IMGP4004, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I had hoped to be skiing this weekend but we don't have enough snow so I got a few rides in instead.
Friday I did a nice solo ride at Hartman Rocks and I kept noticing the moon as I was riding along. Almost as if it was trying to get my attention. Well, it did! I ended up taking several shots that ride which included the moon. This first one includes me as well!

With the moon constantly reminding me of it's presence and it's location in the sky, I had an idea. There's this neat bent old tree that I might be able to frame the moon under. It was maybe a mile away from my location when I had this idea and figured it might be worth it to head over there and see if it would line up.

Before I got to that bent tree I passed this big rock outcropping. With a little adjusting of my position I was able to capture the moon in the slot in these rocks. Cool, so far so good.

Then I got to the tree that brought me over this way. It wasn't easy but by balancing on a boulder (in cycling shoes) and using live view to compose while holding the camera over my head I managed to line this one up too. Hooray for the moon!

Finally on the way home the sunset started getting really good. I rode as quickly as I could to reach this little pond between the KOA and the airport in hopes of catching some nice sunset reflections. As luck would have it I caught the peak of a great sunset at the pond and I had time to snap a few more here before the last couple of chilly miles to get home. This one didn't include the moon as it was in a very clear part of the sky that wasn't as interesting as the parts with clouds. But that's ok. It was a nice ride and a good haul of photos for the day.

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IMGP0299.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

My friend and neighbor Brian Smith won the Pummeler's Butt trail running race this morning and then the Pummeler's Butt mountain bike race this afternoon. Impressive!

Race results are here.

Buy photos here!

Both races were held at Hartman Rocks near Gunnison Colorado. They were organized by our great local trails organization Gunnison Trails and MTB OG Dave Wiens.

Photo details:

I put a remote flash in a tree for this one. I kind of like how it worked out.
Pentax K-5 & Tamron 28-75 f/2.8

Remote flash was a AF200 - a 1980's era pentax flash triggered with Cactus v5 triggers. I also had my Sigma 530 Super flash on the camera at full power.

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IMGP2152.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I had a great time over the past few days with the Pro Challenge coming through Gunnison and then going with the race to Aspen and finally hiking back.
I'll post more on this topic but thought this shot of Tom Danielson of Boulder winning the stage was worth putting up right away. Now back to my other job...

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IMGP5868.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I only spent a few hours out in the sage this year but it was fun to see and cheer on friends.
I was trying to get more interesting shots of the race than individual riders (although I did grab a few of those too).
Conditions were hazy this year due to wildfires.

I didn't take a ton of photos this year but I still got some racer photos in some good light Saturday evening. If you raced and want to see if I got a shot of you come over to my Zenfolio Gallery and have a look!

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IMGP9218.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

Half Growler (Saturday) photos are here.

Full Growler (Sunday) photos are here.

You can search for your race number to see what photos you are featured in. The search will look in all galleries so you may see photos of someone racing the other day with your same number. If you don't want to see that, add the word half or full to your search depending on which race you did.

Great job to everyone who raced or who was involved in putting it on!

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IMGP0175.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

It was a tough race this year with some difficult conditions. Congratulations to all the racers and thanks to the volunteers.
I have a ton of photos to post and will update here when they are ready in a day or two.

2012-05-30 Update: Half growler photos are now posted at my Zenfolio site. They are all tagged with bib numbers so you can search for your number to get just the shots of yourself quickly.

The Full growler is all tagged and is in the process of uploading now. I'll have a link to those up here probably tonight.

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Or maybe just a toe? I hope my photo which was used on Outside Magazine's website is just the start of something.

The photo was one I shot last summer getting images for another magazine's web site that I never submitted to them (met my quota already). Then recently I was contacted by Dave Wiens looking for a photo of the 24 Hours in the Sage mountain bike race. I went through my unused images and found this one I had previously overlooked. I like it and I hope the good folks at Outside do too.

Plenty more where that came from! :)

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IMGP3094.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

Hartman Rocks is dry. A bit too dry even, but the transition from ski to mountain bike was smooth and instant this year.
It was a nice evening out there last night with some great storm clouds rolling through the valley.
This shot is from the Top of the World trail looking North at a spot I've taken photos before.
Pentax K-5 & da40

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IMGP8987.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

I was mountain biking on Saturday which is odd for January around here and I brought the camera as I often do. Near the end of the ride I was thinking I should have just left it at home because the light was no good and I was getting tired and cold. Then suddenly the light broke through and illuminated this squall over Gunnison and having the camera became very worthwhile! I forgot about being cold for a little while and got these photos before a very brisk ride home reminded me.
Sadly the storm didn't give us any significant much-needed snow, but it was enough to enjoy a little skiing at Monarch the following day.

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We had two races at Hartman Rocks on Saturday, a brutal looking trail running race called the Pummeler's Butt, and the Growler Series final mountain bike race. It was a beautiful day and all the local hammerheads were out giving it their best. Many did both events!
I have images available at my Zenfolio site, so stop by if you are looking for photos to purchase (prints or electronic for non-commercial use). If you want a photo for a non-profit organization, please contact me and I can help you out!

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