Steve'sDigicams

mtngal · Mar 11, 2012, 4:13 PM

Decided to try something different from what I usually shoot - i spent a couple of hours looking for dirt bikers in an off-road park. It seemed like whenever I found a spot to park the bikers and quads went somewhere else. I did manage to get a couple of shots, I thought these two fit the challenge:

I can't figure out if I should have used a slightly slower shutter speed so I didn't freeze the spokes on the wheel. I was too afraid that if I did, I'd end up with motion blur - some of these bikes move pretty fast. Is there an ideal shutter speed for shooting dirt bikes? Also, does the red-tailed hawk bother anyone else? You can't exactly tell what it is when the photo is reduced to this size.

Second image:

No, I didn't try to do what this driver was doing (very well, I might add). I did go up a really steep hill and scraped the back bumper on a dip that was too steep/deep for my stock Wrangler (angle was ok for approach but not for departure). Had a great time and want to go back, though I'm not sure if I want to take more pictures or if I want to explore more of the trails myself!

paniolo · Mar 11, 2012, 4:24 PM

Very nice shots. Panning takes practice - I started on propeller planes and experimented with shutter speeds to get the motion blur of the props but am stiil learning with BIF.

Walter C · Mar 11, 2012, 5:55 PM

Good ones.

Tullio · Mar 12, 2012, 1:56 PM

I noticed the red spot and it can be distracting but you should be able to easily remove it in PS.

mtngal · Mar 12, 2012, 8:28 PM

Tullio, I'll clone out the hawk in the final version, couldn't decide last night if it needed to go or not. Thanks, Walter for the compliment. paniolo - I tried a couple of panning ones but the shutter speed was off - the background blur wasn't enough to look like anything other than camera shake and it was still fast to blur the spokes. The dirt bike wasn't a panning shot - just a quick snap when I heard the bike. The Wrangler wasn't particularly moving at this point - the maneuver they were doing was one of those slow things that a vehicle with 4 wheels shouldn't be able to do.

Mar 11, 2012, 4:13 PM	#1
mtngal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Frazier Park, CA Posts: 16,177	Lower Point of View: Offroad Decided to try something different from what I usually shoot - i spent a couple of hours looking for dirt bikers in an off-road park. It seemed like whenever I found a spot to park the bikers and quads went somewhere else. I did manage to get a couple of shots, I thought these two fit the challenge: I can't figure out if I should have used a slightly slower shutter speed so I didn't freeze the spokes on the wheel. I was too afraid that if I did, I'd end up with motion blur - some of these bikes move pretty fast. Is there an ideal shutter speed for shooting dirt bikes? Also, does the red-tailed hawk bother anyone else? You can't exactly tell what it is when the photo is reduced to this size. Second image: No, I didn't try to do what this driver was doing (very well, I might add). I did go up a really steep hill and scraped the back bumper on a dip that was too steep/deep for my stock Wrangler (angle was ok for approach but not for departure). Had a great time and want to go back, though I'm not sure if I want to take more pictures or if I want to explore more of the trails myself!

Mar 12, 2012, 1:56 PM	#4
Tullio Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,370	I noticed the red spot and it can be distracting but you should be able to easily remove it in PS. __________________ Tullio

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Mar 11, 2012, 4:24 PM	#2
paniolo Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Hawaii Posts: 569	Very nice shots. Panning takes practice - I started on propeller planes and experimented with shutter speeds to get the motion blur of the props but am stiil learning with BIF.

Mar 11, 2012, 5:55 PM	#3
Walter C Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Huntington Beach, CA USA Posts: 8,116	Good ones.

Mar 12, 2012, 8:28 PM	#5
mtngal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Frazier Park, CA Posts: 16,177	Tullio, I'll clone out the hawk in the final version, couldn't decide last night if it needed to go or not. Thanks, Walter for the compliment. paniolo - I tried a couple of panning ones but the shutter speed was off - the background blur wasn't enough to look like anything other than camera shake and it was still fast to blur the spokes. The dirt bike wasn't a panning shot - just a quick snap when I heard the bike. The Wrangler wasn't particularly moving at this point - the maneuver they were doing was one of those slow things that a vehicle with 4 wheels shouldn't be able to do.