Utrecht6 Apr 2019

On Saturday 6 April 2019 the team held a free meetup and pop-up race in Utrecht, for everyone who was going to race in Rotterdam on 8 June. The racers met at Utrecht Centraal, under the cloud, raced from 12:15 to 18:00 through three themes and three checkpoints, and ended the day with a drink in the centre of the city.

The themes were I like your style!, Light and shadow and The other side, and everyone sent three photographs per theme the next day. It was a good way to test the gear, and the legs, on a tight schedule before race day.

Eli Dijkers came from Rotterdam to judge and chose his three favourite sets, and the three winners each received a ticket for a UPR race that year.

The photographers showed a surprisingly wide selection of images. Almost everyone has succeeded in making at least one, but often several, beautiful images. That is quite an achievement given the time constraints and the imposed themes. What is also striking is that it is difficult for many photographers to work in series; often it flies in all directions or there is just too much overlap. Some people always know how to use exciting light and choose the moments well. Switching within a series between black and white and color can work, but often it distracts too much.