I recently got a new camera setup (40D & 70-200 f4L) after way too much time spent in the hospital last year on two occasions. I ended up with a broken collar bone, a compound femur femur fracture, and to top it off each one of those came with a broken back. It is time to slow down a bit so the MX bike got sold and I picked up a gently used kit with what didn't go to medical bills. I had been using an XTI and Sigma 24-70 2.8 for three years or so but the 2.8 decided it was fixed focus a week before I got hurt the first time. The 40D is a huge improvement for me.

Sunday I decide to go get some spring time photos at the local MX track and also stopped off at a friends private track for a few. I am looking forward to hear your comments so I can make improvements.

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Later,

I've never been a fan of vignette and IMHO I would get rid of it. Most of your shots look under exposed, with exception of 10 and 11, the best over all of the bunch. Great job on the panning shot in shot 6. I would suggest shooting from a lower position, fill the frame and shoot wide open f4, and bump the exposure up.

Originally Posted by Kikoprice I've never been a fan of vignette and IMHO I would get rid of it. Most of your shots look under exposed, with exception of 10 and 11, the best over all of the bunch. Great job on the panning shot in shot 6. I would suggest shooting from a lower position, fill the frame and shoot wide open f4, and bump the exposure up.

agreed, they are way too dark

I like the framing of #5

number 11 is definitely your strongest image of the group

I would +1 both of the above including the constructive suggestions. The action is good (#11 especially!) and the panning shot is very well done.

The images are maybe 1/2 to 2/3 stop underexposed on my calibrated screen, but the vignettes are so heavy that they are distracting and may even be intruding into the subject and probably contributing more to the sense of being underexposed.

In direct sun, I usually shoot for exposure that just clips some highlights in the JPG LCD preview on white number plates where they are reflecting sun. For me, that usually ends up being perfect in-camera exposure for RAW processing where I can recover most of those highlights, and acceptable JPG files with correct subject exposure. It looks like you were exposing to avoid any clipping at all on those highlights and that will usually give an underexposure in direct sun with glossy (gotta love that fresh SC1 treatment!) white number plates.

I love seeing MX and racing in general. Keep posting!

PS Keep mending those bones! Injury is a great excuse to focus on photography! ;-)

Thanks everyone for the replies, that is 4 votes for under exposed. A friend of mine whom I consider a very good photographer told me they were too dark so I figured it was time to get some criticism and improve. I was shooting aperture priority, with the exposure comp set -2/3 to -1. I prefer to be slightly under exposed, especially in harsh light. I will have to change that and see what the result is. I will also ditch the vignette, I think it is kinda cool but it is one less step in the editing process. I am still new at editing as I am sure you can tell so I have lots to learn.

Did anyone click on the links in the first post and check out my crash videos? They are intense...

I will be riding again fairly soon, the leg feels good, back is fine as long as I don't try to sleep...

I hope to be back next week with some more photos from Sunday, and maybe next Thursday night MX.

Thanks again,

Originally Posted by jmetteer Thanks everyone for the replies, that is 4 votes for under exposed. A friend of mine whom I consider a very good photographer told me they were too dark so I figured it was time to get some criticism and improve. I was shooting aperture priority, with the exposure comp set -2/3 to -1. I prefer to be slightly under exposed, especially in harsh light. I will have to change that and see what the result is. I will also ditch the vignette, I think it is kinda cool but it is one less step in the editing process. I am still new at editing as I am sure you can tell so I have lots to learn. Did anyone click on the links in the first post and check out my crash videos? They are intense... I will be riding again fairly soon, the leg feels good, back is fine as long as I don't try to sleep... I hope to be back next week with some more photos from Sunday, and maybe next Thursday night MX. Thanks again,

Are you shooting RAW or JPEG?

I'd ditch Aperture priority and go full manual. Lock your f stop and find a suitable shutter speed that works well to capture the action.

The after you are done shooting edit the RAW files (such as adjust the exposure, brightness, WB, etc...)

Originally Posted by FearNothing321 Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? I'd ditch Aperture priority and go full manual. Lock your f stop and find a suitable shutter speed that works well to capture the action. The after you are done shooting edit the RAW files (such as adjust the exposure, brightness, WB, etc...)

I normaly shoot JPEG... It seems like a lot of work to edit each photo, probably beacuse I am already slow at it. I usually pick about 20 favorites and edit them, the rest get uploaded as they came out of the camera.

Here are the ones I took yesterday, these were shot in raw. Not much was done to the exposure though, the light was really great.

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Later,

Much better

I like these ones the best, #18 is my personal favorite of the bunch

Originally Posted by jmetteer I normaly shoot JPEG... It seems like a lot of work to edit each photo, probably beacuse I am already slow at it.

Not a problem for MX. You need to consider using flash to highlight your photos. Take a look at the photogs at SX and MX, and you'll see that most of them use flash.

I agree #18 is the pick of this set. It's got good exposure, light, and WB. And the action and seeing his eyes are great.

Action and backgrounds are good on most of these, but the main issue I have now with some of the others is white-balance. WB looks off in most of them (notice the blue cast in the white gear and plastics - and that cast may be getting enhanced by the processing). This is mostly the case for the ones you shot in shade. WB adjustment would help a lot for those ones.

Hey Jake

#18 is a great shot and by far thew best of the bunch!

Im in town this coming week if you want to come over after you get back from Vegas.
I can go over some stuff with you before I head out for location the next weekend.
Maybe meet up at PIR on Thursday?

