Capturing motion CC

[FireRescueFL]

I have two photos for CC. I shot a drag racing event last week and was practicing on freezing a moving subject and it reminded me of my first week or two with my camera while I was trying to get a shot of my daughter on a swing. The one of my daughter is mostly "blind," meaning I was learning the camera and trying out different settings and this one was the best of that day. The second one of the motorcycle is after a little education where I was intentionally making my settings.

1.)

The first thing that obviously could be better (at least in my eye) would be the cars not being there in the background. Secondly, ISO was a little high because again (out of ignorance) it was set to auto that day.



2.)

In this one, my goal was to freeze the bike going by, but still have a long enough shutter speed to allow motion blur of the wheels and background. I would have liked to have had spectators in the stands to make the background more interesting but everyone was pretty much on the same side that I was. Could this shot have benefitted from some angle? There just seems to be so many horizontal and vertical lines that it feels like some diagonals might make it a little more interesting.

Any thoughts? Tips for improvement?

---Chris

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. Since the subject's movement is parallel to the lens axis, showing movement is very difficult. You've got a nice enough capture of your daughter on a swing, and the technical aspects are fine; the background is a little distracting, but I'm guessing moving the swing wasnt' an option.

2. This is an excellent panning capture. The bike is tack-sharp, but you've got nice movement indicated by teh wheels and blurred fence. Yes, no cars and spectators in the seats would have improved it, but when you're shooting events, you don't always have the luxury of text-book composition. I would be very happy if I'd shot this. Angles are a matter of preference, and I don't prefer them, but go ahead and try it, you might like it. I will say that the slight angle the image is on should be corrected; either level it or make it enough of an angle to appear deliberate.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[gsgary]

The shutter speed for the motorbike was a little bit too fast, thats trouble with drag racing photo's they are not very exciting much better to try road racing
For this shot i tilted the camera to try and make it more dynamic http://gsgary.smugmug.com/Sports/Sports-Portfolio/Image00037/188043117_ZSJPr-L.jpg

 

[KmH]

1.)

Bye, bye cars.....An 5:4 (8x10) crop, and a second play so she 'pops' from the background a bit more:

2.)


---Chris

Cars?

 

[FireRescueFL]

I got some of cars, too. I like this one because I'm a motorcycle nut. Should I post one?

---Chris

Oh I just saw your edit! How did you get rid of them?

---Chris

 

[FireRescueFL]

The shutter speed for the motorbike was a little bit too fast, thats trouble with drag racing photo's they are not very exciting much better to try road racing
For this shot i tilted the camera to try and make it more dynamic http://gsgary.smugmug.com/Sports/Sports-Portfolio/Image00037/188043117_ZSJPr-L.jpg

I love road racing but the closest track to where I live is about a six hour drive from me! Maybe I should take a day during Daytona Bike Week and go shoot the AMA races at the speedway. They convert part of the infield to a road course but still use the outer track for a high speed section. Daytona is only about an hour from me and Bike Week is in March. I'd also love to fly out and shoot some of a MotoGP race.

---Chris

 

[SCraig]

I love road racing but the closest track to where I live is about a six hour drive from me! Maybe I should take a day during Daytona Bike Week and go shoot the AMA races at the speedway. They convert part of the infield to a road course but still use the outer track for a high speed section. Daytona is only about an hour from me and Bike Week is in March. I'd also love to fly out and shoot some of a MotoGP race.

---Chris

So would I but getting in and out of Indy is a nightmare on a good day. I can only imagine what it would be like during a MotoGP race.

I can't tell what shutter speed you used on the bike, but a little bit slower would have helped. Your panning is excellent and the slower you can get the shutter speed the more it will blur out all the junk in the background. It's always a trade-off though. Shooting slow we take the chance of missing the shot and balancing it against getting a good one. Drag racing doesn't offer the opportunity of just waiting for the next lap to try again.

 

[FireRescueFL]

1.)

Bye, bye cars.....An 5:4 (8x10) crop, and a second play so she 'pops' from the background a bit more:

2.)


---Chris

Cars?

You are a PS master! Teach me Obie-Wan! BTW, I still want to buy that flash from you if you still have it.

---Chris

 

[gsgary]

The shutter speed for the motorbike was a little bit too fast, thats trouble with drag racing photo's they are not very exciting much better to try road racing
For this shot i tilted the camera to try and make it more dynamic http://gsgary.smugmug.com/Sports/Sports-Portfolio/Image00037/188043117_ZSJPr-L.jpg

I love road racing but the closest track to where I live is about a six hour drive from me! Maybe I should take a day during Daytona Bike Week and go shoot the AMA races at the speedway. They convert part of the infield to a road course but still use the outer track for a high speed section. Daytona is only about an hour from me and Bike Week is in March. I'd also love to fly out and shoot some of a MotoGP race.

---Chris

Most of the race tracks built round speedway tracks can be very boring, the only good track i have seen on Motogp in the states is Laguna
I don't think you have any tracks like this, it is called Cadwell Park and this section is called the mountain

 

[KmH]

I still have the flash. PM me.

In the motorcycle shot I had the car owners paged and made them move their cars. - Healing brush tool.

 

[Diver_matt]

Tracks are for the cautious (used to ride them). My hats off to the isle of Mann racers. This guys are nuts. Great shot of the bike.

 

[FireRescueFL]

I told my wife over 8 years ago that before I die, I'm going to the Isle and watch a race. I guess now I'll have to update that to "shoot a race." Those guys are psycho!

---Chris