Guns, tigers and bike races, oh my!

On my recent trip to Oregon to visit family, I had intended to photograph some culture Americana a la the 4th of July Independence Day festivities in my hometown. Though Ashland is not very big, it does put on a good parade each year and afterwards there is a festival atmosphere and fireworks in the night.  Unfortunately, I had flu symptoms that weekend and was in no condition to go out, so that shoot will wait for another year.  Consequently, I returned to Beijing after five weeks of leave thinking I did not have much photographically to wow you with.  Perhaps this is why it took me so long to upload the images from the trip.  Still, submitted for your approval, here are a few of my escapades.Without time to go fishing, my dad and I found a few hours one afternoon when we could escape to the mountains outside of town.  It was only a 30 minute drive, so why not enjoy the great outdoors?  This is one of the benefits of living in a small town.The drive out of townHere's a nice spot, but not quite right for what we had in mind.  The 9,500 foot peak of Mount McLoughlin in the background.Ah, here is a worthy spot.About the time I learned to take photographs, I was also taught how to shoot a gun, but I've rarely partaken of the sport.  I don't think I've shot more than a few rounds in the past 20 years.  It seemed like a good diversion and dad said he had some ammo that needed to be spent.  "Getting old."  Whatever that meant.  So, with about 70 meters to work with (100 is the preferred distance), he placed a target on a dead tree that had clearly served the same purpose many a time and we began to add some bore holes for insects using his .270 Winchester.  At least, I think it was a Winchester.I had hoped to catch a bullet exiting the gun, but my Canon is not as quick as his .270.Dad examines his first three rounds.Then we looked at my first, and only, three rounds.  Aw shucks.Truth is, in my youth, I spent more time practicing with a compound bow in the backyard than with guns (which cannot be fired in backyards).  Consequently, I felt this was a fair showing considering the years and that I was using a scope on a gun sighted for someone else.  The bruise on my shoulder for the rest of the week reminded me why I spent more time with the bow.  It is worth noting that the .270 has quite a bit of recoil or kick.  Which equals pain.  It was like getting punched in the same place repeatedly. 

.270 shell.  Dead trees beware!  Ear protection a must!Now, one thing you can do with guns is go hunting for something more agile than a dead tree.  However, and this is important, you cannot go hunting at a zoo.  With this firmly in our minds, we left the guns behind when we took Reina to the Portland Zoo.  You can pay hundreds of dollars ($400 a day I believe) to go tiger trekking where I visited in India this past February.  And you can drive in a jeep for hours and never see more than a tiger footprint.  Or you can pay $30, walk for 15 minutes and see this beauty in an enclosure.It took a few extra months, but I finally saw a tiger!  In a zoo.Another place you probably should not carry firearms is to a bike race and the Portland, Oregon  Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge is no exception, especially since my nephew-in-law, Dean,  was one of the racers.  Currently training for the 2012 Olympics with the USA cycling team in Colorado, Dean came out to compete in what is essentially a hometown race for him.That's Dean in the yellow jersey.For those of you who do not know, the velodrome is an oval track where the track is steep at the corners.  It is a race for sprinters.  People on bikes with no breaks and hellbent on winning.  Basically, slightly insane people.Must go faster, must go faster.  Racers in an elimination race.  Each lap, the slowest rider is dropped until the final few battle it out in a sprint finish.

At the start of this Keirin, the racers follow a pace motorbike for a couple of laps before attacking.  Like the mechanical rabbit in greyhound racing, no one knows what would happen if the bike riders caught the motorbike, but I suspect it would not be pretty.

Dean looked good with about 30 meters to go, but the guy in red and black actually beat Dean to the line by half a bike length.These cyclists produce so much explosive power when the stamp on the pedals that they crack normal bike frames, even the really expensive pro ones.  Consequently, they do a lot of extra welding work on bikes for track sprinters. 

Detail of Dean's racing bike.  He has cracked four.

Enough rambling.  I'll put up some more pics from the coastal portion of our trip in a bit and I've still got some surprises regarding the music video shoot.  Stay tuned.  Meanwhile, a word from our sponsors:

When not terrorizing trees, Chris has been known to photograph nature.

Reina demonstrates how to properly pack a toddler in a carry-on bag.