Every now and then you just accidentally get a shot you're pleased with but really weren't expecting. This is my most recent example, taken at last weekend's Tour of Britain during the Junior and Ladies support race.
I was tracking eventual race winner Russell Hampton as he lead a breakway and took a panning sequence the last frame of which was complete filled by a British Cycling advertising hoarding. Given that it was much likely to be something much less appropriate - e-on, T-Mobile or Transport for London - I was quite pleased.
Which is more than I can say for the rest of the day's work! I know photography isn't - and shouldn't be - the primary concern of event organisers, but for the second year running - despite using a completely different finishing circuit - they managed to arrange the start-finish line so that it was lined with trees (last year it was all buildings) and so that the riders were coming at you with the sun directly behind them.
So, despite it being a glorious late summer's afternoon with blazing sunshine and sweltering heat, you were either shooting directly into the sun or into deep shadow. Spot metering helped a bit - as did fill-in flash for the closer shots - but most of the output I've seen is dark and dismal and/or shows evidence of over processing to try to lift the riders out of the shadows.
The finishing circuit was also much less photogenic. There were plenty of landmarks earlier in the stage, so the guys on the motorbikes were well served, but for the rest of us it was Buckingham Palace or Buckingham Palace which was a shame.
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