MTB- Ultimate Pursuits Downhill

A few from 'The Ultimate Pursuits Downhill' race earlier today. All taken with the Sigma 70-200 2.8 and a borrowed 580ex flash..

#1

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really cool images , the faces being filled by the flash really brings the images to life.

Those shots are great. Normally i would setup the remote flash off to the side a bit, facing into the riders face as much as possible top remove visor shadows and add a little bit of drama from the off camera flash shadows. You absolutely nailed the exposure and focus on those shots, good job!

They look great, wish I'd come down for that now! What settings did you use?

Nice shots Marc. Being able to see the intensity (or in the case of #5 the fear) on the riders faces really make the shots.

Andy

Great job! Flash may be too strong on some pics though, as some appear a bit flat. Try some shots while dragging the shutter - that is, choosing a low shutter speed (1/60, 1/30 or below), panning and using flash. It might give interesting results.

Typically :

Exposure Times 1/200 - 1/350 sec
Aperture f/2.8 or f/3.5
ISO Equivalent's 400-800

I also underexposed by 1 stop as recomended in the other thread.

Interesting you should mention a remote flash as there was a guy (from a magazine I assume) using just that setup. He was using Canon gear...maybe he comes on here ?

I just got my 580ex today Need to go into the woods and try again. I thought I'd do better with me 17-40 than my 70-200, but the pics i took with the 70-200 came out a lot better... nowhere near as good as yours though.

How did you focus btw? Did you lock focus on a point on the ground, then release shutter when rider reaches that position? Or actually lock focus on the rider and release? I was trying the former without much success, but you seemed to have nailed it first time!

Tau wrote:
I just got my 580ex today Need to go into the woods and try again. I thought I'd do better with me 17-40 than my 70-200, but the pics i took with the 70-200 came out a lot better... nowhere near as good as yours though.

How did you focus btw? Did you lock focus on a point on the ground, then release shutter when rider reaches that position? Or actually lock focus on the rider and release? I was trying the former without much success, but you seemed to have nailed it first time!

Congrats on the 580ex, I want one myself now. It seems like there are no more events at aston hill for a while so I may hold off on it till after xmas though.

Re the focusing ...I focused on the riders with a kind of panning motion through the trees which seems to work ok. I'm not sure how many photos I took that morning but these were definatley the pick of the bunch (maybe one or two others). I guess the trick is to get these near enough each and every time

Good work marc... in difficult conditions as well by the looks of it. The fill-in flash certainly makes the difference under the tree cover and you've achieved some nice tight crops as well.

I particularly like #2 for the sense of movement it conveys, but the other shots are all good as well.

Time to get some Pocket Wizards and get a flash or two off-camera for some more fun!

---- Gavin

Wow !! Thanks so much for posting those...all doubts are gone regarding crispness of the Sigma..You really stopped the action, great color, great captures....THANKS!

Great Shots! Taken at Aston Hill by any chance?

Sure were, I take it you know Aston then given your location

Indeed I do. I used to ride the cross country track quite a bit until a man with lots of scars and no teeth decided to wipe me out. A cracked collar bone and couple of broken ribs later I decided it wasn't for me. I live just the other side of Tring so it's nice and local. Are there any more events up there this year? I had a ganders at the website but it's not so clear.