Freestyle motorcross

[sds4kst8]

Had the first chance to use my Sigma 28-70/f2.8 EX lens indoors and would appreciate any comments or suggestions. What I'd most like feedback on with these two pics is the crop/zoom.

I was a little torn between focusing in on the riders in mid-air or zooming out to get more of the landing area to present a sense of heigth. Some of the riders' positions in mid-air are amazing, but does a tighter cropped pic give the sense of how high they are?

Thanks.

First pic was shot at 1/125s f/2.8 at 70.0mm iso800
http://www.pbase.com/image/25035693/medium.jpg

Second pic was shot at 1/125s f/2.8 at 38.0mm iso800
http://www.pbase.com/image/25035697/medium.jpg

Other pics can be found on my Pbase site and I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions on those pics, too.

[sds4kst8]

bump...

...got the photos included in the post!

[defordphoto]

Numero uno is the best. In #2 the lights and the landing area detract from the bike. In #1 your eyes go to the cycle and rider and then to the crowd watching the rider.

[sds4kst8]

Thanks Jim. I'm fairly new (three months) to this forum, but I've appreciated and admired your insight and support of fellow photographers. Since you shoot motorsports, I have a question for ya...

With shots like these jumpers, if I caught a rider in a cool or unusual position in mid-air, would it be worth cropping really tight, or does the photo lose something by not having at least the crowd in the background to give it some perspective and depth?

Here are a couple of examples of what I'm thinking.

http://www.pbase.com/image/25055132.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/25055213.jpg

Again, thanks for your input.

[gail]

Hi very nice picture But I don't no the first thing about motorcycles. But my question is how to you get the pictue so plane and focus. when I take some of a moving car are what ever I get like a strikes that about all I get..is there a special setting you have to use to take these shots? Just like when I snap shots of my little animals if they move just a tiny bit there goes that shot. :lol:

[sds4kst8]

Gail, let me give this my best at trying to explain how to do this. I'm shooting a 10d and have the AF set to center. As you can see by the data above each picture, I was shooting at ISO800, 1/125 at f2.8. So, you want to match those three basic settings to get enough light coming through while stopping the action. I also set the shooting mode on continuous and used AI Servo so the camera would change focus as the objects moved and I had my finger on the shutter.

I tried using a little faster shutter speed, but didn't like the way the pics were coming out (they were just a touch too dark). What I wish I would have done differently is tried slowing down the shutter a stop or two more to get more blur on the tires, etc.

Anyway, back to shooting the motorcycles. I knew where the jumpers were riding from to get to the ramp, so when they started moving I put the focus right on the bike/rider and followed them up the jump. When they went off the top of the ramp or were in midair I pressed the shutter all the way down (and usually held it for a 3-4 burst shot) to get these pics. I'm not sure if it was luck or if this is a relatively easy event to shoot (I know the trucks weren't that tough to shoot), but I got quite a few shots that I would consider "keepers". More than I'll ever use/need!!

I hope this helps. My mother saw these pics last night on my PBase account and said the same thing you said, except she was trying to shoot some high school boys on their skateboards and she was using an Olympus P&S digital, which would be a little more difficult to shoot. Just keep trying and don't be afraid to experiment or try different settings on your camera. Shooting digital, you really have nothing to lose other than your time!

Let me know if you have other questions. I'd be glad to do what I can to offer any assistance.

[gail]

Hi Scott, Thank for the advice. In shooting fast actions shots. But I personally don't think I will ever be able to do that LOL. :lol: Yours looks so natural you shoot like a pro. To me that would be hard to do.

But I have the canon G3 and my ISO is like from 50 to 400 I don't have 800 so does that make a difference? Can you still shoot shots like this in 400? All of this is still kind of new to me I just started using the digital, and before that I only had a cheap point and shoot camera, 35 mm.

So I guess as years maybe I will learn to do some of what you all do. Hope one day I can get beautiful photos like you all.. But thanks again for your help.. Hugs Gail, :P :lol:

[sds4kst8]

Gail, thanks for the kind words.

I'd recommend bumping up your ISO to as high as possible when you're shooting in low-light conditions. I'm not familair with the G3, but if you can manually set your shutter and aperature, that would help a lot, too.

And, most importantly, remember part of the beauty of digital is that you can shoot to your heart's content! I took 252 pics of the truck/motorcycles the other night. Of those, I have about 35 that I put into my "print" folder.

Keep working at it and don't get discouraged.

[gail]

Scott, thanks for the help. I hope one day I can get as good as some of you all. Guess it just takes time and lots of patience. I plan not to give up. Being I found this board it has help me more than I can say.
I will give that a try one day what you suggested and see how it comes out and again thanks. :lol:

[philstill]

i like the first the most. i dont agree on cropping in, the stands in the background add a sense of height to the rider, he comes off as being way the hell up there, and that makes the picture that much better! keep it up. philstill

[slejhamer]

These are quite dramatic. I don't know if there is need to crop; I guess I agree with Philstill's comment about the height adding to the impact. #1 seems to have the most 'wow' factor for me, as the slight blur is good, the lighting is good, and the height of the rider in the frame really adds to the image. Very well captured.

[martcol]

I like them all, I'm dead impressed. The photos move me and make me want to get a motorbike and have a go. The crops are good and show lovely detail. The colour and exposure are spot on so, that lens certainly isn't letting you down. Yet another good advert for Sigma. I agree that No 1 is the best shot and the background is sufficiently detailed to give a fabulous sense of perspective and context which I imagine, slightly exagerates the achievement of the rider?

Great stuff

Martin