XMspread #MTBHilton Midlands Magic 2014

Midlands magic

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS ZOON CRONJE

AUGUST 2014

#MTBHilton was the 7th in the series of 8 MTN National MTB Series driven

by Nissan events

THE ACTION Some of the top names in international mountain biking descended on the Zulu kingdom ahead of the MTN World Marathon Champs the weekend after causing a couple of surprise entries that upset the pre race favourites

THE SHOT I just loved the depth in this image and the riders strung out clearly applying the pressure made it a no brainer to fire the shot

THE SPECS 1/640 @ f6.3 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.advendurance.com

#MTBHilton

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#MTBHilton

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Forest fun “ #MTBHilton was the 7th in the series of 8 MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan events�

THE ACTION

Nico Bell the current MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan series leader in the hunt

THE SHOT I noticed a ray of light on the trail through the trees and used it to light the subject with the darker backdrop of the forest amplified by the vertical lines

THE SPECS 1/320 @ f4.5 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com

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l l i h p U #MTBHilton

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by n e v i r ies d r e S B d“ MT n i l k a n s t o i i t Na s of e N i T r e M s e est “ Th g r a l e is th n a s s i N

e l t t a b THE ACTION

The top guns battle it out for the King of the Mountains title clearly pushing as hard as they can to apply the pressure on the competition

THE SHOT It is not often that a shot works from behind but this one captured the intensity of the climb and the earnest of the intent to hurt the field turing the pedals in anger

THE SPECS 1/250 @ f8 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com

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Zulu

#MTBHilton

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Kingdom THE ACTION

Riders make their way up one of the many hills in the Midlands area surrounding Hilton looked upon by a grazing cow

THE SHOT In my line of work I don’t often get the chance to set up a shot, it paid off scouting ahead a bit and saw the shot before the riders arrived and just waited for the right moment to get the proportions right

THE SPECS 1/250 @ f8 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com

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Vertical horizon

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THE ACTION Max Knox hammers the pedals to put pressure on the lead group shadowed by team mate Kevin Evans waiting to pounce

THE SHOT Showing how steep a climb is requires a bit of a blind rise and a very low angle with a zoom lens

THE SPECS 1/640 @ f6.3 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com #MTBHilton

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#MTBHilton

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Persistance

pays

“ This is the first time in recent memory the overal series title will come to the wire at the final event #MTBCraterCruise�

THE ACTION Darren Lill makes his move on the climb to the king of the mountains prime

THE SHOT Expecting some action I raced ahead and waited for the front guys to catch up to me to watch the action unfold

THE SPECS 1/640 @ f6.3 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO

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www.advendurance.com

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Lined up

THE ACTION Max Knox winds his way through the flowing forest trails around Hilton

THE SHOT Plantations lend themselves to wide shots showing off the linear features you just have to time it

THE SPECS 1/60 @ f4 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com #MTBHilton

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THE ACTION The sweet trails took riders through some of the many sugar cane fields in the area

THE SHOT Waiting for the action to happen a look back sometimes tells the best story

THE SPECS 1/250 @ f8 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zcmc.co.za #MTBHilton

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Sugar rush xtremedia.co.za

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Scorching THE ACTION The sharp end of the race hidden the shadows and the scale of the scorched earth

THE SHOT The stark contrast of the burnt field and evergreen caught my eye and opted for the wide angle to show of the sheer scale versus the diminutive riders in the shadows

THE SPECS 1/640 @ f6.3 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO

www.zooncronje.com

#MTBHilton

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g speed

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Lights, came

THE ACTION Pre race TV interview being conducted with Nico Bell

THE SHOT Finishline shots al seem similar but I could feel the raw emotion through the lens when Darren took the win he worked so hard for

THE SPECS 1/500 @ f5.6 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com #MTBHilton

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era, action

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#MTBHilton

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Elated Lill

THE ACTION An elated Darren Lill crosses the finish line after an impressive effort

THE SHOT Finishline shots al seem similar but I could feel the raw emotion through the lens when Darren took the win he worked so hard for

THE SPECS 1/500 @ f5.6 Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens no flash

MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com

xtremedia.co.za

OT O:

ZO O

NC

RO N

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“ The MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan is the largest series of its kind “

PH

#MTBHilton

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