Sportbike Freestyle

[KristinLeigh]

I'm just starting out at this :oops: This is my first DSLR and I haven't had it too long. How many of you have taken photos of stunt riding? I've been playing around with the settings and I can't seem to get it right. I guess practice makes perfect though. Here are some that I've taken so far though.

Any helpful hints are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Here is the reg version - no edits.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/roger2.jpg

Now here is one where I played around with in black/white/etc.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/roger3.jpg

This guy was fun to photograph...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/abe2-1.jpg

Until he tried to be funny and I about go a front tire to the face. :lol:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/abe1-1.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/abe3-1.jpg

[KristinLeigh]

Then Cropped
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/abe4-1.jpg

Here's Kelly Joe - Different Setting - Different Time
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/kellyjoe.jpg

Last two are pictures I took of my bike. Figured I'd share in here since it is motorsports
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/kristinsbike.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/KristinNC2002/kristinsbike2.jpg

[Trackday.Net]

One thing I really found helpful was the Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. It's a good lens that allows for the wide variety you will need for freestyle. It may not be the lens to use for staged shots, but for competition or show, it's going to get you the shot for stunts going on far and near. You'll see what I mean when you start doing the circuit.

[rcg]

Not a bad first attempt. The levels on the conversions to BW are off on my monitors - too dark. You may want to calibrate your monitor if you can so your work is represented correctly.

I agree with Mikes suggestion for a lens to do this OR if you're feeling spendy the 70-200 f2.8 and a 1.4 tele. One of the things that will get you is backgrounds... in particular at stunt shows the crowds are often in the frame so having good DOF (depth of field) control is key. Being able to blur the background to make your subject stand out. Since you're very much in to sportbikes I'm gonna assume that you will continue to have them as subjects... check out mikes work on the web or motorsports forum or my website.

[PhotosGuy]

Sorry, but IMAGE POSTING RULES (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=74718) only allow 8 linked pics per thread, so I removed the IMG tags from the last one.

Watch your background (BG) for another reason: Several of those shots have the bike in shade while the BG is in sunlight? So your meter thinks there's more light than you actually have on the bike. If you learn to shoot on "M", you can solve that problem. Some help:
Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)

OR if you're feeling spendy the 70-200 f2.8 and a 1.4 tele. A used 70-200 f/4 will work if you're not? It's a good "starter" lens & you can usually find a good used one in "Marketplace" for about $500.
Radio Controlled Boats (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=101101)
A walk by the river. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=103744)

And...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Forum%20Junk/Welcome-ChargerRT_020.gif

[cosworth]

I've shot stunting before. Easy as pie I thought. You don't have the best skies to deal with so I'd recommend metering a bit more for sky and using a flash. A powerful one.

Fill flash baby!

[KristinLeigh]

Thanks for all the advice. Greatly appreciated. This is just a hobby of mine. So the camera is still new to me and it's not just a point and shoot type thing like I'm used to. Guess I have my work cut out for me...not only practicing but also reading on how to practice ;)

Thanks again :)

[rcg]

Kristin - I think one of things to your benefit is the subject is well known to you which is an advantage for the art. The technical will come with practice and experimentation. I see you like the black and white style - what software are you using to do your black and white conversions?

These may interest you:

http://n8i.net/images/home2007.jpg


http://n8i.net/motorsports/portfolio/images/msport_s017.jpg

[rcg]

I used some *levels* on your R6 to restore some detail and lose the background. Of course it would be better if I had the untouched image - what do you think?

http://n8i.net/motorsports/portfolio/images/kristinsbike.jpg

[KristinLeigh]

IrfanView - I don't spend time on the edits obviously. hehe

The picture of my bike was shot in mono. So that is the original?

[rcg]

Many shooters shoot in color (me) and do conversions to BW images in photoshop. The XTi and others have a picture mode to shoot BW (mono) so the color to BW conversion happens in the camera. If possible I you should shoot color and then convert after - by doing so your options are quite a bit bigger for image control and you can get closer to your desired result. I certainly try to take images as shot but sometimes one might need some help - The Ben Bostrom image above looks fine in color but when I shot it I had BW in my head.

Though I have not used IRfanview I would suspect photoshop would do you better service. If you are a student or know one you can often get photoshop through the bookstore at a big savings.

Your off to a good start and I think you have an eye for the action so let us know how we can help you get to where you want to go. There are some great resources here.

[Chappy]

Nice photos.

Do you do that stuff on your bike?

I rode for 25 years, mostly Honda and Suzuki but I never rode it on the rear wheel. :) I prefered 2 wheels on the ground. I rode quite fast sometimes though.

