When my better half mentioned that there was a bicycle race going on in Tokyo, it seemed a good chance for a day out. She could enjoy watching men with powerful legs zooming around a course and I could photograph them. Win-win.

This race went by the name "Tour of Japan", presumably named after the France version but with (hopefully) less pharmaceutical-related misbehaviour. It was a very hot day (as one of the photos will show) so I can't imagine what it was like for the riders themselves.

I used a mix of cameras : the iPhone 7 plus, my Olympus OMD-EM5 with adapted Canon manual focus lenses, and a new acquisition which will be the feature of a future article. Call it the mystery camera for now. And with that, here are the pictures (some of the riders and some of the spectators); hope you like them!

This next one was one of those semi-subconscious shots. I liked the guy's sunglasses, but it was only after I took the picture that I noticed that the colours are repeated in the background.

To finish, my personal favourite of the day. Although a true professional sports photographer wouldn't use an iPhone, there are advantages to it : you can pretty much hit the button without focusing, the response is very fast, and the depth of field is huge, so focus issues are rarely encountered.

More to come (including from the mystery camera), so do come and visit.

Thanks for looking!