Following only the victory salute, the pain-face shot is arguably the most glorious in all of cycling. And for many of us it's the most realistically aspirational. While we'd all like to win any given weekend, a lot of races we go into knowing it's probably not our day. But we all believe fervently that every game day is our day to suffer. If only someone will be there to immortalize the moment in pixels.
Jim Wilson is often the man for that, and I grabbed the shot above thinking it was an excellent example of pain-face on a Hunt Valley Bicycles rider (Todd Hesel? I'm not sure.) at Ed Sander CX. But look at it a little more closely. It's not really pain-face, is it? More like annoyed-determination-face, almost as though he's seething at the guy in front of him who slipped by on the climb, more ticked off at himself for letting it happen than the rival for his burst of speed and vertical agility. Regardless, there is glory in this shot, to be sure. There's an expression which allows us to concoct a narrative around the moment (the "1000 words" which remains the going exchange rate even today).
The original is here, part of Jim's Ed Sander Gallery here.
If you have a shot that you'd like to see as a Featured Photo on GamJams.net, send it in. I try to update on Mondays or Tuesdays with a photo from the previous weekend, so push a few my way as soon as you wipe down your bike and/or your tripod. And no, you don't need to be a pro or even need to take professional pictures. Whatever shows it like it was works great here.
So have at it.
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