The Art of Competitive Cycling Photography, with Phil Penman & Kristof Ramon

01/30/25 • 86 min

1 Listener

Top shot © Kristof Ramon The dynamic arena of competitive cycling photography is not for the faint of heart. This grueling specialty requires a mix of split-second reaction times, intuitive technical mastery, and the ability to anticipate—and even more important—embrace risk. It takes a special breed of photographer to continuously capture every ounce of emotion packed into this sport, from bruising injuries and bitter disappointments to the exaltation of a win. For today’s show, we’ve brought together two passionate cycling aficionados, former competitive cyclist and renowned street photographer Phil Penman and Kristof Ramon, a cycling photography specialist who recently released his first book on the subject. While they’re introduced as strangers, get ready to be wowed by the synchronicity of their shared experiences, and the remarkable chemistry that grows between them over the course of the show. Most people’s awareness of competitive cycling revolves around coverage of the Tour de France or other major races shown on TV. Our conversation delves much deeper than this, to reveal what happens behind the scenes, and show both the intensity of purpose and the many stages of suffering that’s a hallmark of this sport. Kristof’s book is titled The Art of Suffering for a reason. As he aptly sums up in the book’s opening quote: “Where the conditions get grimmer and the riders start to suffer, that’s when the more interesting stories begin.” Guests: Phil Penman & Kristof Ramon Episode Timeline: 3:56: Phil Penman’s connection to the competitive cycling world and how his insight as a cyclist informs his photography of the sport. 7:45: The logistics of photographing competitive cycling and the perils of damaging photo equipment. 10:36: The creative aspect to photographing competitive cycling and how to think outside the box to get impactful shots. 15:16: The many stages of suffering involved in competitive cycling, and the pride riders take in having this documented visually. 20:35: Photographer access, the difference between training rides and race days, and the distinctions between agency access and working independently. 26:26: Changes to Kristof’s photographic approach and the influence of social media in the sport’s evolution. 31:31: Technical aspects of cycling photography, understanding light, capturing speed, and putting in the time so to react intuitively to picture opportunities. 43:44: Episode Break 44:53: Communication strategies, building rapport with riders and teams, and people skills given the sport’s international reach. 47:51: Cycling’s rich history as a professional sport, and recent changes initiated by British Team Sky that helped the sport evolve. 54:45: The back story to Kristof’s Art of Suffering book project and how his collaboration with cycling writer Matt Rendell helped identify suffering as a narrative element. 58:40: Working with clients, balancing that work with personal projects, and developing a distinctive voice as a photographer. 1:06:15: How to start out as a competitive cycling photographer, questions about credentials, and adapting to new networks to distribute your work. 1:13:23: Balancing technical aspects of action photography with the desired emotional response while building in certainties and calculating risk. Guest Bios: British-born, New York-based photographer Phil Penman has documented the ever-changing scene of New York City’s streets for more than 25 years. and he has quite a bit of experience in the world of professional cycling himself. In his career as a news and magazine photographer, Phil has photographed major public figures and historical events. His reportage following the 9/11 terrorist attack was featured in major print publications and media broadcasts worldwide, and his work covering New York City’s pandemic lockdown is in the collection of the U.S. Library of Congress. In addition to exhibiting at Leica galleries in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, and London, Phil’s signature street photography has appeared in international exhibitions as far afield as Venice, Berlin, and Sydney. He also tours the world teaching photo workshops for Leica Akademie. Phil’s books, "Street" published in 2019, and "New York Street Diaries" published in 2023 both became best-sellers and have been featured at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Kristof Ramon is a pro-cycling photographer who covers some of the world’s most prestigious races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’ Italia, the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix. Born and raised in Belgium, Kristof discovered photography while attending film school at age 19. He eventually followed his passion for cycling and photography and has focused exclusively on this sport since 2011. Working under the name Kramon, his talent for storytelling and his ability to capture the atmosphere and raw emotion of racing makes his images stand out from typical race photography. Kristof’s reputation has earned him the respec...

