Years ago I used to do martial arts, and one of the highlights for me was the quarterly tournaments we used to take part in. It was here that I was first introduced to the concept of event photography - we all had blurry camera phone snaps of the day's antics, but to see a professional composition of your exploits was quite thrilling, even if your internal picture didn't compare well with the gurning doppleganger that always seemed to step in front of the lens just before the shutter clicked.
Soon we, as a family, built up a show wall of us inside some of the finest municipal sports centres the UK has to offer, the only thing changing was the length of hair or the colour of belt. It is no surprise, then, that I experience the same sense of enjoyment when looking through snaps of me taken on cycle sportives, only this time the Dorian Gray-like transformation from cycling God, in my head, to atrocious evidence of a wasted and excessive lifestyle is all the more apparent thanks to the wonders of Lycra. On the plus side, I also get to see some of the scenery that I miss while checking the roads ahead for potholes and debris.
Undisputed king of this art of delusion is event photography legend, Phil O'Connor, whose SportivePhoto snappers can be seen perched on shooting sticks, folding chairs and road furniture, or crouched in soggy hedges and ditches throughout the year. Phil himself routinely 'walks the floor' and I often experience his beardy countenance at least twice a ride, flitting from location to remote location like he's been cloned or has somehow discovered the secret of time travel - it only recently dawned on me that it's because he has access to a 'car' and 'short-cuts'.
If, like me, you're a sportive veteran, you'll still be amused by the shout of 'elbows and stomachs in' and the 'Hi Phil' retort, but that's really all we get to know - a thirty second segment of what we imagine to be a pretty short and easy way to deduct money directly from your bank account should you choose the picture that makes you least look like that guy in the Lampre kit...
It's not quite like that, of course, and I intended to find out how much it wasn't quite like that by bullying and harassing poor Mr O'C into answering some questions. It would have been fitting to do the interview crouched in a ditch, but instead I thought it more comfortable and less ruinous on my knees if I just asked him from the comfort of my laptop.
SPORTIVE: Phil, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me - you're incredibly busy, with SportivePhoto (and you in person) seemingly at every UK event, plus more than a few over the Channel. When do you get time off, and what do you do?
PHIL O'CONNOR: November, December and January are quiet for me so it gives me a chance to look back at the year and how we could have done things different. I usually pretend to 'start getting fitter' - this lasts until the end of February. I did a lot of walking this time around, it's May now and I am back to being knackered from walking to the village and back.
S: How do you prepare yourself for a day in ditches, under hedges and on the top of windswept hills, armed only with a folding chair and medically prescribed cushions?
P: A nationwide knowledge of McDonalds comes in very handy, their Double Sausage McMuffin meal (without egg of course! Ergh) plus black coffee starts the day well. After that Red Bull and Oreos plus the odd bit of fruit maybe! I try not to think about the fact that I am about to sit at the side of the road for anything up to 10 hours before maybe driving 200 miles home afterwards.
I don't have a medically prescribed cushion but I do have a memory foam garden kneeler that has so far saved my arse from turning into a reverse version of a camping stool. I also have numerous coats, waterproofs, gloves, hats, and a fishing umbrella to get me through the day.
S: Do you get bored with people shouting 'Hi Phil' at you?
P: Possibly in the morning, but by the afternoon the beauty of being your own boss has worn off and I'll talk to anyone. 'Stomachs in lads' still makes me laugh even after the hundredth time.
S: What's your favourite ditch/road sign/bench, and more importantly on what sportive event?
P: The top of Michaelgate in Lincoln for the Lincoln GP Sportive is a favourite. For many years previous to the event I had sat there for the Lincoln GP when shooting it for Cycling Weekly and also Winning Magazine once.
Winnats Pass is also a belter in any event, you can set up a remote too to get a cracking secondary shot. I've a favourite descent in the Dartmoor Classic also that I look forward to every year, there are also a couple of finish shots that work well and produce great images at London Revolution and Rise Above Sportive.
My favourite shot was the ford in Exmoor Beast, which sadly has gone from the route; after the riders had passed I would collect up all the fallen energy bars and they would sustain me for several days afterwards.
S: Why cycle sportives - Isn't studio work easier?
P: Studio work! Jeez, I've done some over the years but it's so slow it drives me insane. I did once photograph Ayrton Senna's car in an infinity walled studio in Wimbledon which was different I suppose. Give me live sport any day, you get one crack at a shot and that's it. I much prefer to know I can't go back and reshoot anything.
S: How many times a day do you just wish someone would fall off their bike, just to pep up a photo?
P: Never, but I do always appreciate a top-class wheelie. One of the best ever was in the Purbeck Hill-a-Saurus when someone pulled a brilliant one downhill flat out for my entertainment!
S: How many snaps are taken on a typical day, and how do you decide which ones to upload?
P: Depends hugely, most I shot in a day last year was 11,000 images at the Dartmoor Classic. We edit as we caption so hopefully those below standard go in the trash - though needless to say, before anyone writes in, yes a few dodgy ones do get through...
S: No, they're just 'normal' ones of me
P: Ah...
S: Who are your photography and/or cycling heroes?
P: Jane Bown, Chris Smith and David Ashdown were three giants of the newspaper world that I bought papers for, to be inspired by their work for many years. Cycling wise it would be Robert Millar, Sean Kelly, Chris Boardman, Graeme Obree, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy. I've been lucky enough to meet and photograph them all many times.
S: UK or foreign sportives?
P: I love UK events. After years of working for Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport where I would be abroad for up to 100 days a year this change in direction has reminded me what a fantastic country we live in. However, those UKCE French events are bloody brilliant.
S: What non-photographic essential do you always pack to take on an event?
P: A GO Outdoors £6.99 camping stool.
S: Favourite pro-cycling event?
P: Tour de France in the 80's, when you could drive to anywhere on the course and wait for the riders to come past and there would not be a million camper vans in the background - did I tell you that things were so much better back in the past?
S: Are you actually a cyclist as well - do you ever do sportive events?
P: I actually own two bikes! I rode the last one on my 50th birthday, I managed 50kms on it, nearly 5 years ago, I still haven't washed it. I've never done a sportive, to my shame...
S: What's your favourite bit of photography kit, past or present?
P: Past would be a Bronica 645 ETRS that I still own and which I used to shoot medium format transparencies on which I now love to go through. Present day would be a 1.7 Nikon convertor which when coupled to my Nikon D4s and 80-200 lens gives me limitless possibilities.
S: Do you fill your mobile phone up with snaps as well?
P: Of course! I've even got an Instagram account, it's got 6 followers, three of which are family members. SportivePhoto also has an Instagram account, it has 24 followers but has yet to upload a photo. I think if I were to upload now it would all be a disappointment so am going to stick to slowly collecting followers.
S: Is freezing cold or boiling hot better from a photographic point of view?
P: Boiling hot for me - riders don't usually want to buy pics of themselves dressed like the Michelin Man.
S: That's me all the time...
P: Umm - next question?
S: What's your favourite sportive?
P: Like this answer, short ones.
S: If you weren't a sports photographer, what you be?
P: Haven't a clue - it's what I've been for so long.
S: Do you think anyone in this country has photographed more sportives than you and SportivePhoto?
P: Frankly, no.
S: Are there any events that you've not done that are definitely on your wish list?
P: I'd love to to the Deloitte Ride Across Britain for sure, and the Wiggle Northern Angel - the landscape looks terrific.
S: Are you good at airbrushing? I think for my next event I'd like to look as graceful as Contador on the climbs and as powerful and majestic as Kittel in the flat. Can you do that for me?
P: ...
S: Phil? Hello...?
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