Rolling in Pikes Peak Country (mtb shot).

[kristian]

This is my first post to the critique board and I'm looking for any and all feedback (composition and Photoshop related). I've been taking moutain biking shots for years and really want to bring things to the next level.

This shot was taken with my new G7 and I'm very happy with it so far. The only adjustment made from fully automatic is changing it to ISO 80 because of the beautiful sunny day. I cropped the pic in photoshop, but otherwise didn't touch it.

[GB1]

Hello Kristian - Welcome to the PR forums. I think all the elements are here. I can't see any better time to snap the shot than when you did. The main technical problem I see is the strong blue cast, which goes beyond the acceptable limits (IMO). I think that could be pretty easily corrected with post-processing. I don't have any problems with the composition, but I do feel that the angle is too pedestrian - I would prefer a shot from underneath/below so that you could have captured his expression. This angle is more informative however, for it shows the whole scene - where he is, where he's going, the terrain, etc. It could just use a little more human element. Anyway, hope this helps.
GB

[jkriminger]

I think letting a little more light in (iso80....higher?) wouldn't have been a bad thing here with the blue hue. When I saw this pic I said...oooh hes gonna tumble so the realism is there.

[Mr Yuck]

ISO 80 lets less light in than any of the other settings on the G7, but also reduces grain, when I can afford it, I always use the lowest ISO setting on my camera.

I think the exposure and composition are good, but agree with GB1 about the blueness. It looks to me like the white balance was off, auto white balance should have given this scene the correct colors, are you sure you didnt have a different white balance setting on?

This can easily be fixed on the computer though. (Auto levels in Photoshop, Fireworks, or a free program such as GIMP will bring the colors back to realism)

--Bailey

[kristian]

ISO 80 lets less light in than any of the other settings on the G7, but also reduces grain, when I can afford it, I always use the lowest ISO setting on my camera.

I think the exposure and composition are good, but agree with GB1 about the blueness. It looks to me like the white balance was off, auto white balance should have given this scene the correct colors, are you sure you didnt have a different white balance setting on?

This can easily be fixed on the computer though. (Auto levels in Photoshop, Fireworks, or a free program such as GIMP will bring the colors back to realism)

--Bailey

Interesting suggestion on the white balance. I just checked the camera and it was indeed set to indoor (tungsten?) instead of outdoor or auto. I guess I need to get used to a camera that actually REMEMBERS your last setup :blush2:.

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

[Has He Lost His Mind?]

If you don't mind me editing:

[gahspidy]

This is a really good shot, Kristian. Welcome to the forum. Your having the camera set at Tungsten for the white balance added all the blue (cooler temp) to the shot to compensate for the yellow in Tungsten lights. Easily fixed in Post processing.