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A whole thread of awesome bike pics

RideRMB

Monkey
Aug 29, 2007
394
0
'Da Hood
Call me "lame" or a hater, but I really don't like any of them. The fact of looking up at the rider from the ground turns me away from them.
 

erastusboy

Monkey
Mar 5, 2003
470
0
Great link/forum thanks.

Ps any of you camera pros have some links for good flash set up for outdoor action (aka bmx/mtb action shots) Seems like using a flash should result in some wicked crashes, but I have never really done flash photography.
 

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
Call me "lame" or a hater, but I really don't like any of them. The fact of looking up at the rider from the ground turns me away from them.
That is the great thing about photography/art. What one person likes, others hate. If we all liked the same thing, the world would be boring as hell :)
 

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
Great link/forum thanks.

Ps any of you camera pros have some links for good flash set up for outdoor action (aka bmx/mtb action shots) Seems like using a flash should result in some wicked crashes, but I have never really done flash photography.
Get yourself some cheap ebay triggers (something like this) and experiment. Don't so much worry about the riders, just clear it with them first that you will be using a flash, and shoot away. If you are shooting a race or a competition, I personally feel that flashes are fine. This is a subject of debate, but I know that when I am in a race, there are a ton of people taking flash photography, and it doesn't bother me. I figure if you are in a race, you can deal with a few flashes
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
Yeah, that's a cool shot. I remember Transcend saying something along the lines of..."if someone gets messed up by a flash in a race, they probably aren't concentrating."
 

dan wask

Turbo Monkey
May 11, 2006
1,463
0
B-More Maryland
Call me "lame" or a hater, but I really don't like any of them. The fact of looking up at the rider from the ground turns me away from them.
:plthumbsdown: How the hell else would you propose taking a picture of someone in the air? Most people don't have boom trucks and zip lines to take pictures of riders in the air from the air
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
:plthumbsdown: How the hell else would you propose taking a picture of someone in the air? Most people don't have boom trucks and zip lines to take pictures of riders in the air from the air
Maybe this'll make him happy.



There's probably 10,000 bmx'ers going big in this pic. :p
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Get yourself some cheap ebay triggers (something like this) and experiment. Don't so much worry about the riders, just clear it with them first that you will be using a flash, and shoot away. If you are shooting a race or a competition, I personally feel that flashes are fine. This is a subject of debate, but I know that when I am in a race, there are a ton of people taking flash photography, and it doesn't bother me. I figure if you are in a race, you can deal with a few flashes
I hope thats all the Photographer spent on the flash I destroyed in my last race, He tried to get it out of the way, but I tagged it with the pedal pretty hard.

With that said, flashes dont bother me at the races, neither do spectators. They holler yell scream rattle cowbells..... To me there just another obstacle in the race, and by the way, if your a photographer and get in the way in a race, expect to become just another obstacle!!!!!!!
 

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
I hope thats all the Photographer spent on the flash I destroyed in my last race, He tried to get it out of the way, but I tagged it with the pedal pretty hard.

With that said, flashes dont bother me at the races, neither do spectators. They holler yell scream rattle cowbells..... To me there just another obstacle in the race, and by the way, if your a photographer and get in the way in a race, expect to become just another obstacle!!!!!!!
Hey, I said to use them, I never said put them inside the course tape! Remote flashes can get EXTREMELY expensive, especially if you use the good stuff. I linked to the "Huffy" of the photography world. Do Huffy's go when you pedal them? most of the time. Do those things fire when you use them? most of the time. But they are nothing compared to the standard, The Pocketwizard ($200-$300 EACH for recieivers and transmitters, plus the cost of the flash, so you are looking at almost a grand for a one flash off camera setup)
 

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
Hey, I said to use them, I never said put them inside the course tape! Remote flashes can get EXTREMELY expensive, especially if you use the good stuff. I linked to the "Huffy" of the photography world. Do Huffy's go when you pedal them? most of the time. Do those things fire when you use them? most of the time. But they are nothing compared to the standard, The Pocketwizard ($200-$300 EACH for recieivers and transmitters, plus the cost of the flash, so you are looking at almost a grand for a one flash off camera setup)
the "huffy option" doesn't allow for TTL metering does it? do the triggers attach to the camera and fire the remote flash via a signal? I have a D50 and just got an sb600 flash, but haven't fiddled with it much... I think I can fire the flash "remotely" by using the flash on the camera right!?!?...
 