Ditto the suggestion to use flash. I always did when I was shooting MX on a regular basis. Also ditto the suggestion to ditch aperture priority mode. Go shutter priority instead, choosing how much motion you are trying to either limit or convey, depending on the shot. Profile shots go slow shutter for the pan, head-on shots go faster shutter, etc. Motorsports photography is all about deciding how much motion to convey in the shots, and that is all controlled by shutter speed. You want to dictate shutter speed above all else.

Originally Posted by FearNothing321 Much better I like these ones the best, #18 is my personal favorite of the bunch

Thank you, #18 is my favorite also for a couple of reasons... It is a good photo, he is a former pro motocross racer and local fast guy and I finished 2nd to him in the last race I did before getting hurt last winter.

Originally Posted by nipprdog Not a problem for MX. You need to consider using flash to highlight your photos. Take a look at the photogs at SX and MX, and you'll see that most of them use flash.

Ahh, flash, yeah, I don't have one and I assume that the D40 on board flash would be about useless with the 70-200, and with no high speed sync over 1/250 it seems to me like I really need to buy a flash. I have an IFTT search emailing me craigslist adds for flashes, I will get one soon.

Originally Posted by nw scout Hey Jake #18 is a great shot and by far thew best of the bunch! Im in town this coming week if you want to come over after you get back from Vegas. I can go over some stuff with you before I head out for location the next weekend. Maybe meet up at PIR on Thursday?

Damn Dave, that is a hell of an offer! At this point I am supposed to do an evening trail ride Thursday, if that falls through I will see you for sure. I know your guidance can do nothing but help. I just got home from Vegas, watched some Supercross and Endurocross and even took a few pictures of Endurocross practice. I was shooting from the front row of the stands so the angles kind of sucked but it is better than nothing at all.

Originally Posted by mercphoto Ditto the suggestion to use flash. I always did when I was shooting MX on a regular basis. Also ditto the suggestion to ditch aperture priority mode. Go shutter priority instead, choosing how much motion you are trying to either limit or convey, depending on the shot. Profile shots go slow shutter for the pan, head-on shots go faster shutter, etc. Motorsports photography is all about deciding how much motion to convey in the shots, and that is all controlled by shutter speed. You want to dictate shutter speed above all else.

Noted, I will give that a try next time for sure.

Thanks again everyone for all the feedback!

#15 and #18, you have it down pat.

Keep up the good work. Ditch the vignetting.

db

Originally Posted by Motophotog #15 and #18, you have it down pat. Keep up the good work. Ditch the vignetting. db

Thanks Darren,

I have enjoyed many of your photos over the years.

Here are a few I took from last Friday and Saturday, I borrowed a 430ex II from a friend and worked on some flash. Overall I was not that happy with my results but I was lacking some creativity for some reason. Also I was using shutter priority on all these. Someday I will switch to manual on this body.

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#28 only had 2 riders to take pictures of, got a little bored.

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#30 It seems like I got this washed out look with the flash at this track, is that from the dust in the air?


Later,

Originally Posted by jmetteer Did anyone click on the links in the first post and check out my crash videos? They are intense...

Yes. Both of them. And as much as I'm envious of those such as yourself who can do this, you have firmly convinced me I don't need to be doing that for a spare time activity. Fall-down-go-boom is not high on my list.

As for the shots, the ones where EXIF information showed flash, to me appear nicer than those without. The last one I would have to assume dispersion of light in the thin particulate dust.

Hey j,

Glad you dropped the vignette. :) That was just crazy.

As for your post-vignette images, here's my suggestion to you - continue to practice, but I'd also take some time to read up on (or refresh on) lighting fundamentals. I don't think you did this necessarily, but slapping a 430EX on your camera and just going out there is not going to give you anything great. I'd read some in depth stuff from other folks doing MX coverage, and see how they're achieving their images. I still notice a tendency to underexpose in a lot of these. That's why, even though you want to get it right SOOC, it's good to shoot in RAW so adjustments can be made later on.

With that said, I do like content of #15 and #18 particularly.

Originally Posted by jmetteer I recently got a new camera setup (40D & 70-200 f4L) after way too much time spent in the hospital last year on two occasions. I ended up with a broken collar bone, a compound femur femur fracture, and to top it off each one of those came with a broken back. It is time to slow down a bit so the MX bike got sold and I picked up a gently used kit with what didn't go to medical bills. I had been using an XTI and Sigma 24-70 2.8 for three years or so but the 2.8 decided it was fixed focus a week before I got hurt the first time. The 40D is a huge improvement for me. ,

oh man that really bites. I was really digging the video of you chasing the 2 stroke and lapping people that was really sweet, until.... ouch. major suckage.

sweet video though love it. pics are cool. love the white blossom backround ones.

Thanks again for the input guys!

Here are a few more that I shot this weekend at the national ISDE qualifier in Idaho City, Idaho. I raced this event last year and it was one of my favorite events of the year. This year I showed up camera in hand with three friends riding. It is two days and 115-120 miles each day, one big loop run backwards the second day. As a photographer it is tough because you get to see each rider one time, twice if you are lucky.

I forgot my borrowed 430ex flash in my car... oops. So when we rolled into Boise at 4am I did a quick Craigslist search and found 1 used 580ex for sale. It all fell together very well and now I own a 580ex for quite a bit less than they were selling for locally.

I played with it a bit, but still have lots to learn.

Let me know what you think of these.


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Later,

Your best set so far! Not sure if I like the weed in the foreground on #33.