Ducati Sporting Club UK > Sport > Race > Bike Racing Pic Taking - Hints & Tips?

[Gbyte666]

Guy, those are what my shots are like for your Harga, well nearly as good

Brilliant shot of a point in time but distracted by all the clutter. I used to then try and zoom as much as I could to try and loose the clutter then ended up missing bits of the subject and you could still see the ice cream van through his wheel.

Now I'm not about to go out and buy me a 7k lense but with your guide I think I can get a half decent amature Tommy Hill shot.

Craig

[Guido]

Originally Posted by Gbyte666

Guy, those are what my shots are like for your Harga, well nearly as good

Brilliant shot of a point in time but distracted by all the clutter. I used to then try and zoom as much as I could to try and loose the clutter then ended up missing bits of the subject and you could still see the ice cream van through his wheel.

Now I'm not about to go out and buy me a 7k lense but with your guide I think I can get a half decent amature Tommy Hill shot.

Craig

Well there you go. If I can help in some way then it's worth it.

Without sounding too arrogant, I feel I put alot more effort and thought into my work than some with simillar credentials do and as such my results are often better, but the fact that no-one pays for shots nowadays (regardless of the effort put in or final quality) is the reason I'm watching rather than snapping this weekend.

[bradders]

now I have some time on my hands, I'll have a good read of the stuff you've put up.

top bloke

maybe you could start you own online club/school??

[Guido]

Originally Posted by bradders

now I have some time on my hands, I'll have a good read of the stuff you've put up.

top bloke

maybe you could start you own online club/school??

The thought is crossing my mind Paul.

Just don't buy a 400mm f2.8 lens. They're enough to put your shoulder out and that's the last thing you need at the mo

[Fordie]

Maybe one of these might help Guy. Made by Nikon for the CIA and such sneeky beeky organisations.1200mm-1600mm Comes with its own trailor I believe




Top marks Guy for the tips and guidance. One good thing about digital though, a large Raw Image can be crop quit succesfully to get a good picture I tried this out at Mallory with my f2.8 200mm, giving me an effective 340mm lens on the D200 digital camera which does help to get into the action.

[Paul996]

Guido
Some very interesting stuff written there. My son is about to start getting in to photography and there are some great tips and advise.

Paul

[Guido]

Originally Posted by Fordie

Maybe one of these might help Guy. Made by Nikon for the CIA and such sneeky beeky organisations.1200mm-1600mm Comes with its own trailor I believe

.....hmmmmm Wonder if my 2x converter would work on that.


"For Sale. Close up images of the sun's rings. Blind photographer has no use for them"

[phil_h]

Originally Posted by Guido

Some of that Craig is down to your budget. To get the best sharp bike/fuzzy background shots you need an f2.8 lens. Most tracks have huge run-off so you're a fair way from the subject when you hit the shutter so that's why you see pro's at football, motorsports etc with what are commonly called "Bazookas", 400mm fixed length f2.8 lenses (like I have). To buy new they're in the £5000-£7000 range. You have to change you're mindset when using one cos you can't zoom in or out like you can with a small zoom. You have to be far more precise with your compositions.

Adding teleconverters extends the 'reach' of your lens but you lose f-stops (i.e. your f-numbers go up/higher) which as my guide states increases the depth of field which limits how much 'losing' of cluttered backgrounds you can do.

So for example, this shot of Haga, taken at the exit of Surtees at brands in '04 was with my £700 Nikkor AFS 300mm f4 lens



Yet this shot of Tommy Hill taken at the BSB Round 1 last year from exactly the same spot illustrates the benefits of a 400mm f2.8. You have far more 'reach' (the subject is closer in) and I've completely thrown out the cluttered background to the extent that you can't recognise what's there unlike the Haga shot. This puts far more emphasis and focus on the rider, pose, action which is where you want the viewer to be looking.





HTH

Gc

The trouble is Guy, and I took several thousand shots of bikes in the 70s/80s, that when you end up with a superb capture-of-action, it could be anywhere.
I now prefer stuff that shows you where it was taken cos its got reference points and you can say 'I was there !' and empathise with being 'there' when 'that' happened.
Mind you, some of my favorite shots only have kerbs and such in focus, but I still know they were Druids or Gerrards