1st time post

[slowerthensnot]

Just a hack carrying a Nikon L22 on my mtn bike rides... A tiny bit of editing in Picasa

Self timer shot

[llewpics]

Hey there ...thanks for sharing.

The colors and exposure in the picture are really good. I like that the rock in the front is out of focus - it almost gives the whole shot a 3D feel. Also, the composition is pretty good - one could say you followed the thirds rule (at least to some extent) - as the red rock in the front is 1/3rd of the image with the distant land filling the second and the sky a third third. What could use some improvement is the position of the biker - I think a him being in the left or right side of the center would be better. This, of course, would be easily accomplished with just cropping some of the shot from the left or right ....all in all, a very nice shot!

[Photo-John]

Very nice, Dave! And welcome to the site. It's great to see you here. About time, actually

I agree with llewpics, my first impression of this photo was very positive. I love the colors and the basic composition with the out--of-focus rocks in the foreground. I also agree with him that the rider position - that would be you - shouldn't be so centered. Having your main subject right in the middle tends to trap the eye and not let it wander and discover the details in a photo. And it's true, it's easy enough to just crop this one a bit so that it better follows the Rule Of Thirds. The question then is, what story do you want to tell? Do you want to show where the rider is going or where he came from? By that I mean, if you have the rider on the right, then the photo is describing the trail behind. Whereas, if you have him on the left side, you're looking forward to where he's going. In general, I like showing where a rider is going in a photo. Not always, though. There are no rigid rules. It's up to you and what you want to convey to the viewer.

I also think there's a bit too much sky in this photo. If the sky had clouds that might work. But as it is, it's just empty blue and doesn't really add anything to the content or composition. So if it were mine, I'd crop it down (or ideally, compose it in the camera) so there's just enough blue sky to get the idea across.

Hope that helps. Great to see you here. Let us know if you have more questions. And feel free to crop this image and repost.

[gahspidy]

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing this.

I agree with Lew in that the colors and scenery here is awesome. I have to say though that imo this does not follow the rule of thirds at all. . . .however I think it works in spite of that. I think this is one of those exceptions.
no matter how i try playing with the crop on this to bring you into the third of the frame and get the horizon away from dead center, it just does not work as well as this original.

Its almost as if the real subject here is the amazing terrain and picturesque backdrop and you the rider are a complimentary element.

As John stated, it does also have a lot to do with what your intent was from this image.

i would suggest a slight crop from the left side to bring you right in the middle, because as it is now you are a bit past middle and heading out of frame which is usually never good.
this also brings the out of focus rock in the fg over closer to the third and helps the overall balance of this further.

I think this is very good and seems to feel right to me other than the slight crop suggestion.

[Anbesol]

Good on exposure and color. Most has already been stated, I'd like to add that the mountain line cuts through the bikers head (or, shoulders rather), which really hurts the image for me.

[slowerthensnot]

Very nice, Dave! And welcome to the site. It's great to see you here. About time, actually

I agree with llewpics, my first impression of this photo was very positive. I love the colors and the basic composition with the out--of-focus rocks in the foreground. I also agree with him that the rider position - that would be you - shouldn't be so centered. Having your main subject right in the middle tends to trap the eye and not let it wander and discover the details in a photo. And it's true, it's easy enough to just crop this one a bit so that it better follows the Rule Of Thirds. The question then is, what story do you want to tell? Do you want to show where the rider is going or where he came from? By that I mean, if you have the rider on the right, then the photo is describing the trail behind. Whereas, if you have him on the left side, you're looking forward to where he's going. In general, I like showing where a rider is going in a photo. Not always, though. There are no rigid rules. It's up to you and what you want to convey to the viewer.

I also think there's a bit too much sky in this photo. If the sky had clouds that might work. But as it is, it's just empty blue and doesn't really add anything to the content or composition. So if it were mine, I'd crop it down (or ideally, compose it in the camera) so there's just enough blue sky to get the idea across.

Hope that helps. Great to see you here. Let us know if you have more questions. And feel free to crop this image and repost.

