Air Bike

I know this is more common in road racing, but not too very often at the drag strip:

That must have been some launch!
Nice shots. Being able to see the riders face/eyes gives a better feel to the shot. You can really see the effort involved.
Andy

last photo, wrinkle on the rear tyre REALLY does it for me! very nice

Wow those Hayabusa's sure are ugly bikes! They may be fast, but usually you need to look good doing it, too!
Great photos, don't really understand how the whole bike got in the air. As despot said, it must have been on hell of a launch..

Thanks guys. Ves, the front wheel came up on the launch then touched back down right at the time he shifted to 2nd causing it to jump back up and lift the whole bike. I've seen some road course bikes come about 6" or more off the ground doing the same thing. Not really something a drag bike wants to do because it eats into elapsed time, but it looks cool. My brother is a bike builder and he actually built that bike. (Sorry, I always have to brag on him a bit. ;o) ).

Nice work.

I see your Lens choice was limited, but try some next time from further back rather than so side on, especially with bike drag shots, if you can get the look on their face as they launch it can make a great shot.

steve_r wrote in post #3482394
last photo, wrinkle on the rear tyre REALLY does it for me! very nice

I have to agree with this steve_r on this photo, that is some serious traction. Excellent shot

thats a lot of clutch to get a entire busa in the air of the launch hats off to the track prep team that must be one sticky track

and great shots

Thanks guys. Brasher, my lens choice was not limited, I chose what I used. Unfortunately, catching them head on right when they take off is is just not a big seller and not a very interesting image either, these guys want shots that show the sponsor names on the bike well. My family goes back 40+ years in drag racing and we've seen it all. Panning shots from the side are by far the biggest sellers, thanks for the comments.

Zilly, actually the track wasn't great that day, this guy is at about 60' from the starting line where there was better traction, and it was shot 1/2500th (I had to go there to get to 2.8 for some background blur) which also exaggerates the tire squish, plus, there is only about 5lbs of air in the tire. I much prefere slower shutters to imply the motion better like the one above it (160th), but I mix it up some just for something different.

BobbyC wrote in post #3479743

Anybody know what model and year bike this is? Im assuming its a Kawasaki