Thursday, January 29, 2009

Visions of Cyclocross


Truly great cycling photographers are as rare as the winners of Paris-Roubaix. Their ability to distill the energy of a race, of a racer, into a single frozen moment is what separates their work from just another snapshot.


Greg Page of Page 1 Studio is one such photographer. While he is primarily known for his studio work, Page is also known in Southern California as a stellar race photographer and videographer. He made the trip to Kansas City for the 2008 Cyclocross National Championships.


Page shot for two days, capturing the weekend's energy in an unusual way. In addition to finding the occasional descriptive bit of action, he chose to define the racing through a series of select moments. The book alternates between these broader presentations of action and montages of frozen movement.


Ultimately, the book makes a lasting statement about cyclocross. Because he chose not to focus on this year's 'cross gods, the weekend of racing represents not the pinnacle of a single season, but rather the pinnacle of 'cross fitness, the sport performed as we see it in our mind's eye.


In a world of shrinking resources, Page elected to produce the book via print-on-demand (POD) technology with Blurb. The quality of the paper, the color balance (given there was no proofing) and the binding is exceptional. This is what we wish magazines look like.


The softcover runs $27.95, while the hardbound with dustjacket goes for $39.95; a casebound (cover art printed on the hardcover—think textbook) is available for $44.95. Purchase Visions of Cyclocross through Blurb.

8 comments:

Matt Haughey said...

You should check out the 2008 season in Portland covered by the people at pdxcross.com. They produced a blurb book just before xmas that is stellar and takes a more photo essay approach to covering the races. They have a preview of it here.

123123 said...

Keep an eye on the New England Cyclocross book coming soon....

Matt said...

2nd image is golden....

Jason said...

2nd pic- hey I know that dude!

James P. said...

I know this photographer. Greg's a really good guy, and a decent racer as well.

Great article, guys!

collin said...

cover pic- thats me!

Chill said...

I've known Greg for awhile, have ridden hundreds of miles with him, and have hired him to photograph portraits for me and others. He's a tremendous guy, always encouraging, open and honest, a great wheel to ride with, and an artist with his camera.

I'm excited to see him expressing his passion for cycling and his passion for photography in this book! I can't wait to get my copy.

Ray Creations said...

Great post, like the photographs.
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