Motorbikes at the track - 1st time with new kit

[mugget]

hey all,

i figured i should post here and see what comments i could get on some photos. these are from the first day out with my (new for me) 1DMkII and a 100-400mm lens that i just received the the day before the track day where i took these pics!

someone told me that a high f-stop value (small aperture) is not what you want for sports? for example this photo of the MV is taken with the following specs:

Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 500



is there some rule i should know about for sports? (i probably should pick up a photography book sometime haha )
i was using the camera on shutter priority mode at this point (i'm fairly sure), reason being that i wanted to get a good motion blur from some panning shots, so i guess it just set f.16 automatically. should i have increased the ISO so i could use a larger aperture, or what would you do?

i have just always followed my nose and just used whatever settings give me the image i want, just whatever looks good to me. but now i am wondering if there is something i could have changed to get a better result with that particular photo?

here's a few more from that day. yes there's some dust on them which i didn't see until someone pointed it out to me... (actually someone else mentioned to me that they don't look like dust since they have a fairly sharp outline? but that's probably a topic for another thread...)







(the Ducati one is not as sharp as the rest, but it's the best one i got with the front wheel off the ground, and you gotta have some of that action! )

well let me know your thoughts, anything i could do different - and i will try it out next time i get out to the track.

cheers.

[chappie]

Nice panning, with shots like these, you cannot be doing much wrong!

[PCthug]

You have gotta have some wheel up action....

Taken with a 400d and 100-400L


Or some knee down action...

taken with 400d and 100-400L


Great photos though, and better panning than i can do.

[CalebG]

I really like the first 2, as you said the 3rd is a bit fuzzy and the 4th looks too static, no real implication of motion. I think they would look a bit better if the bikes were riding into the frame rather than out of it, course take this with a grain of salt as I would be happy to come away with pan shots as good as you have gotten, just something to aim for.

[jetcode]

#1 rocks ... the motion blur and composition really tell the story well ... my brother in law races motorcycles and he has some images like this.

[PCthug]

I like the first one, but how about a little cropping.
Not sure if its better or not, but still looks great...

[yogestee]

I had a day at the track at Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney a few months back shooting BEARS.. I hadn't shot motorbike racing in years..

No high tech equipment here just my humble 20D and Sigma EX 50-150mm F/2.8 APO..

[yogestee]

A couple more..

Full series here--> http://www.pbase.com/jurgentreue/bears&page=all

[mugget]

cheers all. i had not paid too much attention to the position in the frame actually, but yeah just "riding into" the frame would probably look better (but that's probably just because i haven't been able to get the shot framed right - i'll work on that next time out!)

cropping... i also put these pics up on Facebook, etc. so i cropped and resized for there. i had always never been sure when to crop, just because i want to keep the maximum image size always. but it makes sense to do it... is that "cheating" if you crop after the fact? ultimately i prefer to get the positioning and zoom right with the camera, but I guess if you don't have a big big zoom lens you need to crop if you want the subject filling the frame...

i just put that last photo up because i really like the lighting in that one, with the shadows across the track and the light just shining on that section where the rider is. but yeah i would like more motion blur there. may give that a try if i can get back to the track before the days start getting longer... may be too late already...

cheers again!

[vpnd]

To the OP. Your shots are good, I see a blue cast in the first 4 images. I don't apreciate everyone else showing you their best coupla shot's on your post. You ccan use any sofware to take down the blue. Also increase saturation a little while your there.

[PCthug]

Cropping isnt cheating. Even traditional developers and enlargers cropped.
I very rarely crop myself, as like you, i prefer to get it right in the frame first.
But i wouldnt hesitate to crop if it needed it.

[yogestee]

Originally Posted by PCthug

Cropping isnt cheating. Even traditional developers and enlargers cropped.
I very rarely crop myself, as like you, i prefer to get it right in the frame first.
But i wouldnt hesitate to crop if it needed it.

Agreed.. Get it right in the camera as much as possible but use any tool available to get the best possible image..

When I was shooting and processing B/W I'd always shoot a little loose so I could crop into a sheet of paper..

[jasonstiller]

As a motorcycle rider myself, these are some kick ass shots and they make me want to get into motorsport photography! Keep doing what you are doing!

[mugget]

cheers jason!
the only problem for me is that i would rather be out on the track myself. but taking photos keeps my happy when i can't be riding.
strangely enough i was speaking with one other rider at the last track day, he said that there is a big need for a good photographer locally. there is already a photographer at the track, but i have seen his images from that day online and that other rider is right... i don't want to put down a working photographer, but i was struggling to find a single photo with a level horizon, and i'm not talking about tilting the camera for effect. (but he did have another young looking girl with him, maybe his daughter having a bit of a play. even so, i would expect that any photos are checked before being put online, that just says "unprofessional" to me, but that's a subject for another thread...)

i had already adjusted the colours, the white balance was a bit off. not so easy to get spot on when you're rushing through...

another tip i just read was that others use the * button to focus, reason being that as soon as you touch the shutter button to focus it will meter the WB, which is probably why alot of my pics were a bit off. seems to me like a weird way to work, but the reason behind it makes sense. i will give that a try also.