Previous Episode

Passing the Podcast Keys with Derek Fahsbender and Allan Weitz

Allan Weitz had little idea of the grand photographic adventures in store when he signed on as host of the B&H Photography Podcast shortly before the show’s debut in October 2015. As a self-described big mouth, and with more than 40 years as a working pro fueling his curiosity about all things photographic, Allan quickly honed his chops to become the voice of the show. Today’s episode marks a crossroads, as Allan passes his hosting mic to the show’s incoming host, Derek Fahsbender, producer and host of the B&H Event Space. During a lively chat, we celebrate Allan’s long and successful career, both on assignment and at the helm of the podcast, with some never before told stories and audio clips from memorable interactions with guests. A few of the many topics we cover include, how a kid from Sheepshead Bay made a name for himself photographing classic yachts, the ways in which Allan’s time behind a New Jersey deli counter enhanced his ability to engage with people on a human level—among other benefits to career reinvention—and how his shift into podcasting taught him to use his voice as an instrument. As Allan aptly summarized for attendees of the podcast team’s 2018 presentation of Podcasting 101: “It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.” Guest: Allan Weitz Episode Timeline 3:38: Allan’s B&H Event Space segment from Podcasting 101. 8:35: The back story to Allan’s one-word podcast intro “Greetings!” 10:44: Allan’s chat with digital camera inventor Steve Sasson about their shared Brooklyn roots. 13:56: Allan’s hosting skills as a court jester—or Tummler in Yiddish. 16:12: Gear talk, and a clip from Allan’s chat with Bellamy Hunt of The Japan Camera Hunter. 21:19: Allan waxes poetic about his love for the Hasselblad Superwide, plus his early adoption of digital gear. 28:24: Branching out from commercial assignments to tech writing and other things.

38:18: Episode break

39:27: Memorable stories and life lessons from Allan’s assignment career. 44:22: Allan’s entrée to the world of yachting photography and portfolio tips. 50:44: Allan’s career evolution in the rarified 1980s photography landscape. 57:31: The art of the interview and the value of collaboration among the podcast team. 59:53: Getting beyond difficult pictures during an interview with Bruce Gilden 1:03:50: Upcoming plans and Allan’s Kodachrome book project. 1:10:31: Allan offers listeners his Tusen Takks for their trust in his time behind the mic.

Guest Bio:

Allan Weitz started taking pictures when digital meant doing something with your fingers. A graduate of New York City’s High School of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts, Allan is the founding host of the B&H Photography Podcast, one of the highest-rated photography podcasts in Apple's Creative Arts category.

For more than 50 years, Allan’s photographs have graced the covers and inside pages of dozens of publications, including New York magazine, Esquire, GQ, Yachting, and Nautical Quarterly. Many of these images have won him awards from the New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey Art Directors Clubs, the Graphic Artists Guild, Art Direction Magazine, Print, and Graphis, among others.

More recently, Allan has had great success exhibiting—and winning awards for—his photos as fine art prints, as well as dabbling with artificial intelligence using the traditional photos from his vast image library as source material.

Stay Connected: Allan Weitz Website: https://www.allanweitz.com/ Allan Weitz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allanweitz/ Allan Weitz articles on the B&H Explora Blog: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/users/allan-weitz Podcasting 101 with the B&H Photography Podcast Team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd2KDaNSjGI Steve Sasson Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/invention-of-digital-camera Japan Camera Hunter Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/podcast-the-japan-camera-hunter Graham Nash Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/graham-nash-ace-photographer-digital-printing-pioneer-music-legend-the-bh Bruce Gilden Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/closer-look-bruce-gilden

End Credits: Founding Host: Allan Weitz

Incoming Host: Derek Fahsbender

Senior Creative Producer: Jill Waterman

Senior Technical Producer: Mike Weinstein

Executive Producer: Richard Stevens

Next Episode

Demystifying Contemporary Africa with Lou Jones and the panAFRICAproject

Above Photograph © Lou Jones

Africa is the cradle of our civilization. Yet, most Westerners see this massive continent from a distance, and often through a scrim of largely negative headlines.

