Recent Offroad Race

[Breanna]

Hey all, I am new here and new to taking photos. I know there is a critique thread but I kind of thought it would be nice to hear opinions from sports/action people.

I am involved in offroading and offroad racing. I am starting to take shots during the race and here are some from this last weekend.

I was unable to mov eto different areas of the course so all of these were taken from the same spot.

Please tell me what you think and let me know how I can improve. Also, I do not own photoshop so these are pretty raw. Thanks in advance

[Breanna]

Here are a few more

[shoturtle]

nice action series

[Wingman]

Some good action shots here. The ones with the dirt/dust blowing up really convey the frozen action. In terms of improvements, I think some panned shots that show the background in motion but the subject fixed would convey a greater sense of action. You can also zoom in more on the vehicles (or crop them accordingly). Finally, you could also try to straighten the horizons on some of them.

If you are looking for a easy to use and free post processing program, try Picasa by Google. Very intuitive to use. It can help with cropping, straightening as well as color and contrast adjustments.

Jehan

[Breanna]

Thanks Jehan

I like hearing your critiques:

I took a lot of cropped shots but thought maybe I was doing the wrong thing. Next time I am out I will take some cropped shots and actually keep them =)

I tried the panning, I did not post them all, but I do need some work in the area. The edged on the side of blurry.

Thanks for the software advice, that and a flash are my next move. I would love a better lense but there is no way I can afford to drop $2400 right now.

Thanks again!

[Wingman]

Originally Posted by Breanna

Thanks Jehan


Thanks for the software advice, that and a flash are my next move. I would love a better lense but there is no way I can afford to drop $2400 right now.

Thanks again!

Breanna: Since you are shooting in what appears to be bright outdoor lighting, I think a mid priced zoom (a 50-200 f3.5-5.6 or 70-300 f4-5/6)would serve your needs well especially is you bump up your ISO to 400 or 800. You can get these for less than $500. The $2400 lens you refer to sounds like a 70-200mm f/2.8 which is a stellar lens, but may be more than what you need. Now if you were shootiing indoors, you'd need that f/2.8 lens.

Panning--it has been tough to master for me. I usually get less than 50% keepers. Many contributors to these forums are very good at it and perhaps can provide some tips and techniques. I understand it takes practice!

Good luck!

Jehan

[Breanna]

Thank you I will take a look around for panning suggestions.

Don't laugh but I need to double check what lens I am currently using. When I purchased my camera I bought a nice upgraded lens so I may be using the one you are suggesting.

Oh by the way you are so right about the horizons, I just went back and looked a realized how crooked they are. Wow I will need to wath out for that next.

Thanks again!!

[shoturtle]

photo editing program can correct that problem very simply.

[Ordo]

I'm not into sports photography but i wouldn't change a bit of your picks.

[MartinSykes]

I think there's a few really nice ones there - with just the right balance of car and scenery. I've been chucking everyone's photos at my HDR program to test it and I think these two came up well. It's free if you look in the HDR forum so well within your budget