#MTBRooiberg
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS ZOON CRONJE
Bushveld brilliance
MAY 2014
THE ACTION True to the real African bushveld a rider unwittingly passes by a crocodile
Real African MTB
THE SHOT Shooting from the helicopter you sometimes get to see some close calls even the riders miss
THE SPECS 1/500 @ F5.6 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.advendurance.com
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Bushveld black
Persistance paid off for Darren Lill (Cannondale Blend) this weekend when he pulled off the win at the 5th round of the MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan at Rooiberg in the Limpopo Province South Africa. Tipped by many to be a real African bush mountain bike riding experience over delivered with abundant close encounters with wildlife and rapturous trails.
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& white
THE ACTION Kevin Evans paces to keep up with teammate Max Knox from FedGroup Itec
THE SHOT Flying very low thanks to the experience of the game capture pilot’s experience I was able to fire of this eye level shot that worked nicely in black and white
THE SPECS 1/250s @ f8 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash lightroom preset and levels
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
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THE ACTION Gawie Combrinck unwittingly races three giraffes running alongside him as he speeds off in search of the race leaders
THE SHOT I noticed a couple of giraffes close to the route and as we circled back they set off startled by the speeding mountain bikers perfectly in sync and between the race and myself to capture this shot
THE SPECS
Speed
1/250s @ f8 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zcmc.co.za
#MTBRooiberg
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safari
The route took place exclusively within the borders of the Rooiberg conservancy spread over more than 12 500 ha of malaria free, unspoilt African bushveld
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Sunrise splendour This was the second time the National MTB Series returned to the Elandsberg Nature Reserve that is nestled in the shadow of the majestic Waterberg Mountains.
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THE ACTION The early morning rays lighting the spectacular race village set up in anticipation of another world class event
THE SHOT Flying over the start line before the action starts the magnificent light caught my eye and I just had to snap the serenity before the start
THE SPECS 1/160s @ f6.3 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.nationalmtbseries.com
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THE ACTION Darren Lill sets off with Hanco Kachelhoffer in pursuit in grass reminiscent of the move “The ghost and the darkness�
THE SHOT Shooting into the sun provided some backlighting giving a golden glow to the tall grass surrounding the trails
THE SPECS MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
Golden grass
This was the second time the National MTB Series returned to the Elandsberg Nature Reserve that is nestled in the shadow of the majestic Waterberg Mountains.
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Sublime
THE ACTION The flowing hand carved single track snakes its way through real african bushveld
THE SHOT I had to get some height to get this shot and give a wider perspective of the flowing trail below
THE SPECS MORE INFO www.advendurance.com #MTBRooiberg
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single track Ariane Kleinhans: “I rode alone for most of the race but I was always entertained, there was just so much single track and scenery and overall just one beautiful ride�
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Shadow Warrio
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Thomas Atkinson: Very nice race, tough climbing, loved the roller coaster, water points very well manned and stocked. Perfect weekend away.
THE ACTION The professional peleton pushes hard on the open dirt road sections shadowed closely by their rivals waiting to pounce when the trails go technical
THE SHOT The famous shadow shots are not that easy to get, you need height and enough open road above the riders to fit the shadows, sometimes they work sometimes they don’t
THE SPECS 1/250s @ f8 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zcmc.co.za
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Forest fun THE ACTION
Riders make their way through some indigenous forest locally referred to as “bushveld”
THE SHOT I wanted to catch some of the incredible trails finding their way through the foliage of the african bush
THE SPECS 1/500s @ f5.6 Nikon D610 body with 70200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.nationalmtbseries.com
#MTBRooiberg
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Savanna Via the HubSA lapa: “What an awesome event!!! Great tough proper mtb trails. Thanks to the organisers for putting together a fantastic event!!!”
THE ACTION The speed at which the top pro’s flew over the ultra marathon course was surreal
THE SHOT We made a couple of hops with the chopper to also get some static shots from the ground to add a dynamic to the gallery of the day
THE SPECS 1/80s @ f7.1 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
#MTBRooiberg
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
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speedway
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Pink power THE ACTION Max Knox with his iconic pink machine made the racing hard from the gun but popped on the final hills
THE SHOT I took the shot the exact moment the sun caught Max as he exited a shady patch passing through a bush tunnel
THE SPECS 1/500s @ f5.6 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
#MTBRooiberg
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Determined Darren THE ACTION Darren Lill puts the hammer down and powers away from a popped Max Knox
THE SHOT I set up shot after a small rise expecting some action and got low down to highlight the incline
THE SPECS 1/500s @ f5.6 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.advendurance.com
#MTBRooiberg
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Roc
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cky rumble
Ariane Kleinhans “I just loved the route with the slow technical stuff on the rocky sections” Carel Bosman “I could not believe the amount of single track that we rode on” THE ACTION Kevin Evans navigates one of the many rocky section the route is renowned for
THE SHOT Getting right above the rider with the helicopter and following his movement with the camera helped me get this shot with Kevin in sharp focus
THE SPECS 1/200s @ f7.1 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
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Africa
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THE ACTION One of the Velo Life riders flies through another single track section on the trail
THE SHOT Setting up low and wide following the movement I fired both flashes to get the shot into the sun
THE SPECS 1/160s @ f6.3 Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 two SB910 flashes both fired Lightroom levels
#MTBRooiberg
MORE INFO www.zcmc.co.za xtremedia.co.za
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THE ACTION Swiss marathon specialist Ariane Kleinhans showed her rivals a clean pair of heels riding most of the event on her own in front
THE SHOT Using the natural lines of the trail and the movement I framed Ariane at full speed
THE SPECS 1/800s @ f7.1 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.nationalmtbseries.com
Amazing #MTBRooiberg
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Ariane xtremedia.co.za
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Bushveld br #MTBRooiberg
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rawl
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THE ACTION The tough technical condition blew the race apart, here Lourens Luus leads out Kevin Evans and Hanco Kachelhoffer in pursuit of Max Knox and Darren Lill
THE SHOT I walked some distance into the “veld” tracking some zebra I hoped would hang around to get riders in shot in stead I got this “stalking” shot
THE SPECS 1/500s @ f5.6 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
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Third time lucky Kevin Evans “With age my engine only kicks in at about 70km�
THE ACTION Kevin Evans tops off the podium after a significant comeback ride coming up from 7th place with less than 30km to go
THE SHOT A zoom lens is essential for that finish shot with riders saluting a good distance from the actual line you have to be focussed far out to get it
THE SPECS 1/800s @ f7.1 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
#MTBRooiberg
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#MTBRooiberg
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Deserved delight
THE ACTION Darren Lill obviously delighted about his result taking home the win after a well deserved win
THE SHOT Sometimes the emotion immediately after the riders cross the line is more intense than the actual finish shot
THE SPECS 1/200s @ f7.1 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash
MORE INFO www.advendurance.com
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Swiss
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precision THE ACTION
Another flawless performance by Ariane Kleinhans crossing the line in first after a long solo effort out in front all on her own
THE SHOT Not all finishes are photographer friendly and sometimes it means overexposing the background to get any facial expression
THE SPECS 1/320s @ f9 Nikon D610 body with 70-200mm zoom lens no flash Lightroom levels
MORE INFO www.zooncronje.com
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JE RO N NC ZO O OT O: PH
#MTBRooiberg
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