The Sea Otter Classic is an annual bike festival held at world famous Laguna Seca Raceway outside Monterey, California. It takes place every spring and has all kinds of mountain bike and roadracing events as well as bicycle and accessory manufacturer displays. I thought it would be cool to give you a quick inside view of the event through the eyes of a professional photographer…

Who are you?
Carson Blume – cyclist, runner, mountaineer, entrepreneur, photographer, instructor.

What brought you to the Sea Otter Classic?
I have been attending the Sea Otter Classic since 1996 and I love the event. This year I came to cover the women’s cycling events for my new publication, Women’s Cycling Magazine.

Describe a typical day shooting an event like the Sea Otter Classic.
I wake up early see what’s changed, get a start list (list of riders who are racing), figure out where to shoot (motorcycle, media van, on foot, or just post up on one spot). Then shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. Then back to the media center (for me, that means my van) to download, edit, export, backup & upload the images.

Where can we see your Sea Otter photos?
Subscribe to Women’s Cycling Magazine. Until the magazine is published, you can see my work on my Web site, www.carsonblume.com.

Tell me a little about your sweet van!
My van is a multi-purpose vehicle: the first purpose is digital capture systems – I provide on-site digital support to other photographers. In the commercial world we call that digital teching. The photographer shoots – either tethered directly to the computer or to memory cards – and I deal with the digital asset management (DAM), the RAW adjustments, processing, and delivery to the client.

The second purpose of the van is to support my own photography. I shoot in locations all over the US all year (about 180 days of the year). It’s better to drive than fly most of the time because of the cost of flying, rental cars and hotels, not to mention the amount of camera gear I travel with. The van ends up costing me about 1/3 – even less if other photographers or the editorial director of Women’s Cycling Magazine travel with me.

Related Content:
Sports Photography Forum
Carson Blume’s Photography Web Site
Women’s Cycling Magazine
Sea Otter Classic Coverage