For more than a decade, Boston-based photographer Lou Jones has sought to challenge this misperception. In 2013, he launched an in-depth photographic documentation of individual countries across Africa under the title the panAFRICAproject.

Jones joins us on today’s podcast to recap his efforts to date, which currently encompasses a third of Africa’s 54 nations.

Listen in to learn how the project came to be—growing from a solo endeavor to travels with two assistants and enough photo and lighting gear to illuminate an airplane factory. We also discuss the delicate mix of diplomacy and six degrees of separation Jones employs when negotiating access to photograph—plus much, much more.

“We're talking about contemporary Africa,” Jones points out. “Talking to people local—not academics in America—to tell us what's important to their culture, what's important to their country, what's important to their community, what's important to their company. Directly from people living there.”

Guest: Lou Jones Episode Timeline:

2:58: Lou’s earliest trips to Africa predating the panAFRICAproject, then traveling to Ghana to start the project.

7:26: The logistics of travel as a solo photographer and the six degrees of separation that informs his photographic process.

11:33: The substantial diplomacy required in meetings to negotiate access, while avoiding cliches and stereotypes.

19:29: The value of Lou’s images as currency in gaining access to photograph business environments.

26:18: The evolution of Lou’s photo crew, planning and packing for multiple purposes, plus the art of trading down with project costs.

32:10: The contents of Lou’s gear bags, and how he packs everything from cameras to Speedlights to lighting accessories.

39:53: Photography as a bridge to cultural sensitivity and the relationship between a photographer and his or her subjects.

43:08: EPISODE BREAK

44:00: The evolving process of planning each trip to Africa and the constant work when boots are on the ground.

48:12: The complex algorithm Lou and his team use in planning which African country to document next.

53:56: Technological advances and cultural trends coming full circle in Africa, plus cell phone use and fin tech.

59:45: Two cultures side-by-side. Documenting the parallel worlds of contemporary society and indigenous traditions in daily life.

1:05:56: Use of photographs from the panAFRICAproject and maintaining connections with photographic subjects.

1:08:12: Kickstarter and crowdfunding campaigns to support panAFRICAproject travel and books.

1:16:03: Next steps in the panAFRICAproject and the project’s impact on a local, grass roots level.

Guest Bio: The eclectic career of Lou Jones has spanned every camera format, film type, artistic movement, and technological change, while simultaneously evolving from the commercial to the personal. Recognized by Nikon as a “Legend Behind the Lens” and honored as a Lowepro “Champion,” Jones has maintained a photography studio in Boston for more than 40 years, all while traveling to over 65 foreign countries on assignment.

Jones works primarily with advertising agencies and design studios for corporate clients such as Nike, Mobil, and Federal Express, as well as influential publications like Time, Fortune, and National Geographic, among many others.

The author of more than a dozen books, Jones is also an esteemed educator and has served as a board member for organizations such as ASMP National, the Photographic Resource Center and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

In tandem with his busy assignment career, Jones pursues long term projects on subjects as diverse as death row inmates, the Summer and Winter Games, and his most recent endeavor, The panAFRICAproject, a contemporary visual portrait of the entire continent, to establish an archive representing its 54 individual countries devoid of the preconceived, western notions of distress.

Stay Connected: panAFRICAproject Website: https://panafricaproject.org/ Lou Jones Photography Website: https://www.fotojones.com/ Lou Jones Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loujonesstudio/ Lou Jones Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fotojones/ Lou Jones Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Jones_(photographer) Lou Jones 2018 presentation at the B&H Event Space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plVb_EFMcQM Lou Jones on the B&H Explora blog: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/lou-jones-takes-a-long-term-approach-from-jazz-portraits-to-the Lou Jones’s book Speedlights & Speedlites: Creative Flash Photography at Lightspeed: https://www.bhphotovideo.com...