keystone downhill

[ZL4life]

I went to keystone's down hill MT bike park the other day. LOT'S of fun, and very photogenic. here are a few of the better shots of the day. I'm trying to get to into selling photos to riders. so far i've had a few almost's... but no buys. so any advice on these would be much appriciated.

#1
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218161825O612516272.jpg

#2
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218162621O572439661.jpg

#3
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218163319O999748245.jpg

#4
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218163930O369350637.jpg

#5
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218164311O394015383.jpg

#'s 3-5 are all on the same hit.

eventhough this was primarialy a photography trip, i took a few runs just for fun, and got some battle wounds to show from it.
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218196128O999128096.jpg

[achristian]

Number two is a great shot. Captures the moment and gives me the feeling of what an adrenalin rush that can be. Thanks for posting. As for selling or marketing, I would be at a loss for information on this.

[ZL4life]

thanks, i get that adrenalin rush feeling too. it's probably because i've been right where he is before. I know what it's like to bike off the edge of the earth and hope you land

[bob393]

Nice work, no ideas on the selling aspect though.

[strmrdr]

the riders look soft to me, how do they look in the full size?
Could be jpg compression but they look very soft.
I would experiment with different things to make them pop out of the background more.

[ZL4life]

you're right, they are soft. all but the 3rd one are soft. and grainy, and a touch of motion blur. This is the problem I have. If i don't use a flash, there are very strong shadows that make it almost impossible to meter for. and if i do use a flash, my camera will only sync up to 250/1 = motion blur. So I really don't know what to do to solve this problem.

[Jim G]

I really like the one where the guy's looking down the embankment. You wonder what he's thinking :p

[Jim G]

you're right, they are soft. all but the 3rd one are soft. and grainy, and a touch of motion blur. This is the problem I have. If i don't use a flash, there are very strong shadows that make it almost impossible to meter for. and if i do use a flash, my camera will only sync up to 250/1 = motion blur. So I really don't know what to do to solve this problem.

Use high speed synch mode on the flash if it's available? 580EX at least has it, I can't speak for any other Canon flash.

[ZL4life]

i have the 580EX, how do I use high speed synch?

here are 2 100% crops. edited and unedited. then there are 2 800 pixl finals. edited and un edited. If anyone can give me some tips on PP, it'd be great!
100% crop out of camera
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218800911O869419063.jpg

100% crop edited I used shadow/highlights to bring out detail
http://photo.ringo.com/218/218800932O536139984.jpg

http://photo.ringo.com/218/218801628O016749665.jpg

http://photo.ringo.com/218/218801449O125171800.jpg

[ZL4life]

I was thinking about this thought, an i thought it would be great in BW

http://photo.ringo.com/218/218803384O399670725.jpg

[strmrdr]

shadow/highlight helped.

not loving the b&w there isnt enough contrast to make the rider stand out.

[strmrdr]

post one of the crops here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35
And get some advise from the lighting experts.