I agree on the sky its odd when there aren't a least a few clouds above pine mtn, and moving myself one way or the other in the shot however very hard to do with a 9sec self timer to do it in =)

[slowerthensnot]

And thanks for the feed back everyone, for this newbie!

[Photo-John]

I agree on the sky its odd when there aren't a least a few clouds above pine mtn, and moving myself one way or the other in the shot however very hard to do with a 9sec self timer to do it in =)

Yeah, Dave - the new crop is SWEET! It makes everything in the image much stronger. The mountains are more prominent, the blurry rocks in the foreground are more interesting, and the rider also shows up better.

I have to admit, I kind of agree with Gary that you're original composition does work, that it's an exception to the rule. However, I like the new crop a lot better. I think you should try the panoramic composition again - maybe with another rider so you don't have to worry about the challenge of the self-timer. I know how hard that is. It's worth exploring some more, for sure. What trail is that anyway - Hurricane Rim?

[slowerthensnot]

Yeah, Dave - the new crop is SWEET! It makes everything in the image much stronger. The mountains are more prominent, the blurry rocks in the foreground are more interesting, and the rider also shows up better.

I have to admit, I kind of agree with Gary that you're original composition does work, that it's an exception to the rule. However, I like the new crop a lot better. I think you should try the panoramic composition again - maybe with another rider so you don't have to worry about the challenge of the self-timer. I know how hard that is. It's worth exploring some more, for sure. What trail is that anyway - Hurricane Rim?

Just some rocks near sand hollow, near were my folks are having a house built

[draymorton]

The crop is a big improvement for reasons already stated. The colors are amazing and the blurred-out rocks in the foreground work really well for whatever reason. The only things that bother me about the shot are the mountains intersecting with the subject - and the slight lack of detail in the shadows. That said... great shot and one hell of an entrance!

[Photo-John]

The crop is a big improvement for reasons already stated. The colors are amazing and the blurred-out rocks in the foreground work really well for whatever reason. The only things that bother me about the shot are the mountains intersecting with the subject - and the slight lack of detail in the shadows. That said... great shot and one hell of an entrance!

Dave's got some pretty decent scenery in his backyard. Hopefully he'll post lots more

[llewpics]

I agree with Lew in that the colors and scenery here is awesome. I have to say though that imo this does not follow the rule of thirds at all. . . . suggestion.

I agree that it does not follow the rule ...I sometimes confuse the rule of thirds (4 intersections of 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines being good places to put the subject) ...I was more referring to the division of foreground, background and sky being in thirds ...but, actually not sure if that even has a name - perhaps someone could enlighten me?

[Anbesol]

Woah you are doing that on a 9 sec self timer? Good stuff.

[Photo-John]

Woah you are doing that on a 9 sec self timer? Good stuff.

Self timer mountain bike photos are a fun game

[gahspidy]

The crop is perfect....def better than my suggestion. Really nice and great use of the timer!

[slowerthensnot]

same spot, different angle

[gahspidy]

This one I do not like for a number of reasons. The very low camera position has given has a large amount (almost half the frame) of blurry rock and the distant terrain cannot be appreciated because of the low angle. You are very small in the frame, and with back to us. The mountains are really a small piece of the image and on the same side as the foliage, and yourself while the other side of the sky is wide open creating a very lopsided feel. weighted heavily on the right.
This composition in all would have worked i think if you were positioned on the left standing out against the sky and giving us a clear view of the mountains on the right. It would balance then and the low vantage point might have been fine with it.
just my two cents here.

[armando_m]

I'm a little late to commnet ...

the first one, - croppedd version - is a really nice image, all other photo comments I think have been covered already

9 secs! seems your feet are not yet on the pedals ?

[slowerthensnot]

I'm a little late to commnet ...

the first one, - croppedd version - is a really nice image, all other photo comments I think have been covered already

9 secs! seems your feet are not yet on the pedals ?

yuppers feet aren't quite there :blush2: