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Motorbike racing

SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
edited July 27, 2005 in Sports
I went through the shots I took at the BSB from Mondello Park (original thread here: http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=11439 ) and found a couple that I liked.

These two are large crops:

Karl Harris
29365290-L.jpg

Johnathan Rea:

29365289-L.jpg

This is the start / finish straight at Mondello, I'm not sure if it is too wide to be a good photo, I like it because it shows the pit boards in use. It was taken from a bridge near the end of the straight btw.

29365287-L.jpg


Ryuichi Kiyonari, a rider for HM Plant Honda getting advice from his mechanic. It's a full size file.

29365288-L.jpg

Ok, if you're still reading I posted the last two because I wanted to show something different from the meeting. I took 4g of photos that day and practially all of them were the same. They showed a rider at a corner with his knee on the ground like the first two posted here.

I think that the next meeting that I phtotgraph I will take pics of the riders from one practice session. I am reasonably confident that i will get keepers from this. I want to get different types of shots after that, something like the third one here, a wide shot that, hopefully, captures a scene at a motorbike race or candids from the pits (until I get evicted by the marshalls for not having a press pass :rofl ).

When I photograph the racing I am thinking of saving my ammunition for something out of the ordinary. Two racers dicing at a corner, a crash, etc. But I don't intend to take 600+ photos of riders and bikes at the same corners that I got the day before.

I enjoyed this thread and carefully read the advice given by Andrew and Bill to Gus.
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=14882&page=1&pp=10

To illustrate my point I submitted the first and fifth photos from the original thread to a competition in "Bike" magazine. The fifth one:

21980373-L.jpg was printed in the mag in a collage of 20 or so finalists. I thought the first one:

21974099-L.jpg
was the better photo:dunno but it was the same as a thousand others taken at the meeting.


If anyone agrees / disagrees with me or has advise I would be glad to hear from you?

Seamus.

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    TristanPTristanP Registered Users Posts: 1,107 Major grins
    edited July 23, 2005
    They're all very good - especially the one that was printed in the magazine. I think the wide angle with the pit boards would look a little better if the lower portion was cropped out. The grass really doesn't do much for the shot.
    panekfamily.smugmug.com (personal)
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    Red BullRed Bull Registered Users Posts: 719 Major grins
    edited July 24, 2005
    I absolutely love #2. icon10.gificon10.gifIt's a Red Bull bike.icon10.gificon10.gif

    (Red Bull is my favorite drink)clap.gif
    -Steven

    http://redbull.smugmug.com

    "Money can't buy happiness...But it can buy expensive posessions that make other people envious, and that feels just as good.":D

    Canon 20D, Canon 50 1.8 II, Canon 70-200 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4 L, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, Canon 430ex.
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    StanStan Registered Users Posts: 1,077 Major grins
    edited July 25, 2005
    Seamus wrote:
    I went through the shots I took at the BSB from Mondello Park (original thread here: http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=11439 ) and found a couple that I liked.





    Ryuichi Kiyonari, a rider for HM Plant Honda getting advice from his mechanic. It's a full size file.

    29365288-L.jpg





    21980373-L.jpg



    21974099-L.jpg



    If anyone agrees / disagrees with me or has advise I would be glad to hear from you?

    Seamus.
    I love the first of these, a good candid of a moment. It is a pity the foreground head on the right is blocking part of the bike andmaybe fills a little too much of the frame.

    The second is another great candid of the rider reading a ticket, (made me think of a speeding ticket). The only pity is the crop of the top of the helmet. Otherwise I agree that the candids are much more interesting and quirky than the excellent last shot. So if you can get access to these shots, go for them

    Cheers
    Stan
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    gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2005
    Good to see seamus. You have some real keepers there.

    How hard is panning to do ???? I did it all day sunday with race cars & totally sucked at it. 20 keepers & 300 odd in the bin.
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    gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2005
    Great shot Seamus, I'm getting my first DSLR soon and go to lots of bike racing and wondered what lens i would need
    Regards
    Gary
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    SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2005
    Thanks for the replies and the advice Tristan, Red Bull and Stan.
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    SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2005
    Humungus wrote:
    Good to see seamus. You have some real keepers there.

    How hard is panning to do ???? I did it all day sunday with race cars & totally sucked at it. 20 keepers & 300 odd in the bin.
    The only thing I can compare it to Gus is shooting a shotgun. Focus on the car or bike and swivel smoothly with it. press the shutter when the car / bike is opposite you and follow through. Take a burst of three shots and start with a speed of 400 or 500 to get some keepers.

    I went to Kells road race last Sunday, 1300+ shots, and 20 odd keepers so join the club rolleyes1.gif .
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    gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2005
    Seamus wrote:
    The only thing I can compare it to Gus is shooting a shotgun. Focus on the car or bike and swivel smoothly with it. press the shutter when the car / bike is opposite you and follow through. Take a burst of three shots and start with a speed of 400 or 500 to get some keepers.

    I went to Kells road race last Sunday, 1300+ shots, and 20 odd keepers so join the club rolleyes1.gif .
    I was shooting at 100 & 125. Says why i lost so many but the shots i wanted was at the bottom of the straight when they back off & belch huge flames out so they were only going maybe 80KPH (50MPH) in the turn.
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    SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2005
    Humungus wrote:
    I was shooting at 100 & 125. Says why i lost so many but the shots i wanted was at the bottom of the straight when they back off & belch huge flames out so they were only going maybe 80KPH (50MPH) in the turn.
    250 will give you a blurred background and blurred wheels. I would start at 500 for the first few laps to get keepers and I wouldn't go any lower than 250.

    this was taken at 250, a slow corner where the bike was doing maybe 20-30 mph

    29673875-L.jpg

    as was this

    21974099-L.jpg


    For a shutter speed of 250 I have to pan smoothly and I would say one in three shots are keepers. I put the speed up when the cars are coming straight for me or going away from me.

    You must have had a brilliant view of the racing from trackside. How did the 400 5.6 do at the track. I got mine last week and can't wait to try it out. The weathers a bit overcast here atm, not enough light.
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    gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2005
    Seamus wrote:
    How did the 400 5.6 do at the track.
    Well mate i was mostly too close to use it inside the fence. I used the 135 f/2 prime most of the day. The only time i needed it on was a massive roll across the track & as you can guess...thats no time to be swapping lenseslol3.gif Youve got 5 seconds to react & shoot. It is good on a hot day at the bottom of the straight to get the cars & the heat mirage at a good distance though.

    Gus
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    SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2005
    Humungus wrote:
    Well mate i was mostly too close to use it inside the fence. I used the 135 f/2 prime most of the day. The only time i needed it on was a massive roll across the track & as you can guess...thats no time to be swapping lenseslol3.gif Youve got 5 seconds to react & shoot. It is good on a hot day at the bottom of the straight to get the cars & the heat mirage at a good distance though.

    Gus
    As they say in Advrider "this thread is useless without pics".....

    post the pics?
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