Philip Bowen's Blog (6)

holmenkollen is this weekend. there is a lot to say about that race (you can check out what pete and i wrote about last year's event here) but for now i'm interested in talking about the fact that it's an interval start 50km. i would love for someone out there to correct me - this is a totally unresearched statement - but i'm gonna say it's the last 50km interval start race. period. 2002 was the… Continue

four races in five days is the reason i came here - a lot of opportunity for images in a short period of time. the other reason was that i wanted to see a US athlete getting a podium finish. so on that latter point it was a bit of a disappointment. it's tough, though, when you pin your podium hopes on sprints. the race doesn't necessarily go to the racer who's the fittest or the fastest. you gotta stay out of trouble and take good risks and make good decisions. there's no guarantees. that said,… Continue

another fine day in canada, eh? cold, though. for the prelims, there was one good spot for photos, and all the photogs were there. most of them were right on the side of the course - i camped out above them on the bank so i wouldn't have to deal with people in my shot. even so, someone walked in front of me when cook went by. i was really happy with my photos from the prelims except for the fact that i completely missed laura valaas. f.

for the men, double-poling was where it was at. i… Continue

beautiful day for racing, and not a bad day to spectate or take photos, either.

i don't have much to say about the races or the racers...i don't really see it happen except as color and form and composition through the viewfinder. i think it must have been a tough course. i saw some athletes blow up like i have never seen WC athletes blow up. also, i didn't feel like the speed was particularly high. like i said, though, when i'm in photo mode i don't pay as much attention to the race as… Continue

it was a bit of a shock going from 80 deg F to -10 deg F, and my crocs probably aren't going to cut it as winter footwear, but i'm surviving.

i spent my time today walking the courses for tomorrow's pursuit races to find my shooting locations. it was cloudy, so i don't have a very good idea of how the light and shadows will feature if the sun is out tomorrow. i have two spots for classic and three spots for skating, though it always can change last minute depending on light, tv camera p… Continue

i'm off to canmore (after a couple days in minneapolis) to take photos at the world cup. i have a 12-hour layover in amsterdam and a 12-hour layover in jfk, making the trip to mpls 44 hours door to door when it's usually 21. my flight departs kampala at 10:55pm so i'll have been up all day before i leave. i arrive mpls at 10:15am and in the interest of avoiding jetlag, it's a good idea to not sleep until that night. so chances are that the only sleep ill be getting for the next 60+ hours is on t… Continue