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
the "huffy option" doesn't allow for TTL metering does it? do the triggers attach to the camera and fire the remote flash via a signal? I have a D50 and just got an sb600 flash, but haven't fiddled with it much... I think I can fire the flash "remotely" by using the flash on the camera right!?!?...
The cheap ebay triggers do not allow for TTL. The Pocket Wizards do, depending on your setup. The triggers work by attaching a transmitter to the hotshoe of you camera, and a receiver to the hotshoe of your flash. It then uses a radio signal to tell the flash when to fire. If you put the flash on the camera, its not a remote flash, its just a flash ;)
 

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
The cheap ebay triggers do not allow for TTL. The Pocket Wizards do, depending on your setup. The triggers work by attaching a transmitter to the hotshoe of you camera, and a receiver to the hotshoe of your flash. It then uses a radio signal to tell the flash when to fire. If you put the flash on the camera, its not a remote flash, its just a flash ;)

Thanks! but by remote I meant using the on camera flash to trigger a flash on a tripod.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
:plthumbsdown: How the hell else would you propose taking a picture of someone in the air? Most people don't have boom trucks and zip lines to take pictures of riders in the air from the air
Yeah, I know, God forbid someone just not like a certain perspective. :rolleyes:

Frankly, I agree with him. I don't like 90% of DJ/skatepark pictures for that very reason. Some guys will get very creative with the lighting which can be cool, but most of them are just technically well-exposed variants of the same shot: rider hovering over earth. Whee.

I like when a photographer puts a bunch of effort into finding another vantage point. I don't remember the issue but one of my favorite shots was in a very old Bike magazine of someone who had climbed up a hill and used a telephoto to shoot a dirt jumper, looking down towards the dirt jumps through a bunch of trees. Not only a great shot but a great perspective.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
I also like unusual perspectives. What do you think of this? I was standing on a trash can, to get up higher.



I like this shot Dave Pawlak took.

 

dan wask

Turbo Monkey
May 11, 2006
1,463
0
B-More Maryland
Notice in both of those shots you are still looking up at the rider. I under stand the merit of different perspectives, and I respect the dude's opinion, but really, theres only so much available to stand on in a park.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
Yeah.. You could ride to a park with a ladder if you wanted to or shoot with a long lens from a tree. Though, I don't mind the looking-up angles. That's how a person would see the rider just standing there. Maybe he's just tired of those low angles. People like different things.
 

roamingoregon

Monkey
Apr 10, 2004
250
0
Wilsonville
Notice in both of those shots you are still looking up at the rider. I under stand the merit of different perspectives, and I respect the dude's opinion, but really, theres only so much available to stand on in a park.
I know what you're saying. Ladders, trees, other parts of the area you can find other angles. I've made it a habit to not shoot just a "snap"

To clarify- a snap is throwing on the wide angle and getting low. I posted a few shots on there where you were looking down. Now that I have pocket wizards I'll always grab the 70-200 or the 300 first if I can.
 

BAH

The Red Baron
Sep 29, 2005
1,046
8
America
if you have good hops, you can jump in the air and shoot while the person is jumping....




Anything is better than shooting straight up into a jumper. Anything. Don't be just another photographer in the crowd ;)

I used a long lens and climbed on top of a handy dump truck for a little different angle

 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Maybe he's just tired of those low angles. People like different things.
Yep, that's pretty much the long and the short of it. Just tired of:

Rider
---------
Ground

The first picture that BAH posted is great, and that's exactly the kind of skate park shot that will pique my interest. A little off from the norm.