Some track day pictures (motorcycles)

[dry3210]

I don't know why you are ignoring gsgary advice, he is one of the busiest, most experienced and one of the best event photographers operating in the UK today. His opinion whether he is complimenting you or berating you should be valued more highly, than someone who hasn't been working in the industry for more than 10 years and who over the cricket season can take upto 50,000 frames with a 99.99% keep rate. (I'll leave you to do the maths on that one)

consider what equipment this guy had versus the equipment that those other photographers used, the distance b/t him and the bikers, and other factors.

You've got to set yourself a standard. Even if your just using a point and shoot at what time do you just say this is a photo that is to bad to upload. If you want people to look at your work and think thats a good job, then don't upload an out of focus photo. There just isn't any excuse for it.

I have gone red and embarassed, i wouldn't describe myself like that but i had another look at #5 and just had a very quick play with it, one thing it could do with is a bit more room infront of the bike

The one I posted is cropped in a bit so I do have the ability to re-crop it with more room in the front.

What did you do to clear it up as and also, more importantly, what can I do while taking them to need less post processing?

I'm shooting with a Canon T1i with the 55 - 250 mm EF-S lens and a circular polizar.

 

[Formatted]

I have gone red and embarassed,

Well someone's got to big you up...

 

[gsgary]

I would remove the polariser, i don't use and use the center focus point AI servo , have you tried back button focus yet ?

 

[gsgary]

I have gone red and embarassed,

Well someone's got to big you up...

I would rather just be in the background

 

[dry3210]

I would remove the polariser, i don't use and use the center focus point AI servo , have you tried back button focus yet ?

Ok I'll give a try with the polarizer removed and just read up on the back button focus! Didn't even know anything about that but after reading up on it I'm quite anxious to try that out also! Thank you

 

[TAZorich]

Hey dry3210,

Terry here; I was the official photographer for the Tony's dates at NJMP.
What a crappy weekend, weather-wise. It was dry enough, but otherwise I'd say less than ideal conditions for taking photos.

Your shots aren't bad at all, particularly given the gear you were working with.
The compositions are fine and you haven't frozen the wheels with a too-fast shutter speed.
I'd lose the polarizer and work on the post processing a little.

I curently use a 7D and a 600/4.0 IS lens, and my own shots aren't much better.
(Incidentally, my current combo SUCKS in comparison to the D300 and Nikon 400/2.8 VR I was using in 2009, in case anyone is on the fence in that regard...)

Anyway, I dug up some of my shots of the same five bikes you posted for a fun comparison...

Interestingly (and sadly), when I sell photos at the track, I don't have time to do ANY post (though images ordered through my website, as well as these posted ones, have some post done to them). The other main issue for me is that I don't have the luxury of trying to get a handful of great shots. It would be more fun and self-fulfilling to be able to go for more artistic compositions, and use slower shutter speeds in the pursuit of that perfect pan-action shot, but my mission is to minimize wasted effort and maximize time, getting a high percentage of "keepers" while getting a good number of shots of each rider on track that are 'good enough' that they want to buy them all from me.

In any case, your shots aren't bad at all! Keep at it!

 

[CNCO]

great shots terry! very crisp!