British Super Bike Practice

[ninjaduck]

Cant say i enjoyed shooting bikes today, but managed to get a few worth keeping. C&C apprecciated

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274685504_Nwr6o-XL.jpg

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274686587_tnfim-XL.jpg

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274688622_g85YM-XL.jpg

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274691542_sGZdV-XL.jpg

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274691854_HWzAg-XL.jpg

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/274692848_Bpprg-XL.jpg

[gkwood]

You have some nice shots here mate , why did you not enjoy it ?

[ninjaduck]

You have some nice shots here mate , why did you not enjoy it ?

i loved shooting - but i find bikes extremely boring to be trackside for - on tv i love watching

[Zilly]

i loved shooting - but i find bikes extremely boring to be trackside for - on tv i love watching

got to remember this is practice racing is a compltly other kettle of fish

[dig-it-al]

MotoX racing is more 3 dimensional and may get your heart ticking!

[ninjaduck]

got to remember this is practice racing is a compltly other kettle of fish

i went to the entire weekend last year, races included and found it just as boring. its just too neat. they all come round in a line, then u wait for that line again.
I'm more of a touring car person - a good tough battle with some bumps and scrapes along the way

[Lowieken]

Then you won't like Formula one neither ...

Touring cars, cup thingies ala clio cup, rally cross, ... that's what's gonna make you happy !! Oh that and truck racing !!!

[JSJR4]

great shots

[M5Man]

great shots 1 & 4 my favourites

[ninjaduck]

Then you won't like Formula one neither ...

Touring cars, cup thingies ala clio cup, rally cross, ... that's what's gonna make you happy !! Oh that and truck racing !!!

no i know... i only went to get some pics

[R Mutt]

Sometimes a photogs attitude is reflected in his shots. Obviously you were bored and your photos reflect it, because other than pic #5 which is ok, they are boring as well.

As one of my clients would say, you need more aggressive angles in the shots. That could be from both the photogs technique and mainly catching the rider when he is truly putting the machine and himself at their limit.

[SilverHCIC]

Shots are great. ... Razor sharp; nice panning!!;)

[Trackday.Net]

Pics look ok. I agree with R Mutt. My c&c to be taken with a grain of salt.

1. Peak action was missed on all but the #31 bike.
2. Light was ample. I'm speculating your metering was off since the images lack that certain pop.
3. Background could have been better with the wheelie shot. I would have set my capture point after the break in the barrier.
4. Horizon lines are off level on the broadside shots.
5. Backlit shots could have been done later in the day to make it more dramatic. If you were pressed for time, then, then good effort.
6. Back shot could have been tighter. Negative space needs to be minimized. That or shoot real wide with more bikes.
7. #67 bike could have been a better shot if you got him before the transition when his head was down.

[nevets2001uk]

I like shots 3 and 5 from this collection. The white balance seems a bit off in No. 1. I was there yesterday and also found the bikes more boring than car racing. Spent the day experiementing with angles and shutter speeds to give me some variation.

Cheers,
Steve

[Big Ant]

Some nice shots but they have got a certain 'can't be arsed look about them'

[ninjaduck]

Pics look ok. I agree with R Mutt. My c&c to be taken with a grain of salt.

1. Peak action was missed on all but the #31 bike.
2. Light was ample. I'm speculating your metering was off since the images lack that certain pop.
3. Background could have been better with the wheelie shot. I would have set my capture point after the break in the barrier.
4. Horizon lines are off level on the broadside shots.
5. Backlit shots could have been done later in the day to make it more dramatic. If you were pressed for time, then, then good effort.
6. Back shot could have been tighter. Negative space needs to be minimized. That or shoot real wide with more bikes.
7. #67 bike could have been a better shot if you got him before the transition when his head was down.

You horrible, horrible man!! LOL

On a serious note, this is all much appreciated. It gives me a few things to consider, because i will no doubt be aked to shoot bikes again at some point as i have alot of "biker" friends.

The main problem i had with all my shots was the sheer speed of these things when they are so small too. Just when you think you have a shot, they pull the throttle and uve lost it lol.

[dunganick]

I was with Ninjaduck when he shot these, and i too dont paticually like bikes, we both went to have a look at the GP circuit for later in the year, and i suspect steve (ninjaduck) found what i did, that a good shot of a bike is very difficult (as im sure most here know), both me and steve have only really shot cars before, and its deffinatly alot harder with bikes. Alot less thinking time.

I personally like the first shot alot, it should be pointed out that this shot was taken as the bike passed by the apex you can see behind it (clearways out of the TV hatch) and as such the number of angles you can get are limited.

Anyhow, its a learning curve.

[Nyobie]

Nice set of shots! It's too bad you didn't enjoy the day at the track. Being pit-side isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes.

As for the images and their lacking pop - did you shoot these in RAW format? If so, you could enhance a couple of these by increasing color saturation on the blue and green channels, slightly bump up the contrast taking care to keep the blacks true to their scale, watch the highlights and you may think these to be a slight improvement.

I enjoyed the photos without those tweaks regardless - very nice job panning, focusing and capturing the riders in various compositions. You've got an excellent eye for action!

I use Photoshop Lightroom for the tweaks I mentioned above. Small adjustments for colors that appear a bit soft can make a difference in colors popping. Also, various monitors don't always display the colors in their best form (a shame since my laptop is one of those sorts of viewing devices). Oh well, can't have it all!

[Alan Vant]

Agree with both Ninjaduck and Dunganick, bikes are extremely hard to shoot. Trying to pan when the rider is shifting around all the time was difficult but not impossible, just took a lot of patience. Some good opportunities at Hawthorn on the outside, Westfield, Sheen and the exit at Stirlings. The hatch at Clearways was a bit cramped so stayed clear of that most of the time.

A couple of mine from yesterday

http://alanvant.fotopic.net/p49505533.html
http://alanvant.fotopic.net/p49505523.html

Still with the meeting being cancelled, we get to have another go in May ;)

[ninjaduck]

Nice set of shots! It's too bad you didn't enjoy the day at the track. Being pit-side isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes.

As for the images and their lacking pop - did you shoot these in RAW format? If so, you could enhance a couple of these by increasing color saturation on the blue and green channels, slightly bump up the contrast taking care to keep the blacks true to their scale, watch the highlights and you may think these to be a slight improvement.

I enjoyed the photos without those tweaks regardless - very nice job panning, focusing and capturing the riders in various compositions. You've got an excellent eye for action!

I use Photoshop Lightroom for the tweaks I mentioned above. Small adjustments for colors that appear a bit soft can make a difference in colors popping. Also, various monitors don't always display the colors in their best form (a shame since my laptop is one of those sorts of viewing devices). Oh well, can't have it all!

Thanks for this....I do indeed shoot RAW, and have just had a go... much improvement i think

http://ninjaduck.smugmug.com/photos/275523220_ktVrS-XL.jpg

[ninjaduck]

having checked this on a normal monitor it seems i have over done it a bit. unfortunately i use a laptop every day. Ill have to try and calibrate the colours i think

[Trackday.Net]

Like I said, to be taken with a grain of salt :) . Like with any other sport we all have to shoot, one who has a tremendous amount of familiarity with it will benefit. Since you're not a bike guy, I'm speculating you did not know where the acceleration points, brake markers, or lines taken to give you an idea on timing.

Either way, nice pics.

[REXTi]

i dont know how you can say these shots are boring, to me it captures the moment perfectly. I ride and these shots pump me up and show just how much these guys hang off their bike.

[russdaz]

BSB boring? oh my, i love bike racing at this level on evry front, from the 125's up. I think the WSSK racing this weekend was best race broadcast all weekend.