This morning I woke up thinking about my decisions from yesterday. I've often thought about what if I did something a little differently or pushed a little harder, would my images be any better or worse. It is a double edged sword and you need to be careful for what you wish for. In hindsight, seeing Tony Martin on the finish line with an onslaught dust caked riders slowly riding would have been the icing on the cake.
The question remains, would I have been able to make it to the finish line if I didn't follow the Hors Course route ? I know from past experiences that deviating from the prescribed path leads to hurdles you don't want to be solving when time is not on your side. This is a question I can't quite answer nor will I ever get answers. The past cannot be undone but the future can be controlled.
Why is it that during every Tour or Giro I go to, there will be one stage where I will an encounter an old man who is a wiseass. The early part of the race was an undocumented climb leading to Necropole Nationale de Notre Dame-de-Lorette. Towards the top I had stopped as there were large crowds of people and this was a perfect opportunity. I couldn't make out where I wanted to photograph from and I kept pacing till this wise-ass decides to poke fun at me. I had a laugh because I didn't understand a word he was saying and his friends were laughing as well.
I had done all the time calculations as to how long it will take me to jump from point to point and I didn't factor in couple of things and I almost ran out of time. Though the peloton were moving a little slow today due to the strong head and cross winds that blew across the course all day. I hit a junction and I had a feeling the Gendarmerie might not let me through. He asked me, "why am I coming to this junction ?" I was perplexed with the question and pointed out on the map as to where I came from and where I wanted to be. That was the end of it and I was sent on my merry way.
Driving and driving looking for something interesting in the landscape to set the peloton in but nothing. By the time I knew it I was near the sprint section and there was nothing there at all. How do you take a boring flat landscape with a huge camper van in the back ground and make an interesting photograph out of it. Let's add some heavy rain and dark clouds into the mix. This is the art of being a photographer comes in, creating something nice out of the ordinary. I was out of options and all I could think of were mundane scenarios till the race convoy started passing and that's when the Archimedes moment happened - EUREKA!!!
