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It's been a long time...

I thought I'd post up a couple of pics I've been shooting recently for an interview.

I love the first image, and also am fond of the second but probably it's a little busy. I'm not sure if it adds or takes away from the photo.





Your thoughts?

Also I went to Melbourne (without my bike) with my F601 and 20mm, will post up some photos (not of bikes) if any good ones result!

You have the biggest dust bunny in the world.

I agree the second one is to cluttered, but in saying that, it gives a good sense of what the rider is doing. I would maybe crop tighter onto the outisde edges of the blue sign and lose some foreground though.

Good to see you back!

Indeed, there is a rather large dust bunny. Whoops. Thanks for the crit!

The first one is also a bit busy (the bike merging into the background building). I can see why you like it though.

DaveB wrote:The first one is also a bit busy (the bike merging into the background building). I can see why you like it though.

Yeah, I think you are right. But with that photo it's kind of the nature of the beast - I had already opened up the aperture as far as possible (i think it was f4.5). The black handlebars into the building was always going to be a struggle. I'm glad he had a bright yellow frame and fork!

With the other photo, though, i think it was particularly busy because of the loose crop, I wasn't sure if it worked.

Thanks for your crit

Any opportunity to get closer into the action (e.g. with a wider lens)? That way you'd have a chance of isolating the rider against the sky rather than the building.

There's usually at least one other option...

DaveB wrote:Any opportunity to get closer into the action (e.g. with a wider lens)? That way you'd have a chance of isolating the rider against the sky rather than the building.

There's usually at least one other option...

According to James's signature, he has a 10mm 2.8 and I think we saw some awesome stuff from that....

These pictures are not my specialty by any means but I find them far too busy... More emphasis on the rider and less on the background would be better. Maybe a multiflash setup that can overpower the ambient to reduce (but not get rid of) the background would be better.

Personally for this sort of picture I would have the rider occupying 70% of the frame and work with the rest to include something that puts everything in context.... But that's just me...

Look forward to more pictures from you.

surenj wrote:

DaveB wrote:Any opportunity to get closer into the action (e.g. with a wider lens)? That way you'd have a chance of isolating the rider against the sky rather than the building.

There's usually at least one other option...

According to James's signature, he has a 10mm 2.8 and I think we saw some awesome stuff from that....

These pictures are not my specialty by any means but I find them far too busy... More emphasis on the rider and less on the background would be better. Maybe a multiflash setup that can overpower the ambient to reduce (but not get rid of) the background would be better.

Personally for this sort of picture I would have the rider occupying 70% of the frame and work with the rest to include something that puts everything in context.... But that's just me...

Look forward to more pictures from you.

Hey, thanks for the crit.

To answer a few of your questions/comments.

For both of these photos I was using a multiflash setup (I think two in both) to light up the rider and remove shadows. Because of the time of day in the first one and limitations due to a 1/250 flash sync, I couldn't overpower daylight but I wasn't really trying to. I do agree that if I could have stopped down perhaps a stop further it would have been beneficial.

While I have a 10.5mm Fish I try not to use it for every single photo. The lens can produce some great results, but at the same time, the effect can become old very quickly, and because of the focal length it can rob a rail of its steepness and make transitions look flat.

When I'm photographing stuff for BMX, I have a constant battle of making the shot look good both to a rider and also to a photographer. I need to provide context to riders (where/what/why) and have to make it look good on the eye for both the riders and other photographers.

I think the split between rider and surroundings are of equal importance. The surroundings are unique, you know? Even further, the surroundings present a difficulty to the rider, that I'm trying to get across to the end viewer.

Sorry for the long reply - I got a bit off track. Basically I know that most people on here don't understand the nitty gritty of BMX, and I accepted that long ago. I appreciate the crit, much of which I agree with, I'm just trying to explain the issues and priorities that I have when I shoot

Hey James,

Thanks for the explanation! I think for this type of photography you have to put your client first. If they like it, who are we to critisise!! Also to be truthful, I have no idea about BMX photography [apart from the fact that it would be difficult to capture the images that you have].

I do agree about the context and have noticed one of your flashes in the photo with blue sign!! I would still tone down the blue sign though, maybe desaturate a touch so that it doesn't stand out too much..

Suren

Just a thought ...Does your D70s not sync all the way up to 1/8000th with it's electronic shutter?

That makes sense: I'm not a BMX expert (did a bit of off-road biking when I was younger, but...).
I recently started to get annoyed when being given suggestions (not on DSLRusers) for some of my Antarctic photos and my first reaction was along the lines of "No, it wasn't like that at all!" before I decided to take a deep breath...

