Downhill Ski Race

[Mikeroscope]

This was my second attempt at shooting a race. The sun was working better for me this time and I found a better location. Let me know what you think. Please be as critical as possible. I am interested in getting better. All these were shot with my 24-105 at f4-5.6 at iso 100. If you have any advice on how to improve please share it.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9728.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9847.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9984.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9887.jpg

[Brandonsfocus]

The colors look nice, though there are areas of the snow where the whites are completely blown. The first photo is the worst and the last photo is the best. Shooting in the snow can be challenging because the camera sensor sometimes doesn't know how to compensate for all of the 'white'. Shoot manual mode and use an exposure calculator.

[Mikelangelo]

Very nice! The colors are nice, some of the colors are a bit blown (like the bright reds on the last one). I don't mind the bright snow so much because you've got pretty good exposure on the faces/figures.

Nice job!

[Aressem]

The colors look nice, though there are areas of the snow where the whites are completely blown. The first photo is the worst and the last photo is the best. Shooting in the snow can be challenging because the camera sensor sometimes doesn't know how to compensate for all of the 'white'. Shoot manual mode and use an exposure calculator.

Yup. I love how in-focus these are. Just wish the whites weren't blown out and perhaps the subject was completely in the frame. I know how challenging it can be though. Your histogram is your best friend in the snow! If you don't already know how to read one, check this out: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml. After reading this article my photos are bang on every time now. Here's what I like to do. First, use an aperature you like in Av and play with the iso until you reach the shutter speed you want. Once you get a test shot that's exposed the way you like, double check the settings used, switch over to M and lock the settings in. Keep in mind you can play with the settings in M and keep checking your histogram. Your focusing system should actually work faster when shooting in RAW. What I tend to do is push the image and bright as I can until hit the far right on my histogram. As soon as I do, I back off a notch or two and lock the settings in. I know that reviewing images the LCD on the back of your camera can be deceiving (especially when it's super bright out in the snow). This is why the histogram is my new best friend :)

[Mikeroscope]

Thanks for all the comments. I was actually shooting in manual looking at the histogram. These were exposed correctly. I just pushed the brightness in post processing. There is still hardly any white beyond the edge of the right side in the histogram. You know how in lightroom when you hold your mouse over the triangle in the corner it shows you in red what is blown out? There is none on the last pic. I thought I read Primoz say somewhere that he didn't care if the snow was blown if the people looked good. I guess I can go reedit these and tone down the brightness and saturation.

[tomcat360]

I think the exposures are right on.

I think what is making them suffer a little is the gate that you shot on. All the skiers look way late for the next gate and are getting sloppy trying to make it over. In slalom, they should pretty much be looking like 76 or even further over. I think if you picked a gate people were hitting better, the photos would look better just because the shape of a well formed skier is more pleasing. Does that make any sense?

[namasste]

I think the exposures are right on.

I think what is making them suffer a little is the gate that you shot on. All the skiers look way late for the next gate and are getting sloppy trying to make it over. In slalom, they should pretty much be looking like 76 or even further over. I think if you picked a gate people were hitting better, the photos would look better just because the shape of a well formed skier is more pleasing. Does that make any sense?
I was thinking exactly the same thing.

[Mikeroscope]

You guys are good! Half the people in the race missed the next gate or had to adjust harshly. It was the hardest part of the course. I chose the spot because it was the closest place I could get in the sun. There were trees all down the course blocking a lot of shots. As for good form. It was an amateur race. I moved a little later to a spot where they were coming through nicer, but upon looking at them on the computer screen I noticed my AF was focusing in front of the gate on the snow and not on the skier leading to some soft shots. I was on Center AF but this always happens to me when I shoot vertically in the snow. Examples below.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9950.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk193/sippycup333/IMG_9946.jpg

[supercar]

I like your exposures. I've shot quite a few of my granddaughters races with mixed success. I find that unless the snow is nearly overexposed then the subjects are well in the left of the histogram and need adjustment in post-processing. This doesn't always work out well. I would rather the subject be near the center of the histogram or even to the right of the histogram.

[Terry Healy]

SS- I don't see any huge indication of blown out whites that some commented on. Perhaps the fog of snow behind the skier appears to lack detail....because it is a cloud. The exposures of the skiers, which are after all the subject, look just perfect on my display. It might be worth experimenting with taking the ISO up to 200 and increasing aperture a bit to get a bit more depth. And move around a bit after you get a few at one location if you can.

But all that said, I'd be very happy to come home with these. Well done.

-Terry

[CombatCamera13]

Some flashy colors.

[tomcat360]

Was that at Snowshoe? Silver Creek?

Come on up to Snowshoe next weekend and shoot the USCSA race, it will be a good one. That way I can just ski finally and not have to worry about shooting.

[Mikeroscope]

Was that at Snowshoe? Silver Creek?

Come on up to Snowshoe next weekend and shoot the USCSA race, it will be a good one. That way I can just ski finally and not have to worry about shooting.

Yeah it was at Silver Creek. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day weatherwise. The snow was a little soft for downhill though.

[JohnJ80]

In general, what I've also found, is that it's often a good idea to find the background first and then to position to get the racer in front of it.

I also like to avoid having woods or trees behind the skier. That makes for a pretty busy background that usually detracts from the racer and often make AF difficult. Alpine skiing is specifically mentioned by Canon as being a difficult AF situation all by itself.

What this usually means is that it's good to find a headwall and then to shoot the skiers as they come over the top. If you're lucky, you get a nice blue sky with bright white snow and the skier. If you can catch them just as they cross block the gate, you can get it where the gate is bending as it goes down. Helps lend a notion of speed and power to the image.

Also, frame/crop as tight as you can. It's ok to cut off ski poles etc... I'm at work now, or I could post some examples.


J.