images taken either on a Sony A7sII with 85mm or 24-70mm