A recent one from me. The most difficult photograph I have ever done...

[mtbbrian]

I was on a ride recently on a trail that begins with a walk up a road then a hike up a ski hill all while pushing a 45 + LBS bike. Which is what makes it so challenging to get photographs on this trail.

I shot it at about 7PM ish, with my strobe off the camera connected with my SC-17. The camera was in my right hand and the strobe in my left. The branches are from the tree I was leaning against. I zoomed the strobe in to 35mm so I wouldn't light up the whole scene.

What do you think?
Brian

[Gerry Widen]

I think the shot works really well. Dusk is an interesting time to shoot color as the sky appears bluer and darker than it really is. There appears to be some glare or something at the top of the image. It doesn't really bother me but I might consider just cropping the top 5 % or so to eliminate it. Otherwise it is very well composed and exposed.

[shesells]

I was on a ride recently on a trail that begins with a walk up a road then a hike up a ski hill all while pushing a 45 + LBS bike. Which is what makes it so challenging to get photographs on this trail.

I shot it at about 7PM ish, with my strobe off the camera connected with my SC-17. The camera was in my right hand and the strobe in my left. The branches are from the tree I was leaning against. I zoomed the strobe in to 35mm so I wouldn't light up the whole scene.

What do you think?
Brian

I think it's a dynamite shot and well worth the work you did getting it! If you could do something about those two little green branches it would be even better.
Kit

[mtbbrian]

It doesn't really bother me but I might consider just cropping the top 5 % or so to eliminate it. Otherwise it is very well composed and exposed.

I can't disagree with you about that Gerry, but if I cropped that, I would loose the tops of the trees, which was what I was going for.
Thanks for checking it out!
Brian

[gmen]

It's a beauty.

What I'd really like to see is a huge, poster-sized version of the shot... that would capture the scale of those trees and maximise the impact of the image.

That little picture on my monitor just doesn't do the photo justice - it's crying out to be big, big, BIG!

[Sebastian]

Brian,

I think you are way on the right track! Just acouple of nitpicks keep this from being excellent in my book. The hihglights near the top of the image, and that the rider gets lost a bit in the busy area behind him. I think a burn-in of the branches on top might help instead of a crop, and moving the rider to the left of moving yourself to the left to position him in the clearing between the trees would have helped.

I really like where you were going with this.

[mtbbrian]

Thanks Seb!
I should have thought of burning in the branches!
DUH!
I'll have to do that when I get home!

Thanks for the comments GMen!

Brian

[ckozo]

as a mountain biker, i relate to this (fun stuff!) and as a photographer, i think you captured the freeriding well.

one nit-pick: it seems his right arm is getting lost with the dark trees behind it. is this just from the small photo (or my monitor)? or maybe bump-up some constrast in this area to get his right arm more visually strong? likewise, can't tell about the bike frame--are the vertical trees competing with the tubes of the bike frame?

again, nit-pick aside, great capture of the moment.

[mtbbrian]

I reworked this image a bit.
Better?
Brian

[Sebastian]

Yes! Better color and the distracting branches are gone.

[Chunk]

I reworked this image a bit.
Better?
Brian

Much nicer. I like the feeling of height of the trees in the shot - I'm glad the tops are included. This is one of the strongest MTB pictures I (as a non biker) have seen.

[Steph_B]

I reworked this image a bit.
Better?
Brian

You did a great job in retouching this photograph. I particularly like the yellow (bottow right) vs. the blue (top left) contrast. It adds quite a bit of dynamism to the pic. while bringing the viewer attention on the biker.

This definitely merits a BIG blow up print!

Cheers,

Steph.

[Speed]

I reworked this image a bit.
Better?
Brian

Great shot Brian! Reworking those two branches that the flash lit up definitley helped. Great setup, awesome thinking through the shot, and damn near perfect execution!

Tough time of day to pull off a shot like this, and you did a superb job.

Pat yourself on the back for a job well done my Nikon Samurai!

PS - I like the tree tops too!

[gahspidy]

This is a great shot, I would agree. What makes it so effective is the tops of the trees in the frame lending to the dynamic feel of the composition. I would agree with what Sebastian had stated, and the burning in of the branches on top helped. Something else just bothers me a bit here and that is the "flash lit" look of the wooden structure the rider is jumping over.Perhaps burning in a little there as well just to give a more "naturally lit" feel to it. But this shot is definetely a blow up candidate