Ultimate X

Canon EOS 7D

f5

1/1250th sec. (high speed continuous)

ISO 200

EFS 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS @ 18mm

I’ve had a pretty event filled weekend! I went to see U2 on Friday night with my family which was by far the most awesome concert I have ever been to!! It was a performance like no other and an event that was no doubt enjoyed by everyone who attended. The people that I have spoken to about it are still in awe of the incredible performance which lasted over 2 hours! I have been to a lot of concerts and this one was by far the best. I am still trying to relive it over and over in my head. The amazing sound as well as the lighting and the way everything fitted together was fantastic. The amount of time and coordination, not to mention the cost, to create such an event must be staggering. I just hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get my camera in which was a shame as it would have made for a fantastic photo opportunity. I did manage to get a few pics on my phone and I will try to upload some decent ones in the next few days.

I did however manage to get my camera into the Ultimate X, an extreme sports bonanza which was held close to the waterfront on Saturday the 19^th, the day after U2. The Ultimate X showcased the talent of many of the best South African riders in freestyle motocross, skateboarding, BMX, Dirt BMX as well as wakeboarding.

I unfortunately arrived slightly late… My family were in town for the weekend and I went to the Biscuit Mill with them in the morning before heading there with Joss and my younger brother. We had missed the motocross which was a shame but managed to watch a lot of the dirt BMX and skateboarding. It was such a hot day and the crowds were not big as I had expected them to be, which was nice as it meant we could get right to the front (great for pictures, of which I took a lot!). After an hour we made our way onto the bridge which was right over the kicker/ramp the wake boarders were using to get some seriously decent air. Pulled by jet skis in one of the canals that surround the waterfront area, the riders would take turns to hit the kicker or slider that had been made for the occasion. We witnessed a few heavy wipe outs as well as a few awesome tricks.

I was shooting on high speed continuous (8 frames per second on the 7D) and managed to get some really amazing sequences which I stitched together on Photoshop. I’m really not great with Photoshop and don’t use it often enough to figure out how most of the features work so this exercise proved to be pretty difficult in the beginning but after a while and a few attempts it managed to work out.

It has been a long, exciting weekend. Hopefully there are many more to come!

Enjoy your week. P.S.