Claudio Piombetti's blog, archived articles for 04/2010
Car racing near Marina Promenade
Sunday morning. You plan to sleep well into the morning, and maybe even reach that long-sought after goal, waking up at noon, to make up for a long backlog of lost sleep. And at ten o'clock an unbelievably loud noise, akin to somebody switching on all the 100,000 Toyota Corolla recalled in Brazil, wakes you up. It comes from the other bank of the river, a few hundreds meters from your flat. You have two options: 1) earplugs, sleeping mask, and you will yourself back to sleep; 2) camera,...
Do we need subject permission before snapping a sports picture?
I will be returning to the UK after two years in Atlanta and two in Singapore, and I better get used again to the "you will be filmed fifty times a day by CCTVs, but damned if you take a picture" approach. Here in Singapore it does not matter where I am, there are always at least a dozen chaps with big DSLRs (and sometimes Lomos) taking pictures of everything, from ants on the ground to skyscrapers, and including the food they have at the restaurant. In the US (in Georgia), I was asked...
Faces of triathlon
A few more pictures taken at the 2010 Aviva Ironman 70.3 in Singapore, on 21st March 2010. Sport portraits, if you want, bearing in mind the obvious: these are not portraits taken in a studio, with makeup and lighting designed to enhance the model's features. These pictures were taken hours into a triathlon race, when the athletes had already a long swim and many miles of cycling on their back and, most importantly for a portrait, on their...
OSIM International Triathlon 2010 - #3879
A picture of racer #3879 at the OSIM International Triathlon competition in Singapore. A hot day, as usual, I hope all athletes remembered to put as much sun cream as I did; I got sunburnt the day before, at the Singapore Soccer...
Singapore Soccer Sixes: there is not just triathlon, here
It was too rainy to watch triathlon, today, so I went the City Hall area with the idea of visiting Peninsula Plaza and Funan Centre, And I accidentally stumbled upon an international football competition at Padang, the sports field in front of City Hall. The Singapore Soccer Sixes is a six-a-side football tournament with many very short matches (see the rules). ...
Is Singapore a triathlon-crazy island?
In Singapore, three weeks ago we had the Aviva Ironman 70.3. This weekend we have the OSIM International Triathlon 2010. Is Singapore a triathlon-crazy island? I don't know much about triathlon, I have no problems admitting that. I know athletes swim, then they ride a bicycle, then they run. Then, if they were like me, they would swear they will never do anything like that again. And on Tuesday they...
Skaters at Somerset MRT - II
Other pictures taken last week near the Somerset MRT. Dozens of skaters on skateboards and on rollerblades, several photographers around, glorious sunshine (which disappeared too soon behind the buildings surrounding the area). As in every sport, you try to get as close as possible to the action without damaging the show: if skaters have to pay more attention to you than to their own line/speed/position, you are wasting their time and yours....
Extreme Sailing Series 2009, Singapore
December 2009, you wake up in the morning and what's out of the window? Catamarans racing in the Kallang Basin. On a sunny day. When there's nothing else to do. As Mr. Wilde used to say, "I can resist everything except temptation". So out I went, with a bicycle, an overweight backpack and not enough sun cream. A few sample photos are below, mostly taken with the Nikon D300 and the Sigma...
2010 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore: numbers 5, 1028, 1104, 911, 955
Another few pictures of the triathlon competition that took place in Singapore two weeks ago, the Aviva Ironman 2010. Number 5, James Cunnama, who finished second: Bruce Pye, #911, and #955, Andrew...
Skaters at Somerset MRT
Spent a few hours next to the Somerset MRT station, taking pictures of skaters (on skateboards and on rollerblades). The more sports pictures I take, the more I understand why pro sport photographers love their 300/2 and the other bright glass they have: there's never enough light! I took most of my...
Beware: triathlete charging!
A picture of #29, Margaret Shapiro, at the recent 2010 Aviva Ironman 70.3, a triathlon competition that took place in Singapore in March 2010. Margaret finished 3rd among women and 14th globally, with a time of 4 hours, 31 minutes and 37...