But if our suggestions give you ideas of some new things to try (and you actually get to try some of them) maybe they're useful. In the end they're YOUR photos of course, so it's up to you.
Keep up the good work, and good luck!

surenj wrote:Just a thought ...Does your D70s not sync all the way up to 1/8000th with it's electronic shutter?

Indeed it does, however, I don't often carry it around. Simply because 6MP doesn't cut it for magazines, or at least that's how the editors feel.

If there is a shot that I think I need to get, and there is no way around it, I will use the D70. But shooting at 6MP delivers a nasty handicap.

I am considering buying some ND filters that will allow me to stop EVERYTHING down, but again, using an ND filter isn't best case scenario if my flashes are struggling against the sun.

The art of compromise...

DaveB wrote:That makes sense: I'm not a BMX expert (did a bit of off-road biking when I was younger, but...).
I recently started to get annoyed when being given suggestions (not on DSLRusers) for some of my Antarctic photos and my first reaction was along the lines of "No, it wasn't like that at all!" before I decided to take a deep breath...

But if our suggestions give you ideas of some new things to try (and you actually get to try some of them) maybe they're useful. In the end they're YOUR photos of course, so it's up to you.
Keep up the good work, and good luck!

The value I get from here is because everyone doesn't really know what I'm doing is all about - it helps to have a fresh (dozen) pair(s) of eyes over my stuff.

But on the same token, sometimes I feel like I need to explain myself post-crit ... There are a lot of challenges and compromises you have to make shooting this sort of stuff! Well, at least some of the time... sometimes things just work!

Hey James check out the latest strobist... There is a triple flash bracket which you may find useful..

jamesw wrote:sometimes I feel like I need to explain myself

Given the nature of what you're shooting, and that you're dealing with two disparate sets of viewers, your explanations actually assume greater value.

What you have said regarding each image needing to be placed into its context, and thus we need to see the location, and gain some insight into the difficulty of the stunt being undertaken, was for me a vital piece of valuable information that I was not in possession of before reading this thread.

That has helped me to better understand the tasks you're trying to complete, and I think for all of us, it helps us to better understand the problems you face. Cropping the background is of little benefit when it's precisely that background that provides the image with its context.

DaveB wrote:In the end they're YOUR photos of course, so it's up to you.

Dave's advice is of significant value. We are but a bunch of 'togs here, with not a whole lot of knowledge of your client base. You do have that knowledge, and you have the target business knowledge (the business being BMX in this instance), and the technical skills (photography).

We can only offer ideas about how to overcome technical issues that you might come up against; it is up to you to explore those ideas and see what works for you.

gstark wrote:

jamesw wrote:sometimes I feel like I need to explain myself

Given the nature of what you're shooting, and that you're dealing with two disparate sets of viewers, your explanations actually assume greater value.

What you have said regarding each image needing to be placed into its context, and thus we need to see the location, and gain some insight into the difficulty of the stunt being undertaken, was for me a vital piece of valuable information that I was not in possession of before reading this thread.

That has helped me to better understand the tasks you're trying to complete, and I think for all of us, it helps us to better understand the problems you face. Cropping the background is of little benefit when it's precisely that background that provides the image with its context.

DaveB wrote:In the end they're YOUR photos of course, so it's up to you.

Dave's advice is of significant value. We are but a bunch of 'togs here, with not a whole lot of knowledge of your client base. You do have that knowledge, and you have the target business knowledge (the business being BMX in this instance), and the technical skills (photography).

We can only offer ideas about how to overcome technical issues that you might come up against; it is up to you to explore those ideas and see what works for you.

I think precisely the reason I frequent these boards, and particularly ask for crit, is that it's great to have a completely different set of eyes (ie people who don't ride bmx and don't understand it) give me some feedback. The ideas I have got here and knowledge I have gained over the time I've been on here have helped me immensely and grow as a photographer.

Thanks for your feedback everyone. Please don't feel like I'm shrugging your crits off, I listen carefully to what everyone has to say and then use it the next time I shoot. While I mentioned I have to compromise for almost every shot between a bunch of different things (angle, exposure, flash balance, flash placement, context of trick), I want to be concious of every compromise that I make when I take a shot... does that makes sense.

James,

jamesw wrote: I want to be concious of every compromise that I make when I take a shot...

As long as you can do this, then that is a good thing.

gstark wrote:We are but a bunch of 'togs here, with not a whole lot of knowledge

Selectively edited, that must be the nicest thing you have ever said on here, Gary.