[KristinLeigh]

Thanks for all the help rcg. :) I've been practicing today. Not on action stuff though because it is too cold out now to ride :( I actually shot pictures of my eyes. haha I know sounds weird. But i tried a coke can and it got boring. So when I did my eyes it was cool with the lighting. Maybe I can post those somewhere? Not sure where I'd post them though.

Chappy, yep I do wheelies on my bike. I'm not sure if I can link another picture in this thread though? I love the curves though. I adore track days and hittin up the mountains. Deal's Gap is one of my favorite places on earth. Well, besides VIR - North Course ;)

[PhotosGuy]

I'm not sure if I can link another picture in this thread though? Just put the link in without the IMG tags. Then anyone can click on it. Not sure where I'd post them though. People or Macro? :D

[jdmoto]

My only comment on the pictures is loaction on the colored ones. It seems that your shooting in the shade and against the light. Next time try shooting with the light i bet you'll get better exposure on the object.

[KristinLeigh]

Yeah I see that now. I guess at the time I was just lucky to get a shot whever they could keep the bike up the longest. haha

[nj323ci]

Stunting pics right here... from Jersey.

You're shots look good. It takes a little getting use to the camera and all it's settings. Best advise i can give is just take as many pics as you can with different settings. I've only had my XT for about 2 month's and i'm still getting used to it. I use a Tamron 70-200 lens and put the camera on either 'sport' mode or for more control i use 'tv' or 'm' mode. The lens helps me get a much better DOF. I think somone already mentioned it, but try and have the sun behind you when taking pics. It's kinda hard to get a good shot if the rider doesn't stay in the trick long enough. Circles are easier to shoot because you can take multiple pics quickly, but faster stuff like spreaders, stoppies and coasters are much harder. I don't really do anything in post except for cropping and watermarking. I'm new to photoshop as well.

Oh, by the way, Kelly Joe is the f@$kin' man! He kills circle combos. I saw him down at stuntwars last year rockin the stock f4i with the blinkers and still killin it! Put up more pics of him and other riders if you have them. Glad to see someone else posting Stunting pics on here besides me ;)

The rest of my pics can be found at these links:

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.3.06/

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/holiday.2006/

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/images/ant_093.jpg

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/images/jada_028.jpg

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/images/jada_075.jpg

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/images/jon-dfl_042.jpg

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.10.06/images/jr_194.jpg

http://www.f4ezproductions.com/pix/12.3.06/images/jr43.jpg

[KristinLeigh]

Okay I finally created an online gallery so here ya go!
http://kristindixon.com/photogallery/sportbike

Some of Kelly Joe in there too :)

And someone asked if I rode. Here's a picture of me in front and a guy I ride with, Robert, in the back.

http://kristindixon.com/stunt/krisrobertcolorful.jpg

And here is another one of my just totally cheesing. I think I was singing actually. I tend to do that a lot when I'm riding :p
http://kristindixon.com/stunt/upsmile.jpg

This one is really small because nobody knows how to work my camera so zoom is out of the question :lol:

http://kristindixon.com/wheeliecombos2.jpg

[rcg]

I'm behind you in that pic???? I thought I had a couple CBR's and a Ducati????

Well since you didn't take the pics it might be strange to critique but I think you can still gain from them...

The first image is being essentially shot against the light (note the shadow placement)which makes foreground detail in the shadows. If you wanted to bring those details up you could raise the exposure by using a flash fill, change the exposure values manually of using the exposure compensation up a stop. This would blow out the background some but recover some details lost on your bike. Here is an example of shooting against the light with some added Exp Comp:
http://n8i.net/motorsports/portfolio/images/msport_s018.jpg

The Second image has a neat background but is showing too much detail so it's distracting but the color contrast is really cool. that same shot with a shallow depth of field would be intense. You may be limited with the kit lens for DOF control.

Number three (left) has nice lighting and I dont mind the lack of detail in the bike. Too bad your friend didn't know about Zoom and focus!!!

[nj323ci]

Nice pics in your gallery... i like the last kelly joe b/w pic of him doing high chair circles.
Oh, and your wheelies aren't bad either. Very rare seeing a girl get that front wheel off the ground. Keep it up, both the pics and the wheelies ;)

[rcg]

You can try to recover some detail by using the brightness/Contrast and Levels in PhotoShop.

[disneydork06]

you need a color pic of your r6 instead of b/w. you gotta show off those blues. I'm jealous of course. A friend wants to sell his r6 to me before the start of summer so I gotta work and somehow come up with $3k for his blue r6. nice job w/the photos. everyone has great tips for you, definitely use a larger aperture such as the 3.5 ur lens has. hav fun and good luck.

[Converge]

Hey Kristin, Do you post on CycleForums? I though i remembered you from there.

Nice shots!